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REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />December 18, 2017 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Initiation of Proceedings to Consider an Inclusionary Housing Requirement <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />By motion, direct staff to initiate proceedings to change applicable adopted plans, <br />ordinances, resolutions, policies and standards as needed to adopt an Inclusionary <br />Housing Requirement for new residential development projects in Redwood City <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />In December of 2015, the City adopted an Affordable Housing Impact Fee that applied <br />to new residential and commercial development. The fees are used towards the <br />construction of new affordable housing, acquisition of land, or conversion of existing <br />units to low or very low income units. At the time, the fee program was designed to meet <br />the requirements of a 2009 court decision, Palmer/Sixth Street Properties, L.P. v. City of <br />Los Angeles (“Palmer”), which stated that requiring on-site construction of affordable <br />rental units was a violation of State Law, specifically the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing <br />Act. <br /> <br />In September of 2017, Governor Brown signed AB 1505 superseding the Palmer case <br />and allowing cities and counties to require on-site construction of affordable rental <br />housing (also called “inclusionary” housing). In other words, a City may now require that <br />a certain percentage of units in each new housing development be designated as <br />affordable housing units. Under this new State Law, inclusionary housing requirements <br />are developed and adopted by individual cities at their discretion, though certain <br />requirements must be met, such as providing alternative means of compliance. <br /> <br />ANALYSIS <br />With AB 1505, the City Council has the authority to enact an inclusionary housing <br />requirement. This would require a zoning ordinance amendment, possible amendments <br />to various Precise Plans and the previously adopted Affordable Impact Fee ordinance <br />and resolution, and potentially an economic feasibility study depending on the specifics <br />of the inclusionary housing requirement. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />8.A. - Page 1