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REDWOOD CITY FAIR AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING ORDINANCE <br /> <br />Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. 40 Affordable Housing Impacts <br />Re-syndication is one tool used to address this issue. Many affordable housing <br />LITC projects are recapitalized after the initial tax credit compliance period or <br />later in the project life cycle, when original investors may seek to exit the <br />partnership and /or the property seeks a capital infusion for rehabilitation, <br />modernization, or long-term preservation. Re-syndication can bring in new tax <br />credit equity, restructure financing, and fund major reinvestment needed to <br />preserve the property as affordable housing. <br />This issue is important because re-syndication is not only a financing event; it is <br />often a major rehabilitation event. Building preservation scopes may include roof <br />replacement, plumbing, electrical systems, HVAC, life-safety improvements, <br />accessibility upgrades, unit interiors, building envelope repairs, and other capital <br />needs. These projects often require work in occupied buildings and may require <br />temporary relocation of existing tenants, particularly when work affects kitchens, <br />bathrooms, utilities, hazardous materials, or building-wide systems. <br />The proposed Ordinance may interact with this process in several ways. If rent <br />growth is further constrained, projects may reach operating deficits earlier than <br />they otherwise would, potentially before the next feasible recapitalization or re- <br />syndication window. At the same time, reduced cash flow may limit the project’s <br />ability to contribute to reserves, making it harder to demonstrate long-term <br />financial stability or fund needed rehabilitation at re-syndication. <br />Affordable housing providers generally have experience relocating tenants during <br />rehabilitation with minimal disruption and returning residents to their units. They <br />are also governed by a variety of existing requirements to address the relocation <br />needs of their tenants, the costs of which may exceed what is required in the <br />proposed Ordinance. Unlike the proposed Ordinance, both the State Tenant <br />Protection Act and Redwood City’s existing Tenant Protection Ordinance exempt <br />deed-restricted affordable housing from certain relocation assistance <br />requirements, in part because of these existing requirements. <br />The proposed Ordinance may also increase uncertainty of rehabilitation by adding <br />a new layer of requirements that may affect cost, timing risk, and administrative <br />complexity. The incremental impact of the proposed Ordinance would vary <br />depending on the project, existing relocation obligations, and scope of <br />rehabilitation. <br />This could have broader implications for Redwood City’s affordable housing <br />preservation strategy. Re-syndication and rehabilitation are key tools for <br />maintaining older affordable housing over the long term. If the proposed <br />Ordinance accelerates operating deficits, reduces reserve capacity, or increases <br />the cost and uncertainty of occupied rehabilitation, preservation projects may <br />become more difficult to finance and may require greater City, County, State, or <br />other public subsidy support. <br />8.A. - Page 99 of 168 <br />109