To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Rick Tooker, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Lark Ferrell, Housing Manager
TITLE:
Title
Affordable Housing Impact Fees Ordinance Amendment Regarding Residential Units 500 Square Feet or Less
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Approve first reading and introduction of an Ordinance amending Napa Municipal Code Chapter 15.94 ("Affordable Housing Impact Fees") to include units that are 500 square feet or less within the definition of "affordable units" and to make minor clarifications; and determining that the actions authorized by this Ordinance were adequately analyzed by a previous CEQA action.
Body
DISCUSSION:
This agenda item amends the City's Affordable Housing Impact Fees Ordinance to make minor clarifying changes, and to include residential units of 500 square feet or less within the definition of "affordable units" which are exempt from payment of affordable housing impact fees. The specific changes proposed are shown in Attachment 2.
As part of its overall affordable housing strategy, in March 2017, the City updated its Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance. This has made it significantly easier for homeowners to receive approvals to build accessory dwelling units. As a result, the City has seen a dramatic increase in the number of applications for accessory dwelling units ("ADUs") over the past year. Despite the changes to the ordinance, some homeowners are still finding the development of ADUs, including the fees, to be cost prohibitive and have not yet moved forward on approved projects. When considering the total fees for construction of an ADU (over 500 sq. ft.), the cost is nearly $20,000 including all City and non-City fees (e.g., Napa Sanitation District and Napa Valley Unified School District).
As part of this effort to encourage ADUs, Council has also directed staff to look at ways to reduce fees charged to develop ADUs. Recently, the Napa Sanitation District, ...
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