(a) 
Findings. The city council finds that:
(1) 
Regional housing prices and rents have increased at a significantly higher rate than regional wages;
(2) 
The lack of affordable housing in Sunnyvale forces many residents to pay a very high percentage of their income for housing and requires many of those employed in the city to commute considerable distances, adding to air pollution and traffic congestion in Sunnyvale and adjacent communities;
(3) 
New housing developments do not provide enough housing affordable to lower-income households, and continued new development which does not include housing lower-income households will serve to further aggravate the current shortage of affordable housing by reducing the scarce supply of undeveloped land;
(4) 
Based on a nexus analysis to evaluate the impact of new commercial, industrial, research and development, retail, hotel/motel and market-rate rental housing developments, these new developments generate an increased demand for affordable housing which must be mitigated through the imposition of housing impact fees; and
(5) 
Such housing impact fees are a necessary part of the city's efforts to meet the regional housing needs of the Bay Area as required by state law.
(b) 
Purpose. This chapter requires the payment of housing impact fees for certain types of development to mitigate the impact of nonresidential and residential development on the need for affordable housing in the city of Sunnyvale and to implement the housing element of the city's general plan and California Government Code Section 65583(c), which expresses the state housing policy that requires cities to assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of lower-income households. Housing impact fees are placed in the city's housing mitigation fund and used to support the development of affordable housing within the city.
(Ord. 3057-15 § 2)
(a) 
New Construction. Projects that include new nonresidential construction or new market-rate rental housing construction shall be subject to the housing impact fees required in this chapter. Payment of the housing impact fees shall be added as a condition of approval for all development projects subject to this chapter.
(b) 
Pipeline Projects. The following development projects shall be exempt from payment of the housing impact fees required in this chapter:
(1) 
Projects for which a development application pursuant to this title has been filed and deemed complete by September 14, 2015.
(2) 
Projects that have received final approval pursuant to this title by September 14, 2015, and which are subsequently the subject of a pending application for modifications to the approved plans or permit, except that any increase in floor area from the amount already approved shall be subject to the housing impact fees required by this chapter.
(3) 
Pipeline projects not subject to the new housing impact fees must pay any applicable housing mitigation fees that were in existence at the time the application was deemed complete.
(c) 
Adoption of Housing Impact Fees. Housing impact fee amounts for each applicable use are established by the fee resolution adopted by the city council, which may be amended from time to time by council. The fee amounts shall be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area unless otherwise modified by council. Such fees shall not exceed the cost of mitigating the impact of developments on the need for housing for lower-income households in the city.
(d) 
Calculation and Timing of Payment. Housing impact fees shall be calculated at the time of complete building permit application submittal and shall be paid prior to issuance of the first building permit for the project. A developer may pay all or a portion of the fee owed at any time prior to issuance of the building permit, at the rate in effect at the time payment is made. For phased projects, the amount due shall be paid on a pro rata basis across the entire square footage of the approved development, and each portion shall be paid prior to the issuance of any building permit for each phase.
(Ord. 3057-15 § 2; Ord. 3079-16 § 2)
(a) 
Applicability. Housing impact fees shall be imposed on all new construction of commercial, industrial, research and development, office, retail and hotel/motel development projects, regardless of zoning designation of the project site, unless otherwise exempted under this chapter. A detailed matrix of nonresidential land uses required to pay the housing impact fee is incorporated as part of the fee resolution adopted by council.
(b) 
Calculation of Fee. The amount of the fee, as further described in the fee resolution, is imposed on a per square foot basis for net new gross floor area. A reduced fee shall apply to the first twenty-five thousand square feet for commercial, industrial and research and development projects. The formula below shall be used in calculating the amount of the housing impact fee:
(Gross square feet nonresidential floor area) minus (existing square feet floor area) multiplied by (per square foot fee) equals (total housing impact fee).
(c) 
Exemptions to Net New Gross Floor Area. The following areas are exempt from the net new gross floor area used in housing impact fee calculations for nonresidential developments:
(1) 
Any incidental and accessory storage, structures or appurtenances, such as sheds, trash enclosures, ground-mounted equipment enclosures, garden features, trellises or shade structures;
(2) 
Architectural design features not utilized for occupancy or storage;
(3) 
For industrial, research and development or office uses:
(A) 
Child care facilities for the care of children of on-site employees,
(B) 
Freestanding amenities buildings for on-site employees with uses such as cafeterias, recreational and athletic facilities, gyms, showers and locker rooms, and
(C) 
Buildings designed exclusively for the storage of hazardous materials;
(4) 
Existing square feet floor area of structures that were vacated or demolished no more than twelve months prior to the filing date of the development application.
(d) 
Alternative to Payment. As an alternative to payment of the housing impact fee, a developer may request to mitigate the housing impacts through construction of affordable residential units on an appropriate housing site, the dedication of land for affordable housing or the provision of other resources to provide affordable housing. The city council may approve this request if the proposed alternative furthers affordable housing opportunities in the city equal to the payment of the housing mitigation fee.
(Ord. 3057-15 § 2)
(a) 
Applicability. A housing impact fee shall be imposed for new market-rate rental housing developments in the city of four units or more, unless the applicant elects to provide one of the alternatives listed in subsection (d). For purposes of this chapter, new market-rate housing developments shall include developments that have recorded a condominium map but the developer intends to initially rent the units. In the event the developer has paid the fees and later sells the units within fifty-five years of the fee payment, developer shall receive credit for the housing impact fees paid against the BMR ownership obligations in Chapter 19.67, as further described in the BMR Developer Guidelines.
(b) 
Calculation of Fee. Developments of eight units or more shall pay the full fee established by council resolution. Developments consisting of four to seven units shall pay fifty percent of the fee established by council resolution. The formula below shall be used in calculating the required housing impact fee for new market-rate rental housing developments:
(New habitable square foot area of all market-rate units) minus (existing habitable square foot area of all units) multiplied by (per square foot fee) equals (total housing impact fee).
(c) 
Habitable Square Foot Area. Habitable square foot area means the total interior living area of each dwelling unit within a project, and does not include areas outside of the dwelling units such as common areas, corridors, parking facilities, outside storage lockers and shared laundry facilities.
(d) 
Alternatives In Lieu of Housing Impact Fee. As an alternative to paying the housing impact fee for rental housing developments, an applicant may request to provide affordable units on-site, dedicate land for affordable housing or provide affordable units off-site, as detailed in this section.
(1) 
On-Site Units. An applicant may request to provide a certain number of the rental units in the residential project at rents affordable to very-low income households or low income households, or a combination of both very-low income and low income units. The number of affordable rental units shall provide equivalent mitigation of the project's impact on the need for affordable housing as set forth in the fee resolution. The request to provide on-site units may be granted by the director.
(2) 
Off-Site Units or Dedication of Land. As an additional alternative, the applicant may request to designate affordable units in an off-site location or to dedicate land for the construction of affordable units. The city priority shall be for a location that is accessible to public transit. Any off-site units shall be either new or renovated to near-new conditions. Such requests shall be granted in the sole discretion of the city council if the city council determines that the proposed alternative will mitigate the impact of the project on the need for affordable housing.
(3) 
In calculating the number of required affordable rental units either on-site or off-site, any fraction of a whole unit shall be satisfied by either developing one additional affordable unit or by paying the remaining fee amount as further described in the fee resolution.
(4) 
All affordable units developed either on-site or off-site must remain affordable for a minimum period of fifty-five years.
(5) 
To ensure compliance with the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and city requirements, the applicant must enter into an affordable housing developer agreement with the city to be recorded against the property prior to recordation of a final or parcel map or issuance of any building permit, acknowledging that the affordable units or land dedication are provided in consideration for a direct financial contribution from the city in the form of a waiver of the housing impact fee. The affordable units shall be administered in accordance with Chapter 19.69 and the Affordable Housing Developer Guidelines.
(Ord. 3057-15 § 2)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the requirement to pay the housing impact fee may be waived, adjusted or reduced by the city council if an applicant shows, based on substantial evidence, that there is no reasonable relationship between the impact of the proposed development and the requirement to pay the housing impact fee, or that applying the requirements of this chapter would take property in violation of the United States Constitution or California Constitution or would result in any other unconstitutional result.
(Ord. 3057-15 § 2)
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all agents, successors and assigns of an applicant proposing or constructing a development governed by this chapter. The city may institute any appropriate legal actions or proceedings necessary to ensure compliance herewith, including but not limited to, actions to revoke, deny or suspend any permit, including a development approval, building permit or certificate of occupancy. The city shall be entitled to costs and expenses for enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, or any agreement pursuant thereto, as awarded by the court, including reasonable attorneys' fees.
(Ord. 3057-15 § 2)
If any portion of this chapter is held to be invalid, unconstitutional, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this zoning code. The city council declares that this chapter and each portion would have been adopted without regard to whether any portion of this chapter would be later declared invalid, unconstitutional, or unenforceable.
(Ord. 3057-15 § 2)