This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Deferral or Waiver of Certain Impact Fees for Affordable Housing Projects."
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Sacramento desires to encourage the construction of residential projects which will provide units with affordable rents or affordable housing costs for low and very low income households in the County of Sacramento. The Board of Supervisors finds that the early payment of certain impact fees for affordable residential housing development creates a barrier to such development and desires, by the adoption of this chapter, to ease such barrier by deferring the time for payment of certain fees. To create further incentive to construct residential projects for very low income households the Board of Supervisors also wishes to waive the payment of certain fees for a set number of units that will provide affordable rents or affordable housing costs for very low income households. The Board of Supervisors finds that this deferral/waiver program is consistent with the policies and goals of the Housing Element of the General Plan of Sacramento County and necessary for the health and welfare of the County's residents.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, upon application and approval pursuant to Section 16.100.050, Section 16.100.060 or Section 16.100.070 of this chapter, a Qualified Residential Project shall pay, and the following fees shall be collected, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter:
a. 
Antelope Public Facilities Financing Plan Area fees imposed pursuant to Chapter 16.80;
b. 
North Vineyard Station Specific Plan Area fees (excluding the administrative component) imposed pursuant to Chapter 16.81;
c. 
Vineyard Public Facilities Financing Plan Area fees (excluding the administrative component) imposed pursuant to Chapter 16.83;
d. 
Florin Vineyard Community Plan Area fees (excluding the administrative component) imposed pursuant to Chapter 16.85;
e. 
Library Facilities fees (excluding the administrative component) imposed pursuant to Chapter 16.160;
f. 
Roadway and transit fees (excluding the administrative component) imposed pursuant to Chapter 16.87.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1673 § 5, 2021)
a. 
"Administrator" means the Administrator of the Municipal Services Agency or his or her designee.
b. 
"Affordable Housing Cost" refers to the definition contained in Health & Safety Code Section 50052.5, including but not limited to cost limits for low and very low households in owner-occupied housing, as further defined in Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.
c. 
"Affordable Rent" refers to the definition contained in Health & Safety Code Section 50053, including but not limited to cost limits for low and very low households in rental housing, as further defined in Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.
d. 
"Agreement" means the deferral or waiver agreement or a single agreement for both as described in Section 16.100.080 of this chapter.
e. 
"Applicant" means the owner or owners of record of the real property for which a fee deferral or fee waiver or combination fee deferral and waiver is sought pursuant to this chapter.
f. 
"Certification Letter" means a written certification from SHRA that a project is a Qualified Residential Project.
g. 
"Low Income Households" refers to the definition contained in Health & Safety Code Section 50079.5, including but not limited to an income limit of 80% of area median income, adjusted for family size and revised annually.
h. 
"Qualified Residential Project" means a residential development project which shall include:
(1) 
At least 10% of units with Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households; or
(2) 
At least 49% of units with Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Low Income households.
i. 
"Release From SHRA" means a written release, submitted from SHRA to the Administrator which (1) verifies that the buyer or renter has met the income qualifications as set forth in this section; or (2) verifies a multi-family residential project has received a State of California Tax Credit Allocation Committee final cost certification or similar certification from another financing entity or that the renter has met the income qualifications as set forth in this section.
j. 
"SHRA" means the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.
k. 
"Very Low Income Households" refers to the definition contained in Health & Safety Code Section 50105, including but not limited to an income limit of 50% of area median income, adjusted for family size and revised annually.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
a. 
Application. A Qualified Residential Development project may file an application with the Municipal Services Agency to request deferral of any of those fees enumerated in Section 16.100.030 of this chapter. The specific percentage of Low or Very Low Income units, or both, to be offered in a residential development project must be certified by SHRA and included in the fee deferral application prior to acceptance thereof.
b. 
Ten Percent Down Payment. At the time of building permit issuance, the Applicant shall pay 10% of the amount of all fees included in the application request for each individual lot for which a building permit is sought. Said payment shall be in addition to any and all required fee deferral application and administrative processing fees.
c. 
Security—Deed of Trust. Security for the deferral of fees pursuant to this chapter shall be in the form of a promissory note secured by a deed of trust encumbering each parcel of record owned by the Applicant that is included in the Qualified Residential Project. The promissory note and deed of trust shall be in a form satisfactory to the Administrator and approved by the County Counsel. Said deed of trust shall be secondary only to deeds of trust associated with acquisition or construction financing and to any regulatory agreement executed with a governmental agency for purposes of providing housing for low income households and very low income households. Said deed of trust shall be recorded prior to issuance of building permits. Provided, however, to allow timely construction in the event of unanticipated consequences, an Applicant may pay 100% of fees to obtain issuance of building permits. Thereafter, within six months of Applicant's payment of fees and upon fulfillment of all other requirements of this section, the Applicant shall be eligible for refund of 90% of the fees so paid with such 90% deferred and payable in accordance with the fee deferral Agreement.
d. 
Other Requirements. All of the following requirements must be satisfied prior to approval of a fee deferral:
(1) 
Submittal to the Municipal Services Agency of a complete application, including a Certification Letter and a preliminary title report;
(2) 
Deposit of all application and administrative fees pursuant to Section 16.100.130;
(3) 
Recordation of the deed of trust pursuant to subsection (c); and
(4) 
Execution and recordation of a deferral Agreement.
e. 
Single-Family Deferral Period (Twenty-four Months), Interest Penalties. Fees that are approved for deferral for a single-family residential project pursuant to this chapter shall be due and payable at the close of escrow of each individual lot within the project. The maximum fee deferral period for any and all lots within a single-family residential project is 24 months from the recordation of the Agreement and deed of trust. If not paid within the 24 month period, interest penalties shall apply pursuant to Section 16.100.110 and payment of the fees secured by the deed of trust shall be undertaken pursuant to the provisions set forth in the executed Agreement.
f. 
Multi-Family Deferral Period (Twenty-four Months), Interest Penalties. Fees that are approved for deferral for a multi-family residential project pursuant to this chapter shall be due and payable upon the close of permanent loan financing. The maximum fee deferral period is 24 months from the date of recordation of the Agreement and deed of trust. If not paid within the 24 month period, interest penalties shall apply pursuant to Section 16.100.110 and payment of the fees secured by the deed of trust shall be undertaken pursuant to the provisions set forth in the executed Agreement.
g. 
Partial Reconveyances. For a single-family residential project, a partial release (reconveyance) from the deed of trust per individual unit shall be executed by the County upon receipt of written request from the title company handling the escrow of said unit and receipt of the Release from SHRA. For multifamily residential projects, a release from the deed of trust shall be executed by the County upon receipt of written request from the title company handling the permanent loan financing and receipt of the Release from SHRA.
h. 
Failure to Provide Affordable Housing. Notification to the Administrator by SHRA of failure of a single or multi-family residential project to sell or rent the percentages of Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households or Low Income households for which a fee deferral was approved pursuant to this chapter shall result in the imposition of interest penalties calculated from the date of recordation of the fee deferral Agreement pursuant to Section 16.100.110 to the date of payment of the fees secured by the deed of trust pursuant to the provisions set forth in the executed Agreement.
i. 
Deferral Non-Transferable. The approval of a fee deferral pursuant to this chapter for a Qualified Residential Project shall not be transferable to another project regardless of whether the Applicant is the same for both projects or whether the other project is also a Qualified Residential Project.
j. 
Mixed Affordable and Market-Rate Projects. In the event that a single-family Qualified Residential Project plans to sell or rent units both at market rate and for Low Income households, the Applicant shall submit a copy of the tentative or final subdivision or parcel map for said single-family Qualified Residential Project identifying all units for which a deferral is sought pursuant to this chapter. The tentative or final subdivision or parcel map shall be submitted with the fee deferral application. Prior to final map recordation, subsequent one-for-one changes of the identification of market rate and Low Income household units on the tentative subdivision or parcel map shall require prior written approval of the Administrator and shall be permitted only if the same deed of trust encumbers both of the lots for which the change is requested and provided that the percentage of Low Income household units as set forth in the fee deferral application for said single-family Qualified Residential Project and the accompanying Certification Letter is not increased or decreased. Final map recordation of the tentative subdivision map shall be required to be in substantial conformance with the entire tentative subdivision map per Government Code Section 66442. Subsequent to final map recordation, one-for-one changes shall require prior written approval of the Administrator and shall be permitted only if the same deed of trust encumbers both of the lots for which the change is requested and provided that the percentage of Low Income household units as set forth in the fee deferral application for the entire single-family Qualified Residential Project and the accompanying Certification Letter is not increased or decreased.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
a. 
Ten Percent Very Low Income Households. Only a Qualified Residential Project which a Certification Letter indicates includes at least 10% of units with Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households shall be eligible for waiver of any of those fees enumerated in Section 16.100.030. Said fees shall be waived in an amount proportional to the percentage of units affordable to Very Low Income Households. The Certification Letter shall specify the Very Low Income percentage for each individual project and shall be included in the fee waiver application prior to acceptance thereof.
b. 
Security—Deed of Trust. Security shall be required for fee waiver applications for the sole purpose of ensuring a method of recovery of those fees waived, in the event a residential development project fails to provide the percentages of Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households for which a fee waiver was sought. Said security shall be in the form of a promissory note secured by a deed of trust encumbering each parcel of record owned by the Applicant that is included in the qualified residential project. Said deed of trust shall be recorded for all development fees for which a waiver is requested pursuant to this chapter. The promissory note and deed of trust shall be in a form satisfactory to the Administrator and approved by the County Counsel. Said deed of trust shall be secondary only to deeds of trust associated with acquisition or construction financing and to any regulatory agreement executed with a governmental agency for purposes of providing housing for low income households and very low income households. Said deed of trust shall be recorded prior to issuance of building permits. Provided, however, to allow timely construction in the event of unanticipated consequences, an Applicant may pay 100% of fees to obtain issuance of building permits. Thereafter, upon approval of the Administrator and upon execution and recordation of the fee waiver Agreement and deed of trust, the Applicant may be eligible for refund of the fees so paid, which shall thereafter be subject to the terms of the fee waiver Agreement.
c. 
Annual Cap. All fee waiver applications shall be subject to the cap provisions set forth in Section 16.100.090. No fee waiver applications will be accepted if the cap, as set forth in Section 16.100.090, has been reached for the fiscal year in which a fee waiver application is submitted. No waiting lists will be maintained by the Municipal Services Agency.
d. 
Other Requirements. All of the following requirements must be satisfied prior to approval of a fee waiver:
(1) 
Submittal to the Municipal Services Agency of a complete application, including a Certification Letter and a preliminary title report;
(2) 
Deposit of all application and administrative fees pursuant to Section 16.100.130;
(3) 
Recordation of the deed of trust pursuant to subsection (c); and
(4) 
Execution and recordation of a waiver Agreement.
e. 
Partial Reconveyances. For a single family Qualified Residential Project, a partial release (reconveyance) from the deed of trust per individual unit shall be executed by the County upon receipt of written request from the title company handling the escrow of said unit and receipt of the Release from SHRA. For multifamily Qualified Residential Projects, a release from the deed of trust shall be executed by the County upon receipt of written request from the title company handling the permanent loan financing and receipt of the Release from SHRA.
f. 
Failure to Provide Very Low Income Housing. Notification to the Administrator by SHRA of failure of any single or multi-family residential project to provide the percentages of Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households for which a fee waiver was sought pursuant to this chapter shall result in the imposition of interest penalties calculated from the date of recordation of the fee waiver Agreement and deed of trust pursuant to Section 16.100.110 to the date of payment of the fees secured by the deed of trust pursuant to the provisions set forth in the executed Agreement.
g. 
Waiver Non-Transferable. The approval of a fee waiver pursuant to this chapter for a Qualified Residential Project shall not be transferable to another project regardless of whether the Applicant is the same for both projects or whether the other project is also a Qualified Residential Project.
h. 
Waiver Compliance Period (24 Months). A fee waiver shall be valid for a maximum 24 months from the date of recordation of the fee waiver Agreement and deed of trust. If the Administrator does not receive either of the following by the last day of the 24 month period, all fees shall be due and payable pursuant to the provisions of the fee waiver Agreement and shall be subject to the interest provisions of Section 16.100.110: (1) a Release from SHRA, or (2) notification from SHRA that the Qualified Residential Project continues under construction with an estimated completion date within an additional 12 month period. If the latter notification from SHRA is provided to the Administrator, a Release from SHRA must subsequently be provided to the Administrator not later than the last day of the additional 12 month period to avoid all fees becoming due and payable with the imposition of interest pursuant to the fee waiver Agreement and the provisions of Section 16.100.110.
i. 
Mixed Very Low Income and Market-Rate Housing. In the event that a single-family Qualified Residential Project plans to sell or rent units both at market rate and for Very Low Income households, the Applicant shall submit a copy of the tentative or final subdivision or parcel map for said single-family Qualified Residential Project identifying all units for which a waiver is sought pursuant to this chapter. The tentative or final subdivision or parcel map shall be submitted with the fee waiver application. Prior to final map recordation, subsequent one-for-one changes of the identification of market rate and Very Low Income household units on the tentative subdivision or parcel map shall require prior written approval of the Administrator and shall be permitted only if the same deed of trust encumbers both of the lots for which the change is requested and provided that the percentage of Very Low Income household units as set forth in the fee waiver application for said single-family Qualified Residential Project and the accompanying Certification Letter is not increased or decreased. Final map recordation of the tentative subdivision map shall be required to be in substantial conformance with the entire tentative subdivision map per Government Code Section 66442. Subsequent to final map recordation, one-for-one changes shall require prior written approval of the Administrator and shall be permitted only if the same deed of trust encumbers both of the lots for which the change is requested and provided that the percentage of Very Low Income household units as set forth in the fee waiver application for the entire single-family Qualified Residential Project and the accompanying Certification Letter is not increased or decreased.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
a. 
Percentage of Very Low and Low Income Households. A Qualified Residential Project which a Certification Letter indicates includes at least 10% of units with Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households; or at least 49% of units with Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Low Income households, of which at least 10% of said units are with Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households, may file an application with the Municipal Services Agency to request a combination of deferral and waiver of any of those fees enumerated in Section 16.100.030 of this chapter. The specific percentage of types of units to be offered in a residential development project must be specified in the Certification Letter and included in the fee deferral and waiver application prior to acceptance thereof. Only residential development projects for which a Certification Letter is received by the Municipal Services Agency directly from SHRA may apply for a fee waiver under this section in combination with a fee deferral. An application requesting both fee deferral and waiver shall be subject to all provisions set forth in this chapter. Pursuant to Section 16.100.080, a single Agreement shall be entered into by an Applicant requesting both deferral and waiver of fees for one project.
b. 
Security—Deed of Trust. Security in the form of a deed of trust shall be provided in the same manner as provided in Sections 16.100.050 and 16.100.060 of this chapter.
c. 
Single-Family Projects. For a fee deferral and waiver for a single-family Qualified Residential Project, the Applicant shall submit a copy of the tentative or final subdivision or parcel map for said single-family Qualified Residential Project identifying each unit for which a deferral is sought and each unit for which a waiver is sought. In the event that the single-family Qualified Residential Project includes units offered at market rate, these units shall also be identified on said tentative or final subdivision or parcel map. The tentative or final subdivision or parcel map shall be submitted with the fee deferral and waiver application. Prior to final map recordation, subsequent one-for-one changes of the identification of units on the tentative subdivision or parcel map shall require prior written approval of the Administrator and shall be permitted only if the same deed of trust encumbers both of the lots for which the change is requested and provided that the percentage of Very Low Income household units and Low Income household units as set forth in the fee deferral and waiver application for said single-family Qualified Residential Project and the accompanying Certification Letter is not increased or decreased. Final map recordation of the tentative subdivision map shall be required to be in substantial conformance with the entire tentative subdivision map per Government Code Section 66442. Subsequent to final map recordation, one-for-one changes shall require prior written approval of the Administrator and shall be permitted only if the same deed of trust encumbers both of the lots for which the change is requested and provided that the percentage of Low Income and Very Low Income household units as set forth in the fee deferral and waiver application for the entire single-family Qualified Residential Project and the accompanying Certification Letter is not increased or decreased.
d. 
Failure to Provide Very Low Income Housing. Notification to the Administrator by SHRA of failure of any single or multi-family residential project to provide the percentages of Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Low Income and Very Low Income households for which a fee deferral and waiver was sought pursuant to this chapter shall result in the imposition of interest penalties calculated from the date of recordation of the fee deferral and waiver Agreement and deed of trust pursuant to Section 16.100.110 to the date of payment of the fees secured by the deed of trust pursuant to the provisions set forth in the executed Agreement.
e. 
No Conversion of Waiver to Deferral. Upon execution of the fee deferral and waiver Agreement, an Applicant who fails to provide the percentage of Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income households in either a single or multi-family project for which a fee waiver is sought in combination with a fee deferral request shall not be permitted to subsequently request a fee deferral for any portion of the units that no longer qualify for a waiver of fees. Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon approval of the Administrator, deferrals may be converted to waivers if the requirements for waivers are met.
f. 
Deferral and Waiver Non-Transferable. The approval of a fee deferral and waiver for a Qualified Residential Project shall not be transferable to another project regardless of whether the Applicant is the same for both projects or whether the other project is also a Qualified Residential Project.
g. 
Deferral and Waiver Compliance Period (24 Months). Fee deferral and waiver approvals shall be valid for a maximum 24 months from the date of recordation of the fee deferral and waiver Agreement and deed of trust. If the Administrator does not receive either of the following by the last day of the 24 month period, all fees shall be due and payable pursuant to the provisions of the fee deferral and waiver Agreement and shall be subject to the interest provisions of Section 16.100.110: (1) a Release from SHRA, or (2) notification from SHRA that the Qualified Residential Project continues under construction with an estimated completion date within an additional 12 month period. If the latter notification from SHRA is provided to the Administrator, a Release from SHRA must subsequently be provided to the Administrator not later than the last day of the additional 12 months period to avoid all fees becoming due and payable with the imposition of interest pursuant to the fee waiver Agreement and the provisions of Section 16.100.110.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
Upon verification by the Administrator of receipt of a complete application, the Applicant shall enter into a deferral or waiver Agreement or a single Agreement for both with the County in a form satisfactory to the Administrator and approved by the County Counsel. Such Agreement shall, at a minimum, be site specific and provide for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and shall be recorded with the Sacramento County Recorder's Office. A single Agreement shall be entered into for each project whether or not the Applicant is the same for multiple projects. In addition, the Applicant shall execute a separate subordination agreement for each encumbrance or deed of trust other than one which secures repayment of acquisition or construction financing and other than for a regulatory agreement with a governmental agency for purposes of providing housing for low income households and very low income households existing at the time of execution of the deferral or waiver or deferral and waiver Agreement. Authority to execute these agreements on behalf of the County is hereby delegated to the Administrator, subject to approval of the County Counsel as to form.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
a. 
The total number of fee waivers to be approved by the Municipal Services Agency shall be capped annually at 200 dwelling units or five percent of the number of dwelling units for which residential building permits for new construction were issued in the unincorporated area of the County in the previous fiscal year, whichever is greater. Calculation of the annual number of dwelling units shall be based on the County's fiscal year.
b. 
For purposes of calculation of the cap, the date of the Certification Letter shall determine in which fiscal year the dwelling units for a particular Qualified Residential Project will be included. For the sole purpose of calculation of the cap, SHRA may, with the prior approval of the Administrator, substitute a Certification Letter for a new Qualified Residential Project for another Qualified Residential Project which already has a Certification Letter on file with the Municipal Services Agency only if this substitution occurs prior to the execution of the fee waiver Agreement or fee deferral and waiver Agreement for the Qualified Residential Project already on file with the Municipal Services Agency. No substitutions whatsoever shall occur after execution of the fee waiver Agreement.
c. 
Failure to reach the cap in a particular fiscal year shall not result in a rollover of the surplus dwelling units to the next fiscal year.
d. 
A Qualified Residential Project which does not execute the fee waiver Agreement or fee deferral and waiver Agreement within the fiscal year for which it has qualified under the cap, may, with prior written notification to the Administrator, roll-over the commitment letter until the end of the subsequent fiscal year. The rollover shall not be counted to the subsequent fiscal year calculation of the cap. No additional extensions shall be permitted. Failure of a Qualified Residential Project to execute the waiver Agreement or deferral and waiver Agreement within the extension period of time provided for in this subsection shall result in the purging of the Certification Letter for said project from the Municipal Services Agency files. Ensuing requests for a fee waiver for the same project shall require the re-submittal of new documentation, including a new application and Certification Letter and payment of new application and administrative fees. Re-submittal shall be given no priority over new applications for a fee waiver and shall be subject to the provisions of the cap set forth in this section in the same manner as new applications.
e. 
Failure of a particular Applicant to satisfy the requirements set forth in this section for the Fee Waiver Program subsequent to recordation of a waiver Agreement or deferral and waiver Agreement shall not result in the replacement of those dwelling units into the pool of dwelling units available pursuant to the cap in a particular fiscal year.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
a. 
For Qualified Residential Projects, which have been approved for a deferral of fees pursuant to this chapter, no interest shall accrue during the 24 months immediately following recordation of the Agreement and deed of trust. However, in the event that the Applicant fails to provide the percentage of Low or Very Low income units or rentals as stated in the fee deferral application, an interest penalty equal to the annual rate of interest earned by the Treasurer of the County of Sacramento on the investment of pooled funds on that amount of disqualified deferred fees, computed from the date of recordation of Agreement, shall be assessed and shall be due and payable pursuant to the provisions of the Agreement.
b. 
For Qualified Residential Projects, which have been approved for a waiver of fees or a combination deferral and waiver of fees pursuant to this chapter, no interest shall accrue during the 24 months immediately following recordation of the Agreement and deed of trust. In the event that an Applicant fails to provide the percentage of Low or Very Low income units approved in the fee waiver or fee deferral and waiver application, an interest penalty equal to the annual rate of interest earned by the Treasurer of the County of Sacramento on the investment of pooled funds on that amount of disqualified waived or deferred and waived fees, computed from the date of recordation of the fee waiver Agreement or fee deferral and waiver Agreement and deed of trust, shall be assessed and shall be due and payable pursuant to the provisions of the Agreement.
c. 
If SHRA provides notification to the Administrator not later than the last day of the above-referenced 24-month period that the Qualified Residential Project continues under construction with an estimated completion date within an additional 12 months, the above-referenced 24-month period shall be extended to completion of construction or for an additional 12 months, whichever is earlier.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
Fees which qualify for a fee deferral or waiver or a combination fee deferral and waiver shall not be subject to fee increases which may occur from the date of recordation of the Agreement to the end of the maximum deferral or waiver compliance period permitted under this chapter. However, subsequent applications for the same Qualified Residential Project shall be subject to the fee rate in effect at the time of submittal of the subsequent application.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
A non-refundable fee deferral/waiver application fee as follows is hereby established and shall be paid at the time of application for a fee deferral or fee waiver or fee deferral and waiver pursuant to this chapter for the purpose of funding the costs of administering the fee deferral/waiver program established by this chapter. This fee may from time to time be revised by resolution of the Board of Supervisors to recover costs of administering the program, and the Administrator may utilize an application form combined with other local governmental agencies which have enacted identical or substantially similar programs which are administered by the County and for which County acts as fiscal agent. The fee shall be $1,000 for one governmental agency included in the application, and the fee shall increase $275 for each additional governmental agency included in the application.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)
All costs of recordation of documents required pursuant to this chapter shall be paid by the Applicant.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008)