This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Offset of Certain Impact Fees for Affordable Housing Projects."
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; SCC 1753, 3/11/2025)
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 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 offsetting payment of certain fees for very low to low income households. To incentivize the construction of specified affordable housing projects, the Board of Supervisors established on September 24, 2024 a three-year pilot program to offset certain impact fees, as more particularly described in this chapter. The Board of Supervisors finds that the offset of impact fees are 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; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; SCC 1753, 3/11/2025)
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 impact fees shall be collected, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter:
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;
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1673 § 5, 2021; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025)
a.
"Agency Administrator" means the Deputy County Executive of the Community Services Agency or his or her designee.
d.
"Agreement" means the offset agreement as described in Section 16.100.080 of this chapter.
e.
"Applicant" means the owner or owners of record of the real property within Sacramento County for which a fee offset is sought pursuant to this chapter.
f.
"Certification Letter" means a written certification from the Housing Administrator that a project is a Qualified Residential Project.
g.
"Housing Administrator" means an entity such as SHRA that is authorized to certify and administer affordable housing programs within Sacramento County.
h.
"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.
i.
"Qualified Residential Project" means, a residential development project where units provide Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low Income Households to Low Income Households.
j.
"Release from the Housing Administrator" means a written release, submitted by the Housing Administrator to the Agency Administrator which (1) verifies that the buyer or renter has met the income qualifications as set forth in this chapter; 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.
k.
"SHRA" means the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; SCC 1753, 3/11/2025)
Prior history: SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; repealed by SCC 1753, 3/11/2025.
a.
Very Low to Low Income Households.
Only a Qualified Residential Project which a Certification Letter indicates includes units with Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low to Low Income Households shall be eligible for offset of any of those fees enumerated in Section 16. 100. 030 that are funded by the County pursuant to this section. Said fees shall be offset for the Qualified Residential Project and funded by the County using funding sources approved by the Board by Resolution, which Resolution may be amended from time to time. The Certification Letter shall specify the Very Low to Low Income percentage for each individual project and shall be included in the fee offset application prior to acceptance thereof.
b.
Security—Deed of Trust.
Security shall be required for fee offset applications for the sole purpose of ensuring a method of recovery of those fees offset, in the event a residential development project fails to provide the percentages of Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low to Low Income Households for which a fee offset 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 against all parcels of record for which a fee offset is requested pursuant to this chapter. The promissory note and deed of trust shall be in a form satisfactory to the Agency 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 Agency Administrator and upon execution and recordation of the fee offset 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 offset agreement.
c.
Pilot Program and Programmatic Restrictions.
All fee offset applications shall be subject to the cap provisions and programmatic restrictions, if any, established by the Board for the initial three- year pilot program and subsequent program years by Resolution, which Resolution may be amended from time to time. No fee offset applications will be accepted if the relevant cap has been reached for the fiscal year in which a fee offset application is submitted. No waiting lists shall be maintained by the Community Development Agency.
d.
Other Requirements.
All of the following requirements must be satisfied prior to approval of a fee offset:
(1)
Submittal to the County, consistent with written policies, procedures, and regulations issued by the Agency Administrator from time to time, 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 an offset 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 the Housing Administrator. 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 the Housing Administrator.
f.
Failure to Provide Very Low or Low Income Housing.
Notification to the Agency Administrator by Housing Administrator of failure of any single or multi -family residential project to provide the Affordable Rents or Affordable Housing Costs for Very Low to Low Income Households for which a fee offset was sought pursuant to this chapter shall result in the imposition of interest penalties calculated from the date of recordation of the offset 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 offset agreement.
g.
Fee Offset Non-Transferable.
The offset and subsequent funding of impact fees 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.
Fee Offset Compliance Period (24 Months).
A fee offset shall be valid for a maximum 24 months from the date of recordation of the offset agreement and deed of trust. If the Agency 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 offset agreement and shall be subject to the interest provisions of Section 16.100.110:(1) a Release from the Housing Administrator, or (2) notification from the Housing Administrator that the Qualified Residential Project continues to be under construction with an estimated completion date within an additional 12 month period. If the latter notification from the Housing Administrator is provided to the Agency Administrator, a Release from the Housing Administrator must subsequently be provided to the Agency 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 offset 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 fee offset is sought pursuant to this chapter. The tentative or final subdivision or parcel map shall be submitted with the fee offset 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 Agency 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 offset 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 Agency 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 offset application for the entire single-family Qualified Residential Project and the accompanying Certification Letter is not increased or decreased.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025)
Prior history: SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; repealed by SCC 1753, 3/11/2025.
Upon verification by the Agency Administrator of receipt of a complete application, the Applicant shall enter into an offset agreement with the County in a form satisfactory to the Agency 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 offset agreement. Authority to execute these agreements on behalf of the County is hereby delegated to the Agency Administrator, subject to approval of the County Counsel as to form.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; SCC 1753, 3/11/2025)
a.
The total number of fee offsets to be approved by the Agency Administrator in any given year, along with the sources of funding for such offsets, shall be established by the Board by Resolution, which Resolution may be amended from time to time.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025)
a.
For Qualified Residential Projects which have been approved for an offset of fees funded by the County, no interest shall accrue during the 24 months immediately following recordation of the relevant fee offset agreement and deed of trust. In the event that an Applicant fails to provide the percentage of Low or Very Low Income Household units approved in the fee offset, 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 offset fees, computed from the date of recordation of the fee offset agreement, shall be assessed and shall be due and payable pursuant to the provisions of the relevant agreement.
b.
If the Housing Administrator provides notification to the Agency Administrator no later than the last day of the above-referenced 24-month period that the Qualified Residential Project continues to be 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; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; SCC 1753, 3/11/2025)
Impact fees which qualify for a fee offset, shall not be subject to impact fee increases which may occur from the date of recordation of the relevant fee offset agreement to the end of the maximum offset compliance period permitted under this chapter. However, subsequent applications for the same Qualified Residential Project shall be subject to the applicable impact fee rate in effect at the time of submittal of the subsequent application.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; SCC 1753, 3/11/2025)
A non-refundable fee offset application fee set forth by Resolution shall be paid at the time of application for a fee offset pursuant to this chapter for the purpose of funding the costs of administering the fee offset program established herein. This fee may from time to time be revised by Resolution of the Board to recover the reasonable costs of administering the programs, and the Agency Administrator may utilize an application form combined with those utilized by other local governmental agencies which have enacted identical or substantially similar programs that are administered by the County and for which County acts as fiscal agent.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025; SCC 1753, 3/11/2025)
All costs of recordation of documents required pursuant to this chapter shall be paid by the Applicant.
(SCC 1399 § 8, 2008; SCC 1748, 1/7/2025)