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HomeMy WebLinkAbout077 - 07/05/2022 - AMENDING CITY CODE TO CREATE AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS FOR AWARDING FEE CREDITS FOR CERTAIN AFFORDABORDINANCE NO.077, 2022 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING ARTICLE VIII OF CHAPTER 7.5 THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO CREATE AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS FOR AWARDING FEE CREDITS FOR CERTAIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS WHEREAS, by adoption of Ordinance No. 065, 1999, the City Council exempted from the imposition of the City's capital improvement expansion fees the land development projects of housing authorities formed pursuant to the provisions of Section 29-4-101, et seq., and specified various other City fees from which such projects are also to be exempted; and WHEREAS, on March 19, 2013, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 037, 2013, which made amendments to the City Code and Land Use Code limiting the types of projects for which housing authorities could request fee waivers, and specifying that those waivers are to be granted at the discretion of City Council upon a determination that proposed waivers will not jeopardize the financial interests of the City or the timely construction of capital improvements to be funded by the fees; and WHEREAS, on November 21, 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 148, 2017, to create an incentive for all developers to provide units affordable to those making less than 30% AMI by amending the City Code and Land Use Code to allow all developers of units targeting that income bracket, not just the housing authority, to request fee waivers for the affordable portion of their projects; and WHEREAS, on November 17, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 137, 2020, eliminating affordable housing fee waivers and instead authorizing a flat, per -unit amount per qualifying affordable unit (a "Credit") that the City can fund and deposit in a trust account owned by the City; and WHEREAS, a developer awarded a credit can then direct that amount to be spent on fee balances owed to the City during the development of the project; and WHEREAS, the City Code as revised in 2020 still requires that the City Council approve a Credit, by ordinance, only if the City Council determines that: (1) the proposed project is intended to house homeless or disabled persons, as such terms are defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or households with an annual income that does not exceed 30% of the area median income (AMI) for the applicable household size in the Fort Collins -Loveland metropolitan statistical area, as published by HUD; and (2) the proposed waiver will not jeopardize the financial interests of the City; and WHEREAS, to make the process of issuing a Credit more efficient for developers and City staff, and in the interests of continuous improvement, City staff is recommending that the City Council amend the City Code to allow staff to award credits through an administrative process, rather than requiring City Council approval by ordinance, when the City Council has already appropriated funds specifically for such Credits; and WHEREAS, a developer would be still be required to request a Credit prior to the City issuing any certificates of occupancy for a project, and City staff would ensure the project meets the affordability requirements for receiving a Credit; and WHEREAS, if the City received a Credit request exceeding the amount of funds already appropriated and available to fund the request, City staff would bring the request to the City Council for consideration, findings, and any necessary appropriation, with approval in the City Council's discretion; and WHEREAS, in the course of preparing this Ordinance, it was noted that Article VIII of Chapter 7.5 also contains a numbering error, which is corrected by the proposed amendments; and WHEREAS, at its regular meeting on May 5, 2022, the Affordable Housing Board voted to support the change to the City Code described in this Ordinance; and WHEREAS, the City Council believes it is in the best interests of the City to amend the City Code accordingly. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings outlined in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That Section 7.5-101 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins "Application for Credit" - is hereby renumbered as Sec. 7.5-102 and amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5-102. - Application for credit. (b) If the City Council has already appropriated funds sufficient and intended for the purpose of providing fee credits for affordable housing under this Article, the City Manager or their designee may approve a credit upon determining that the affordable housing units are intended to house homeless or disabled persons, as such terms are defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or households with an annual income that does not exceed thirty (30) percent of the area median income for the applicable household size in the Fort Collins -Loveland metropolitan statistical area, as published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The City Manager or their designee shall notify the developer in writing whether the project will receive a fee credit. (c) If the City Council has not already appropriated funds sufficient and intended for the purpose of providing fee credits under this Article, the City Council may, by ordinance, -2- appropriate additional funds as necessary and approve a credit if the City Council, in its sole discretion, determines that: (1) the affordable housing units are intended to house homeless or disabled persons, as such terms are defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or households with an annual income that does not exceed thirty (30) percent of the area median income for the applicable household size in the Fort Collins -Loveland metropolitan statistical area, as published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and (2) the proposed credit will not jeopardize the financial interests of the City. Section 3. That Section 7.5-102 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5-103. - Amount of credit and payment process. (b) If the City approves a credit for a project, the City shall deposit a lump sum equal to the total amount of the credit into a trust account held by the City for the benefit of the project developer, from which the developer may direct the City to pay balances due to the City for development review fees and capital expansion fees, except as otherwise expressly prohibited or provided in this Code or other applicable law. (c) If any credit remains unused in the trust account one (1) year after the last certificate of occupancy for the project has been issued, or if construction of the project is not commenced within three (3) years of the effective date of the notice or ordinance approving the credit, then the trust account shall terminate and the remaining credit shall be redeposited in the fund or funds from which the credit was originally paid. -3- Introduced, considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 21st day of June, A.D. 2022, and to be presented for final passage on thA Sth day of July, A.D. 2022. ATTEST: J"- City Clerk Passed and adopted on final ATTEST: City Clerk