The El Cerrito City Council will consider adopting an inclusionary housing ordinance that would impose, for the first time in this city, a requirement that residential developers set aside a percentage of their units for low income families. The draft ordinance recommended by the city’s planning commission requires for-sale residential developers to provide as affordable 12 percent of the project on-site. An in-lieu fee is permitted only for fractional units. Rental residential developers must provide 10 percent of the units on-site or they may pay a $17 per sq. ft. in-lieu fee. BIA|Bay Area East Bay Executive Director of Governmental Affairs Lisa Vorderbrueggen will be requesting, among other things, that the city allow for-sale developers the option to pay the in-lieu fee. Applications deemed complete before the ordinance goes into effect would have two years to pull their building permits before the new fees would go into effect and accessory dwelling units — sometimes called granny flats or in-law units — would be exempt. Click HERE to view the May 1, 2018, agenda, staff report and Keyser Marston Associates Inclusionary Policy Analysis. For questions or comments, contact Vorderbrueggen at lvorderbrueggen@biabayarea.org or 925-348-1956.
