El Cerrito is expected to finalize its inclusionary housing ordinance this week and adopt regulations that will, for the first time in this city, require developers to set aside a percentage of their units for low income families. The regulation 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 argued that El Cerrito did not need an inclusionary policy as it was already out-performing all five cities used in the fee comparison survey and that making it more expensive to build housing will lead to less, not more, production of new homes. Click HERE to read BIA’s letter of May 1, 2018. BIA also requested -- unsuccessfully -- that the city allow for-sale developers the option to pay the in-lieu fee. Applications deemed complete before the ordinance goes into effect will 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. The ordinance will go into effect in mid-June. Click HERE to view the May 1, 2018, agenda, staff report and Keyser Marston Associates Inclusionary Policy Analysis. Click HERE to view the ordinance on the consent calendar for the meeting on May 15, 2018. For questions or comments, contact Vorderbrueggen at lvorderbrueggen@biabayarea.org or 925-348-1956.