Walnut Creek is retreating from plans to impose steep increases in its affordable housing impact fees in the wake of serious questions from the city’s Planning Commission and some councilmembers about the impacts on housing costs. The staff report for a joint City Council/Planning Commission inclusionary housing policy hearing on May 11, 2017, contains no call for for impact fee increases. Click here to view the agenda and staff report. PBack in January, city staff recommended hiking the affordable housing impact fee on new residential development by $7 per sq. ft., which would push the rate from $15 per sq. ft. to $22 per sq. ft. However, staff is still asking the City Council to adopt increases in the city’s inclusionary percentages, although at somewhat lower levels than what was proposed in January. As drafted, the moderate income inclusionary percentage would increase from 10 percent to 15 percent; low income from 7 percent to 11 percent; and very low income from 6 percent to 10 percent. (Staff previously recommended increases to 20, 13 and 10 percent, respectively.) A developer would be required to provide units on-site at the percentages identified in one of the three categories or pay the impact fee. For comments or questions, contact BIA’s Lisa Vorderbrueggen at lvorderbrueggen@biabayarea.org or 925-348-1956.
