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<br /> <br />Page 6 of 8 <br />individual, or a non-profit organization which would then lease the units to income-qualified <br />tenants. As is the case with deed-restricted for-sale units, the purchase price is established <br />based on a variety of factors including the equivalent household income limits established <br />by Alameda County and total housing costs as a proportion of that income.2 <br /> <br />The for-sale option is encompassed in the AHA, Section 5 and Attachment 4. <br /> <br />Staff proposes that the Commission find that the AHA for Alternative 1, the 57-unit project, <br />would meet the requirements of the IZO and recommend approval to the City Council. <br /> <br />Alternative 2, as described above, is an alternative version of the project with changes made <br />in an effort to voluntarily address some of the concerns raised by neighbors with respect to <br />Alternative 1, the 57-unit project. <br /> <br />In conjunction with Alternative 2, because the project would yield fewer units, the applicant <br />has modified the proposed inclusionary units to include 8 for-sale one-bedroom units, and for <br />those units to be deed-restricted to moderate income (120% AMI) households . 55 units <br />would require the provision of 8.25 inclusionary units, and the applicant is also proposing to <br />pay $77,228, which is an approximation of the construction cost of the fractional 0.25 unit. <br /> <br /> <br />Analysis of AHA for Proposed 55-Unit Project Alternative 2 <br />As noted, the IZO requires multi-family projects with 15 or more units to provide 15% on- <br />site inclusionary units affordable to very low or low income (50% to 80% AMI) households. <br />While the unit count would meet the 15% requirement, the units are proposed as moderate <br />income (120% AMI) units, and thus do not fit the income categories specified by the IZO. <br /> <br />The IZO does have provisions for creative ways to meet the purpose of the IZO. The <br />developer has cited Section 17.44.080 of IZO – Alternatives to Constructing Inclusionary <br />Units On-Site, which states, as follows: “The primary emphasis of this inclusionary zoning <br />ordinance is to achieve the inclusion of affordable housing units to be constructed in <br />conjunction with market rate units within the same project in all new residential projects. <br />However, the city acknowledges that it may not always be practical to require that every <br />project satisfy its affordable housing requirement through the construction of affordable <br />units within the project itself. Therefore, the requirements of this chapter may be satisfied <br />by various methods other than the construction of inclusionary units on the project site. <br />Some examples of alternate methods of compliance appear below [off-site projects, land <br />dedication, credit transfers, alternative methods of compliance, and lower income housing <br />fee option]. As housing market conditions change, the city may need to allow alternatives to <br />provide options to applicants to further the intent of providing affordable housing with new <br />development projects.” <br /> <br />Pursuant this section, the applicant has indicated their proposal would be allowable under <br />subsection D, of Section 17.44.080, which states that “Alternate Methods of Compliance. <br />Applicants may propose creative concepts for meeting the requirements of this chapter, in <br />order to bring down the cost of providing inclusionary units, whether on-site or off-site. The <br /> <br />2 The estimated initial sales price for-sale cost is approximately $243,000 for a low income unit and $433,000 for a <br />moderate income unit, although the exact figure would vary based on income limits and other factors, to be <br />determined at the time of sale or re-sale.