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9 of 11 • Establishing a clear priority among acceptable forms of alternative compliance, with (from most to least preferred) 1) Alternative configurations, unit types or clustering of units on site; 2) Constructing units off-site; 3) Dedicating land for an affordable housing project; and 4) Paying the Affordable Housing fee. As proposed in the text amendments, applicants are required to demonstrate that a higher-priority option is infeasible, before consideration is made of a lower-priority option. • Criteria for each of the alternative compliance options have been added or strengthened, to ensure that the alternative will continue to meet the purpose of the IZO and policy priorities of the City. In addition, staff recommends removing the option to allow the transfer of excess units as credits since it will help maximize the production of affordable units and avoid administrative complexities in terms of the timing, coordination, and approvals required between the “sending” and “receiving” sites. The City Council was supportive of staff’s recommendation to require City Council approval of any alternative compliance proposal, and to create improved criteria for evaluating such requests. The City Council was also supportive of allowing payment of in-lieu fees to remain an option, but only subject to City Council review and approval rather than the current permissive language. Procedures for Review Among other clarifying provisions, the proposed IZO amendments would allow for affordable housing proposals/agreements in full compliance with the Ordinance (i.e., not requesting alternative compliance or otherwise deviating from the standard) to be approved by the same body responsible for approval of the underlying project. For example, if the project was subject to Planning Commission approval, then a fully compliant affordable housing agreement could also be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission. Such actions would be subject to the typical appeal or “call-up” procedures allowed by the Municipal Code. As noted, any affordable housing agreement proposal involving an alternative compliance request, would be subject to City Council review and approval. In discussion, the City Council supported staff’s proposal, with one Councilmember expressing the opinion that all Affordable Housing Agreements be subject to City Council approval, irrespective of whether or not they included an alternative compliance component. Other Revisions Other revisions, not described in detail above, are included throughout the Ordinance; they generally aim to improve or clarify the language of the ordinance, reduce ambiguity, and/or create more objectivity. Additional revisions beyond those noted in the prior section include: • 17.44.020 – Purpose: Revisions to remove reference to regulatory provisions more appropriately stated elsewhere in the Ordinance. • 17.44.030 – Definitions: Revisions to the definitions section to align and update the definitions to terms used in the Ordinance, current practices, and other related regulatory requirements. • 17.44.050 – Inclusionary Unit Provisions and Specifications: In addition to the changes described above, other revisions in this section would add more specificity or