March 26, 2019
Incentives for Affordable Housing
On March 19 the City Council gave final approval to an ordinance amending Longmont’s Municipal Code regarding affordable housing development incentives. The Council revised the incentives to align them with the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (IHO) passed in December 2018.
The ordinance is now consistent with the provisions of the IHO. In order to be eligible for incentives, a development must meet the requirements of the IHO, that is, 12 percent of the total units must be deed-restricted as affordable units for residents making 80 percent or less of the average median income (AMI) for units that are sold. Rental units must be affordable to residents making 60 percent or less of the AMI.
The incentives will only apply to affordable homes, not the entire development. Incentives include greater density and height limits, as well as reductions in lot size, width, and parking requirements. There was no discussion before the Council unanimously approved the ordinance.
Impact Fee Deferral
An ordinance that will allow developers to defer the payment of some capital expansion (impact) fees was unanimously approved on March 19 without any discussion. Developers will be allowed to pay the capital expansion fees when the certificate of occupancy is issued, if they choose, rather than having to pay the fees in advance.
The fee deferral includes water, sewer, Windy Gap, electric, park, transportation, and storm drainage, which account for more than 60 percent of the fees collected on new residential development, according to staff. The advantage for developers is that they will not have to carry the financial cost of the fees, which total thousands of dollars per unit.
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