DATE: 09/18/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
2024-16
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING DENSITY BONUS AGREEMENT 2023-0001 FOR 35 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNITS PROPOSED ON 9.33 ACRES LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF GARRETSON AVENUE, APPROXIMATELY 530 FEET SOUTH OF SANTANA WAY IN THE R-1-20 AND R-1-14.4 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONES (APN: 120- 020-022) (APPLICANT: WARMINGTON RESIDENTIAL)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Affordable Housing Density Bonus Agreement 2023-0001 (AHDB2023-0001) for the development of 35 single family residential units associated with Tentative Tract Map 38495. AHDB2023-0001 accommodates the development of 33 single family units at market rate and two single family residential units at very low income. The density bonus agreement allows the applicant to exceed the maximum residential density of 3 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) to 3.75 du/ac in addition to the waiver of certain development standards to accommodate the development of very low-income housing units.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration with the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and approve Affordable Housing Density Bonus Agreement 2023-0001 as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission. b. Authorize the City Manager to execute the Affordable Housing Density Bonus Agreement between the City of Corona and Warmington Residential. c. Notwithstanding Corona Municipal Code 17.87.090, direct the Affordable Housing Density Bonus Agreement to be recorded in the Official Records of the County of Riverside before the recordation of Tentative Tract Map 38495.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The applicant is proposing to construct 35 single family residential units on 9.33 acres intended for single family residential. The zoning of the project site consists of the R-1- 20 zone on 2.33 acres and the R-1-14.4 zone on 7 acres. The R-1-20 zone requires a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet and the R-1-14.4 zone requires a minimum lot size of 14,400 square feet.
The project is defined as an affordable housing development per Chapter 17.87 of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC) and State Density Bonus Law [SDBL, Government Code § 65915] because two of the single-family residential units are set aside for very low income. Section 17.87.020 of the CMC defines an affordable unit as “a dwelling unit within a household development, which will be reserved for sale, at an affordable housing cost, or rent, at an affordable rent, to a lower income household, a very low income household, a moderate income household, or a qualifying resident pursuant to the requirements of this chapter (Chapter 17.87 of the CMC) and the State Density Bonus Law.”
Under the State Density Bonus Law, the development is eligible for a density bonus and/or other benefits including waivers of the city’s residential development standards established by the CMC. The applicant is required to enter into a density bonus housing agreement with the City, which is the mechanism that ensures the two residential units remain affordable according to the density and benefits that are being granted by the City.
Two separate applications associated with the affordable housing density bonus agreement include Tentative Tract Map 38495 (TTM 38495) and Precise Plan 2023-0009 (PP2023-0009). TTM 38495 subdivides the 9.33 acres into 35 single family residential lots and PP2023-0009 shows the site plan and architecture of the residential units.
The Planning and Housing Commission at its meeting on August 26, 2024, approved AHDB2023-0001.
ANALYSIS:
AHDB2023-0001 outlines the requested waivers, identification of the affordable units, construction schedule, annual reporting and other pertinent language such as the term of the agreement, which is 45 years from the date of occupancy. The following summarizes the salient sections within the agreement.
Affordable Units
The affordable units subject to this agreement are identified as Lots 14 and 27 of TTM 38495. The future single family residential units on these lots will be set aside for very low income.
Density Bonus
The Corona General Plan allows a maximum density of 3 du/ac, which allows 28 residential units on the project site (9.33 acres x 3 dwelling units/acre). The applicant is proposing six percent of the total units for very low income, which is two units. Because six percent of the total units are set aside for very low income, the state’s density bonus law allows a 22.5 percent increase in density (“density bonus”) which equates to seven additional units on top of the 28 units, allowing 35 total units. The density bonus is identified under section 2.4 of the agreement.
Concession and Waivers
Because the project is providing six percent of the total units at very low income, the developer is allowed one concession, which can be a reduction in site development standards or architectural design requirements. Additionally, the developer is allowed an unlimited number of development standard waivers. The project is subject to the development standards of the R-1-20 and R-1-14.4 zones. The applicant is proposing several waivers that will reduce or modify certain development standards in order to build the affordable housing project at the density proposed. Section 2.4 of the agreement identifies the waivers which the applicant is seeking from the city.
Development Standard Waiver
CMC § 17.11.060, minimum lot size of
20,000 square feet.
Lot 1: 19,674 square feet in size.
Lots 17 - 21, and 33 - 35 range from 7,350
to 8,583 square feet in size.
CMC § 17.20.060, minimum lot size of
14,400 square feet.
Lots 6 - 16 and Lots 22 - 32 range from
7,350 to 12,091 square feet in size.
CMC § 17.11.070(A), minimum lot width of
100 feet.
Lots 17 - 21 and 33 - 35 range from 70 to
75 feet in width.
CMC § 17.20.070(A), minimum lot width of
90 feet.
Lots 6 - 16 and Lots 22 - 32 range from 70
to 80.7 feet in width.
CMC § 17.11.070(B), minimum lot depth
of 150 feet.
Lot 1: 110.36 feet in depth.
Lots 17 and 18, and 33 - 35: 105 feet in
depth.
Lots 19 - 21: 110 feet in depth.
CMC § 17.11.100(B)(1), minimum front
yard setback of 25 feet.
Lot 1: 20 foot front yard setback.
Lots 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, and 33 - 35:
15 foot front yard setback (to side-on living
area).
Development Standard Waiver
CMC § 17.20.100(B)(1), minimum front
yard setback of 25 feet.
Lots 6 and 8: 16 feet
Lots 7, 9, 11-16, 22-28, 29-32 and 21 - 33:
15 foot front yard setback (to side-on living
area).
Lots 2-4: 20 foot front yard setback.
CMC § 17.11.100(C)(1), minimum side
yard setback of 10 feet on one side.
Lots 21 – 34: 5 foot side yard setback.
Lots 17 and 20-33: 8 foot side yard
setback.
CMC § 17.20.100(C)(1), minimum side
yard of 10 feet on one side.
Lots 8, 23, 27, and 30 – 32: 5 foot side yard
setback.
Lots 6, 7, 9, 11-16, 22, 24-26, and 31: 8
foot side yard setback.
CMC § 17.11.100(C)(2), minimum street
side yard of 15 feet.
Lots 19 and 35: 10 foot street side yard
setback.
CMC § 17.20.100(C)(5), minimum side
yard setback of 25 feet on reverse corner
lot.
Lot 28: 8.34 feet side yard setback.
Lot 26: 18.54 feet side yard setback.
CMC § 17.11.120, maximum lot coverage
of 30 percent for two-story buildings.
Lots 18, 21, 33, and 34: 35 percent lot
coverage.
CMC § 17.20.120, maximum lot coverage
of 30 percent for two-story buildings.
Lots 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 23, 27, 30, 31, and
32: 35 percent lot coverage.
CMC § 17.04.358(A), minimum 20,000
square foot lot size for a flag lot.
Lot 10: 12,091.91 square foot lot size.
CMC § 17.04.358, minimum access
corridor length of 80 feet for a flag lot.
Lot 10: 43 foot access corridor depth.
CMC § 16.08.020, minimum lot width at
property line of 45 feet on knuckles or
curved streets.
Lot 5: 27.43 foot lot width at property line.
Lot 11: 30.56 foot lot width at property line.
City’s Residential Design Guideline §
4.1.B.5.a, minimum garage setback of 15
ft from the front of the dwelling.
Reduced to 2 feet along the front of the
dwelling and eliminated from Plans 2 and
2R, where the one-car garage extends
past the front of the dwelling.
City’s Residential Design Guideline §
4.2.B.8, avoid the placement of two, twostory elements directly adjacent to one another.
Allow two, two story elements adjacent to
one another and no reverse plans for Lots
6 – 35.
City Standard Plan Number 110 (Private
Residential Street), minimum overall rightof-way width of 56 feet (10 foot wide sidewalk/landscaping parkway on each
side of the street) with a roadway width of
36 feet.
Private street with an overall right-of-way
width of 46 feet (5 foot wide sidewalk
parkway on each side of the street) with a
roadway width of 36 feet.
Construction of Affordable Units
Per Section 3.4, the affordable units shall be constructed concurrently with or prior to the other residential units in the project, and the applicant shall not receive certificates of occupancy for more than twenty percent (20%) of the market rate residential units in the project, if any, prior to receiving a certificate of occupancy for fifty percent (50%) of the affordable units, and shall not receive certificates of occupancy for more than seventy percent (70%) of the market rate residential units in the project, if any, prior to receiving a certificate occupancy for the remaining fifty percent (50%) of the affordable units. The agreement further stipulates that the affordable units be dispersed throughout the project site.
Other Terms and Conditions
Terms and conditions of the agreement include, but are not limited to, the following:
The term of the agreement is 45 years from project’s occupancy date. The city has the right to inspect the affordable units and documents. The agreement runs with the land for 45 years.
Before the close of escrow for each affordable unit, the applicant shall require the purchaser of the affordable unit, for itself, its successors, assignees and affiliates, to execute a covenant or agreement, restricting the unit to the terms of affordability. The agreement establishes policies and criteria for purchaser selection and income verification.
The applicant is required to prepare and maintain complete and accurate project records for so long as this agreement remains in effect. The applicant shall, at all times following the initial sale of the affordable units, maintain, safe and intact, all of the project records for a period of not less than six (6) years from the generation of such project records.
The agreement shall be implemented and utilized within 24 months of the effective date of the agreement or within the time limit that applies to the project’s associated entitlements (TTM 38495 and PP2023-0009), whichever is longer.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fee of $1,507 to cover the cost of the Affordable Housing Density Bonus Agreement.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Section 15070(b) of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 6.02 of the City’s Local Guidelines, a Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared for the project since the Initial Study identified that the project’s potentially significant effects to the environment are capable of being mitigated to less than significant. Therefore, based on the project’s mitigation measures and mitigation monitoring and reporting program identified in the Mitigated Negative Declaration, there is no substantial evidence, in light of the whole record before the City, that the project may have a significant or potentially significant effect on the environment.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of August 26, 2024, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Siqueland/Longwell) and carried with Chair Woody voting “No”, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan and approval of AHDB2023-0001 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Commissioner Siqueland also noted in his motion that given the complexity of the state density bonus law, is this application consistent with the law as intended and wanted the City Council to be aware of the concerns discussed by the Planning Commission in deciding on this application. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 5.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Affordable Housing Density Bonus Agreement
2. Exhibit 2 – Locational and zoning map
3. Exhibit 3 – Site plan
4. Exhibit 4 – Planning and Housing Commission staff report
5. Exhibit 5 – Draft minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 26, 2024