Ordinance XX-2022 Page 1 of 4
ORDINANCE NO. XX-2022
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FREMONT AMENDING FREMONT MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 18 PLANNING AND ZONING, CHAPTER 18.155 AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ADDING SECTION 18.155.095 LIVE/WORK LOCAL PREFERENCE AND MAKING FINDINGS OF CEQA EXEMPTION (CEQA GUIDELINES SECTIONS 15162, 15183, AND 15061(b)(3))
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FREMONT DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. FMC § 18.155 AMENDED
Fremont Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 18.155, Affordable Housing is amended as attached (Exhibit A) and as summarized as follows:
Sec. 18.155.095 Title.
This section shall be known as “Live/Work Local Preference.”
SECTION 2. FMC § 18.155 AMENDED
Fremont Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 18.155, Section 18.155.010 is amended as follows:
Sec. 18.155.010 Basis and purposes.
For purposes of this chapter, the following statements are added:
(b) (4) The ability for lower wage workers to live and work in the same city has become increasingly difficult. Local workers that cannot access affordable housing in Fremont face longer, more costly commutes and reduced access to public transit. Additionally, the increased distance between affordable housing and job opportunities contributes to traffic congestion and green-house gas emissions.
(j) The purpose of a local resident preference for affordable housing units is to remedy or mitigate the displacement and gentrification impacts that may result from development activities and increasing job opportunities in a community. A local resident preference is designed to increase the probability that current residents can remain in the community in the face of increasing market rate rents and housing prices and the loss of affordable units due to the expiration of covenants restricting rents. The purpose of a local worker preference for affordable housing units is to maximize the effect of an improved jobs to housing ratio by increasing local housing opportunities for local employees.
(k) The city commissioned the preparation of the City of Fremont Residential Displacement Study report dated June 10, 2021. The report demonstrated that (a) the City of Fremont region has experienced and is at risk of experiencing continued significant displacement of lower- income households; (b) a City of Fremont live/work preference is necessary to prevent additional displacement of lower-income households; (c) a City of Fremont live/work preference will not result in limits to access to housing by any individual protected class; and (d) the lower-income Ordinance XX-2022 Page 2 of 4
population that will be eligible for residency in affordable housing developments is more racially and ethnically diverse than the general population in the area.
Sec. 18.155.020 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following additional definitions shall apply:
(c) “Affordable units” means living units which are required (i) under this chapter, (ii) as a condition of city financing, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to an agreement with the city, to be rented at affordable rents or to be sold at an affordable ownership costs to eligible households; provided that, in the case of city financed projects the definitions of affordable rent, affordable ownership cost, and household income have the equivalent meanings set forth in the documents evidencing city financing.
(k) “Live/work local preference” means a priority which is applied to eligible households who live or work within the city.
SECTION 3. FMC §18.155.095 ADDED
Fremont Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 18.155, Section 18.155.095 is added to read as follows:
18.155.095 Live/Work Local Preference.
(a) The live/work local preference is to be applied when selling or leasing affordable units within rental and ownership projects. “Live/work local preference” and “affordable units” are defined in Section 18.155.020.
(b) An eligible household, as defined in Section 18.155.020, will be determined to live within the city if either of the following are true:
(1) The applicant resides at a residential address that is physically located within the current incorporated area of the city of Fremont. The city may require applicants to submit a driver license, voter registration, utility bill, vehicle registration or other evidence as proof of residency in the city.
(2) If the applicant lacks the resources and support networks to obtain housing and (A) has a nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (including a car, abandoned building, bus or train station, or camping ground) that is physically located within the current incorporated area of the city of Fremont or (B) has a nighttime residence that is a supervised public or privately operated shelter designated to provide living arrangements (including hotels and motels paid for by federal, state or local government programs for low-income individuals or by charitable organizations), congregate shelter, transitional housing, or temporary care facility/institution that is physically located within the current incorporated area of the city of Fremont. The city may require applicants to submit a letter from a homeless service or other social service provider, school enrollment record, vehicle registration, or other evidence as proof of residency in the city.
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(c) An eligible household, as defined in Section 18.155.020, will be determined to work within the city if the applicant is working at least 20 hours or more per week within the incorporated area of the city. This includes applicants who have been hired or have received bona fide work offered in the city. Employment must be by an employer that pays business tax in Fremont, through operation of a city-based business that pays business tax in Fremont. Working in the city does not include self-employment consisting solely of operating a business entity established solely for the purposes of investment in a rental property. (d) The live/work local preference must be applied at both initial occupancy and subsequent sale or rental of affordable housing units during the affordability term. Waiting lists for subsequent rental of an existing affordable unit must be established and periodically updated as approved by the Housing Manager consistent with the preferences and procedures stated herein.
SECTION 4. FMC § 18.155.100 AMENDED
Fremont Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 18.155, Section 18.155.100 is amended to add the following text:
(b) The community development director may adopt guidelines to implement this article.
SECTION 5. CEQA
The City Council determines that this ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per, without limitation, each on a separate and independent basis, (1) CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, as the proposed amendments are part of the project analyzed in the General Plan EIR and none of the circumstances necessitating preparation of a subsequent EIR pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 are present; (2) CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, as a project consistent with the development densities and policies in the general plan and existing zoning and which does not involve any peculiar significant effects that were not previously analyzed or discussed as significant effects in prior EIRs, including the General Plan EIR (SCH#2010082060), Final Supplemental EIR for the Downtown Community Plan (SCH#2010072001 and SCH#2010082060), and the Final EIR for the Warm Springs/South Fremont Community Plan (SCH#2013032062). In addition, there are no previously identified significant effects which are substantially more severe than analyzed in the prior EIRs or cannot be substantially mitigated by the imposition of uniformly applied development policies or standards applied on a citywide basis. Any potential impact of the proposed amendments would be too speculative for reasoned analysis in the absence of specific development proposals. In addition, as a separate and independent basis, the proposed amendments are exempt from CEQA review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) in that the amendments do not have the potential to cause a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 6. SEVERABILITY
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such a decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Fremont hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each section or subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, Ordinance XX-2022 Page 4 of 4
clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall take effect and will be enforced thirty (30) days after its adoption.
SECTION 8. PUBLICATION AND POSTING
The City Clerk has prepared and published at least five days before the date of adoption, this ordinance once in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in Alameda County and circulated in the City of Fremont. A certified copy of the full text of the ordinance was posted in the office of the City Clerk since at least five days before this date of adoption. Within fifteen (15) days after adoption of this ordinance, the City Clerk shall cause the ordinance to be published again with the names of those City Council members voting for and against the ordinance; and the City Clerk shall post in the office of the City Clerk a certified copy of the full text of this adopted ordinance with the names of those City Council members voting for and against the ordinance.
The foregoing ordinance was introduced before the City Council of the City of Fremont at the regular meeting of the City Council, held on the ____ day of_______________, 2022, and finally adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the ____ day of _______________, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
_________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
__________________________________
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________________
City Attorney