REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Agreement with HouseKeys, Inc. for Administration Services for the Below Market Price Purchase Program
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote and Enhance Economic, Housing and Transportation Development
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara has operated a Below-Market Price Purchase (BMP) Program since 1995 to assist low and moderate-income families with achieving the goal of homeownership and to fulfill State mandates to produce housing for all income levels within Santa Clara. The City's BMP Program is administered by the City's Housing and Community Services Division in the Community Development Department, with certain functions delegated under a service contract to an outside entity.
In February 2015, the California Department of Housing and Community Development determined that the City's Housing Element complies with state law. The Housing Element includes an affordable housing policy that requires "developers of residential developments of 10 or more units to provide at least 10 percent of their units at prices affordable to very low, low and moderate-income households." Specifically, under this policy, housing developers building for-sale units were required to designate at least 10 percent of the total units in an approved project as BMP units to be sold to qualified buyers.
Through the adoption of the City's Affordable Housing Ordinance in February 2018, the City's inclusionary requirement for homeownership projects increased from 10 to 15 percent. The new requirements expanded the production of affordable units through inclusionary requirements for both rental and for-sale residential projects and through the collection of impact fees for smaller projects and nonresidential projects. The Ordinance is intended to provide both a steady stream of inclusionary affordable housing units and revenue to fund the provision of affordable housing projects across the City.
DISCUSSION
In September 2020, the City's Finance Dep...
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