AGENDA DATE: 4/19/2023
TITLE:
Title
Affordable Rental Housing Grant Program
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Public hearing on a proposed ordinance to enable the County to provide grants or loans for the production or repair of affordable housing.
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Rosenberg, Herrick, Dimock, Pethia
PRESENTER (S): Stacy Pethia
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: In April 2019, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) released the Comprehensive Regional Housing Study and Needs Analysis. The report identified the need for an additional 10,070 affordable housing units in Albemarle County by the year 2040.
On July 7, 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved Housing Albemarle, the County's new housing policy, but delayed implementation of the following elements until a package of developer incentives to support the construction of affordable housing was approved and implemented:
1) the increased percentage of affordable housing units in residential developments subject to rezonings or special use permits;
2) the increase in compliance periods for affordable housing units; and
3) the new price levels for both affordable for-sale and for-rent units.
Between June and October 2021, staff held four meetings with members of the developer community to discuss the components of an incentives package to support the provision of Affordable Dwelling Units (ADU) and developers' efforts to meet the County's affordable housing goals.
On February 16, 2022, the Board held a work session to discuss a proposal for an Affordable Housing Overlay. Based on feedback received during the work session, staff determined that an alternative approach to developer incentives was more appropriate.
On May 4, 2022, the Board held a second work session to discuss affordable housing incentive programs. The focus of this work session was on a possible ADU Program ordinance, which cou...
Click here for full text