Department of Utilities and Community Development
Reference: Fee-in-Lieu of Water Dedication for Affordable Housing Projects
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez - City Manager
Prepared By: Scott Olsen - Director of Utilities
Holly Prather - Director of Community Development
Date Prepared: April 8, 2024
PURPOSE
To have the City Council review and consider adoption of an ordinance at a future City Council meeting allowing affordable housing projects to pay a fee-in-lieu of water dedication.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
City staff received input from City Council on the allowance for affordable housing projects to pay a fee-in-lieu of water dedication (FIL) at the October 10, 2023, City Council Study Session. Staff feels it is appropriate, based on the feedback received, to draft an ordinance allowing affordable housing projects the ability to pay FIL.
City staff also worked with a consultant to finalize the Brighton Housing Needs and Incentive Strategies Assessment (Housing Needs Assessment) in October of 2023. The Housing Needs Assessment found, "Smaller-scale housing developers that do not typically have the time, resources, working capital, or financial backing to acquire water and improve off-site infrastructure prior to vertical construction - such as affordable projects, capitalized primarily with Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and other public subsidies are especially impacted by the water and infrastructure requirements." Therefore, the City should, "[s]pecifically consider or review the following: the city's water resource policy that requires a minimum dedication of 0.27-acre-feet of water for each multi-family housing unit (and much higher for single-family units) and identify if the city could be in a better position to more cost effectively obtain and maintain water rights that could be used to serve developments geared toward smaller and affordable housing ...
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