P-0320 - Impact Fee Reimbursement Policy for Affordable Housing 03-04-1998-9a

Browse Search

POLICY FOR INSERTION INTO THE POLICY MANUAL MEETING DATE: March 4, 1998 NUMBER: A:0320 EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1995 REVISIONS: April 1, 1997 March 4, 1998 Policy: Impact Fee Reimbursement Policy For Affordable Housing Elisibility Criteria: 1. A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization which (1) develops affordable housing for first-time homebuyers with incomes at or below 80% of the HUD published area median income for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina MSA, or (2) develops affordable rental housing for persons with incomes at or below 60% of the HUD published area median income for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina MSA. 2. Affordable Housing is defined as (1) owner-occupied housing which can be purchased for no more than 2.5 times annual family income, or (2) rental housing for which the occupant pays no more than 30% of gross income for all housing costs, including utilities. 3. An organization requesting impact fee reimbursement must certify in writing that, for owner-occupied housing, it will remain affordable to the anticipated beneficiary or beneficiaries for a period of a minimum of twenty (20) years or at least as long as required by applicable HUD policy. For rental housing, the certification period is ninety-nine (99) years. The rental housing certification must be secured by a "deed covenant," requiring repayment to Orange County of the impact fee if the rental housing does not remain affordable during the period of affordability, which covenant will be further secured by a note and deed of trust. Evidence must be provided that agency and/or program guidelines are in place to assure affordability compliance. Procedure• 1. An organization requesting impact fee reimbursement must anticipate reimbursement needs for a given fiscal year and submit a request for fee reimbursement at the time for submission of the County's annual budget, non- departmental funding request. Further, at no time should an organization presume impact fee reimbursement, and in particular, presume a lump sum reimbursement payment or total reimbursement payment in one fiscal year. Therefore, the cost of impact fees should be considered when developing housing development projects and should be included in all grant and loan applications.