§ 15.72.020. Findings.

A.

The City of Oakland conducted a nexus study that examined the link between new market-rate residential development, the growth of employment associated with the consumer expenditures of new residents, and the demand for affordable housing to accommodate the new worker households in Oakland. According to the nexus study, new development of market-rate single-family housing, townhome housing, and multi-family housing supports growth of consumer expenditures by new homebuyer and renter households.

B.

Growth of household consumer expenditures supports job growth and new employment opportunities in Oakland.

C.

New employment opportunities will attract new workers to Oakland.

D.

Many of those new workers will seek housing and choose to live in Oakland.

E.

Many of those new worker households will qualify as moderate, low, and very low income households and will increase the demand for affordable housing in Oakland, particularly since the increase in jobs is generally in the lower-wage-paying sectors such as retail trade and services.

F.

Expansion of the supply of affordable housing will require funding to bridge the "gap" between the costs of developing new affordable housing and what new moderate- and lower-income households can afford to pay.

G.

The nexus study established maximum legal affordable housing impact fees per unit based on the level of impacts on the need for affordable housing from various types of market-rate housing development project based on the average affordability gap per new market-rate unit built. The impact fees imposed under this Chapter are lower than the maximum legal fees documented in the nexus study.

H.

Through the payment of the fee, developers of market-rate housing will address at least a portion of the impact of their developments on the need for affordable housing. Revenue from the fees will be used to preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing in Oakland.

I.

The affordable housing impact fee imposed under this Chapter serve the public interest and is necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of Oakland.

(Ord. No. 13365, § 4, 5-3-2016)