§ 4.54.220. Eligible expenditures.

The City's affordable housing bond funds may be spent on the acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation, and/or new construction of affordable housing as set forth in this Chapter. The California Constitution provides that general obligation bonds may only be used to finance the acquisition or improvement of real property. Financing equipment, supplies, routine maintenance, or ongoing operations is not permitted.

The City may use the affordable housing bond funds designated for affordable housing projects directly to acquire, rehabilitate, preserve or construct affordable housing, or indirectly as loans, grants, or other disbursements to qualified individuals, business entities, or government agencies for such affordable housing projects. The City shall adopt policies that prohibit discrimination against households with Section 8 assistance, and that reduce barriers for formerly incarcerated people and people who are undocumented in order to improve the housing stock to habitability and health and safety standards.

The following activities shall be eligible uses of the City's affordable housing bond funds:

1.

Protect existing homes (rental).

• Purchase and/or rehabilitate rental properties that are currently affordable to lower income households because of their age, declining condition, or location, and establish long-term affordability requirements.

• Acquire and/or rehabilitate rental properties that have expiring subsidy contracts or regulatory agreements making them high-risk for conversion to market rents, and extend or establish long-term affordability requirements.

2.

Protect existing homes (home ownership).

• Acquire and/or rehabilitate unrestricted for-sale housing and ensure long-term affordability through shared equity models such as deed restrictions and community land trusts.

3.

Protect existing homes (rental or ownership).

• Finance the acquisition and/or rehabilitation of vacant or blighted properties to address health and safety concerns, correct code violations, and return uninhabitable properties to the City's housing stock as long-term affordable housing.

• Support the purchase of tax-defaulted properties from Alameda County for use as long-term affordable housing.

4.

Homeowner assistance.

• Assist lower income, senior, and/or disabled homeowners living in hazardous housing conditions and/or at risk of losing their homes due to deferred maintenance with improvements to their units.

5.

New construction (rental or ownership).

• Finance the site acquisition, predevelopment, development and construction of new affordable rental or homeownership housing (subject to restrictions and priorities set forth elsewhere in this Chapter).

(Ord. No. 13403, § 2, 11-29-2016)