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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA RES 484RESOLUTION NO. 484 A RESOLUTION OF THE PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APPROVING OCCUPANCY STANDARDS FOR ALLOCATING RESIDENTIAL UNITS OWNED BY THE AGENCY THROUGH ITS LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSING PROGRAM NOW, THEREFORE, THE PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY HEREBY FINDS, DETERMINES, RESOLVES AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency (the "Agency") owns a significant number of residential units in the City of Palm Desert, California (the "Agency Units"), which it sells or leases to qualified families as part of the Agency's Low and Moderate Income Housing Program (the "Program") pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law of California. Section 2. The Agency wishes to prevent Agency Units from becoming overcrowded in violation of the Uniform Housing Code as adopted by California Health and Safety Code §17922 as additional residents move in or families become too large for their existing apartments. Such overcrowding can pose a threat to the health and safety of residents, lead to parking and traffic congestion, overburden waste and sewer disposal systems and increase the financial burden on and other public use facilities in the City. Section 3. In addition, the Agency has a limited budget for the Program. As a result, the Agency does not want to waste resources or underutilize Agency Units by placing families in larger Agency Units than are necessary. Section 4. The Agency wishes to adopt a policy that establishes standards for the allocation of all Agency Units in the Program in order to allow the Agency to prevent overcrowding and to minimize underutilization in the sale or leasing of Agency Units that are too large or too small for the contemplated families. Section 5. The policy will be applied as Agency Units are allocated to purchasers and new tenants, and to existing tenants as their leases expire if they seek new leases. Section 6. The Agency hereby approves the "Policy on Occupancy Standards for the Allocation of Agency Units" attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by this reference, and the Executive Director of the Agency is G.\RDA\Maria Hunt \WPDATAymoore\Resoluhon -- Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency Occ Stnd DOC RESOLUTION NO. 484 hereby authorized and directed, for and in the name and on behalf of the Agency, to undertake such actions as he or she deems necessary to implement the Allocation Standards for purchasers and new tenants, and existing tenants as their existing leases expire and they seek new lease terms. PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 23rd day of October, 2003, by the following vote to wit: AYES: CRITES, KELLY, SPIEGEL, BENSON NOES: NONE ABSENT: FERGUSON ABSTAIN: NONE M. Benson, Chairperson ATTEST: R the le D. -ass-en, ecretary ' — 2 G:\RDA\Maria Hunt\WPDATA\jmoore\Rcsolution -- Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency Occ Stnd.DOC P6402/( EXHIBIT A TO RESOLUTION 484 POLICY ON OCCUPANCY STANDARDS FOR THE ALLOCATION OF AGENCY UNITS 1. Purpose. The purpose of this policy is to establish priorities for the allocation of residential units owned by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Palm Desert (the "Agency') and sold or leased, by the Agency or the Palm Desert Housing Authority ("Authority"), as part of the Agency's Low and Moderate Income Housing Program (the "Program") in order to minimize underutilization and overcrowding of such units in violation of the Uniform Housing Code and to prevent the waste of scarce affordable housing resources which results when units are allocated that are too large or too small for the family of the tenant. 2. Definitions. For the purpose of this policy, the following definitions shall be used: a. "Agency Units" means the units sold or leased by the Agency as part of its Program pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law of the State of California ("Redevelopment Law"). b. "Authority Units" means the units leased and operated by the Authority for the benefit of the Agency. c. "Eligible Families" means families whose total household income does not exceed the limits established for the Program and Redevelopment Law for families of very low, low and moderate income, adjusted for family size. d. "Executive Director" shall mean the Executive Director of the Agency, or his or her designee. e. "Household" shall mean the total number of Persons defined in 2.g. f. "Housing Commission" shall mean the Palm Desert Housing Commission established by the City Council on January 8, 1998 by Ordinance No. 861. g. "Person" means (i) every person with satisfactory identification, regardless of age, who is an intended resident occupant of an Agency Unit during the lease term, including minor children whose parent or legal guardian has court -awarded physical custody of at least 50% and (ii) unborn children at 30 weeks gestation, but only where the addition of one child would cause the unit to exceed the maximum in this policy. Minor children whose parent or legal guardian has court awarded custody of less than 50% will be allowed to occupy the unit during custody visits but will not be counted as a person in determining the unit size to be allocated. h. "Visitor" means a person who temporarily resides in a unit for a period of Tess than 30 days per calendar year, only fourteen of which may be consecutive. The exception are minor children whose parent or legal guardian have court awarded custody of less than 50% who would not be considered a visitor but rather allowed occupancy as noted under 2.g. Any person not included in the lease and occupying the unit for longer than 30 days per calendar year will be considered an unauthorized occupant and a violation of the lease agreement. 'Waiting Lists" shall mean lists maintained by the Agency for the purposes of providing affordable housing at each affordable level, for both sale or leasing purposes. 2. Allocation of Units. Agency Units that become available for sale or lease to new Eligible Families or that are occupied by Eligible Families with expiring leases who wish to enter into a new lease will be sold or Page 1 of 3 Ci \.RDA Janet Monre\titall Reports'.Palm Dc,ert Affordable 'lousing Allocation Policy DO(' EXHIBIT A TO RESOLUTION 484 leased in accordance with the minimum and maximum occupancy standards below. When a unit becomes available, an Eligible Family will be selected from the applicable waiting list based first on appropriate family size for the unit (within the minimums and maximums below), second on the ability to pay the rent or conventional mortgage (consistent with the requirements of the Program). In the event that there is a unit available and there are no Eligible Families of appropriate size, then Eligible Families of the most nearly appropriate size will be assigned to or offered that unit. At no time will the initial assignment of a unit exceed the maximum occupants described below. FOR SALE: Number of Bedrooms Studio Number of Persons Minimum 1 2 3 4 5 FOR RENT: Number of Bedrooms Studio 1 2 3 4 5 Maximum at Initial Assignment 12 5 7 1 1 2 4 5 7 2 [3 l 5 7 9 11 Number of Persons Maximum During i Minimum Occupancy Term 2 3 5 Fr- 1 Notwithstanding the foregoing, the minimums and maximums shall be increased or decreased if, due to the size or configuration of the rooms in a particular Agency Unit, the Uniform Housing Code adopted pursuant to California Health and Safety Code section 17922 or the Fair Housing Act, provide for a different minimum or maximum for that Agency Unit, in which case the minimum or maximum established by the Uniform Housing Page 2 of 3 G 'RDA•Janet Moore'Stot Repoitsl'alm Desert Afti,idahle Housing Allocation Policy DOC EXHIBIT A TO RESOLUTION 484 Code, or the Fair Housing Act, shall apply. In addition, in such cases that the Agency Unit is funded in whole or in part by any Federally mandated sources, the occupancy standards set forth therein shall apply. 4. Process for Determining Eligible Family Size to Units Available; Appeals. For the purposes of this policy and for the purposes of being placed on a waiting list, the size of the Eligible Family shall first be determined as of the date the Eligible Family makes written application to the Agency for an Agency Unit. At such time as a unit becomes available, the size of the Eligible Family will be the total number of Eligible Persons at the date of the acceptance of the unit, if different than the Eligible Family Size at application. An Eligible Family that is denied a unit based on Eligible Family Size may file a written appeal for consideration by the Executive Director of the Agency within ten (10) business days of receiving the written denial, stating the reasons for and providing documentation where possible for its disagreement. 5. Notice; Lease Covenants. The Agency shall include a copy of this policy with all of its promotional and application materials used in the Program after the date this policy is adopted by the Agency. In addition, all leases for new tenants in Agency Units and all leases entered into with existing tenants in Agency Units for terms beginning after the termination of their current leases shall include the minimum and maximum numbers of persons who may reside in the unit in accordance with this policy, along with covenants by the tenant to comply with such minimum and maximum numbers of residents. Once a unit is allocated, any violations of either this policy or the executed lease terms will result in termination of tenancy. Any willful omission of information required in the allocation process will result in immediate termination of tenancy. 6. State and Federal Law. If any provision of this policy is inconsistent with applicable law, the provisions of the law will prevail. Page 3 of 3 G RDA Vanet'vloore Stati ReportsPalm 1)esert Afiord al) lc Housing Allocaiiun Polity DO('