City of Bend Affordable Housing Program

Summary of Developer Incentives

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

Qualifying projects are those that received federal or state affordable housing funding and/or those that contain projects that are affordable to households earning at or below 100% of Area Median Income.  "Affordable" housing refers to housing that requires the residents to spend no more than 30% of their household incomes on housing related expenses.  For homebuyers, housing related expenses include mortgage principle and interest, taxes, property insurance, mortgage insurance and essential utilities.  For renters, housing related expenses include rent and essential utilities.

INCENTIVES

At the direction of the Bend City Council, the following incentives are currently being pursued by the City of Bend:

          Planning and Building Fee Exemptions 

All or a portion of Planning Division and Building Division fees will be exempted for qualifying projects.  Exempted fees will be paid by the City of Bend.  The percentage of fees waived for any project will be proportional to the percentage of units in a development that are affordable.

                    Expedited Review and Permitting Processing

For any qualifying project, review and permitting processing will be expedited.  Qualifying projects will be reviewed and permits issued according to the following timelines:

Planning Department:  A decision will be written or the first public hearing held within 2 weeks for Type I development actions and within 6 weeks for Type II development actions:

Building Department:  Preliminary review will be completed and the applicant will be notified of any deficiencies in the application, within 3 working days of the date of submittal.  Once any deficiencies have been addressed, review will be completed and permits will be issued within 10 working days of the date the application is deemed complete.

                    System Development Charge Deferrals

For qualifying projects, SDCs will be deferred for up to 1 year.  SDCs will be due upon transfer of ownership, or at the end of one year from the date the deferral is granted.  Interest will not be charged for the period of deferral.

                    Off-site Improvement Assistance

Developers of qualifying projects will be eligible to apply for a grant from the City of Bend to assist with the cost of non-reimbursable off-site improvements.  The grants will cover the cost of the off-site improvements required by the City, up to a maximum of $10,000.

                    Density Bonuses

For each unit in a new development that is affordable, the development will be allowed to exceed the density limit for the zone by one additional unit.  Density limits may be exceeded by a maximum of 35%.

                    Minimum Lot Size Exemptions

Qualifying projects will be exempt from minimum lot size standards (lots will continue to be subject to minimum frontage and other requirements).

City of Bend

Developer Incentives

Section 1.                 Purpose:  The Bend City Council defines affordable housing as housing that is available for households making up to 100 percent of median income (gross), so that they are spending no more than 30 percent of their household income on housing related expenses (e.g., rent, mortgage and essential utilities)[definition adopted by the Bend City Council on May 1, 2002].

                                    In an effort to address some of the obstacles to the development of affordable housing, the City of Bend will offer the following incentives to developers of affordable housing:

Section 2.                 Developer Incentives:

A.     Expedited Review and Permitting Processing:  For the Community Development Department's review and permitting processes, the City of Bend will place a higher priority on projects that contain affordable units, as defined above, than projects that do not contain such units.

Qualifying projects are residential or mixed use developments that received federal or state affordable housing funding.

The procedures and timelines for expediting review and permitting processing have been established by a departmental policy of the Community Development Department.

B.    System Development Charge SDC Deferrals:  The City of Bend will offer SDC Deferrals to developers of housing projects that contain affordable units, as defined above.

Qualifying projects are residential or mixed use developments that receive federal or state affordable housing funding.

SDC Deferrals will be offered for a period of one (1) year at a 0% interest rate.  Developers utilizing this incentive will be required to sign a Promissory Note and System Development Charge Deferral Agreement with the City of Bend.  SDCs will be due in full at the end of the one (1) year deferral period.

C.    System Development Charge (SDC) Loans: The City of Bend will offer SDC loans to developers of housing projects that contain affordable units, as defined above. 

Qualifying projects are residential or mixed use developments that receive federal or state affordable housing funding.

SDC Loans will be offered for a period of five (5) years at a 1.5% interest rate.  Developers utilizing this incentive will be required to sign a Promissory Note and System Development Charge Loan Agreement with the City of Bend.  Repayments shall be made in equal monthly installments, commencing the month after the Promissory Note is signed.

Section 3.                 Effective Date:  The Affordable Housing Developer Incentive Program will commence September 1, 2003.  As of September 1, 2003, only those projects that are receiving state or federal affordable housing funding are eligible to received developer incentives through the City of Bend's Affordable Housing Developer incentive Program.  Staff will continue to work toward expanding the program to also include affordable housing developments that have no such funding.  In addition, staff will continue to explore additional incentives that the City may offer to developers of affordable housing.