Chapter 17.55
REPLACEMENT UNITS

Sections:

17.55.010    Purpose.

17.55.020    Requirements for replacement units.

17.55.010 Purpose.

The purpose of the replacement unit requirement established by this chapter is to ensure that, through preservation or replacement, the city maintains, at minimum, its current level of homes affordable to low-income families. (Ord. 657 § 4 (Exh. N), 2023)

17.55.020 Requirements for replacement units.

A.    Development projects within the city shall not result in a net housing loss. If the community development director determines that a development project would result in a net housing loss, the developer shall replace residential units to be removed, whether the units to be removed are occupied or not. Residential units shall be replaced on a one-for-one basis and shall be applied for and built concurrently with the development project. Replacement units shall be located within the same neighborhood as the units removed but need not be located on the same site as previously existed.

B.    Development projects shall meet the following standards, subject to the approval of the community development director:

1.    Applicability.

a.    Current or Past Residential Use. Replacement requirements shall be applicable for sites that currently have residential uses, or within the past five years (based on the date the application for development was submitted) have had residential uses that have been vacated or demolished, and:

i.    Were subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of low or very low income; or

ii.    Subject to any other form of rent or price control through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power; or

iii.    Occupied by low- or very low-income households.

b.    A housing development project shall not be approved if it will require the demolition of residential dwelling units, regardless of whether the parcel was listed in the inventory, unless:

i.    The project will create at least as many residential dwelling units as will be demolished; and

ii.    Certain affordability criteria are met, as further described by California Government Code Section 66300(d).

2.    Vacation of Unit. Each tenant shall have the right to remain no fewer than sixty days from the date of city approval of a development project application. The community development director may grant an extension to this right to remain for a period of time not to exceed an additional thirty days.

3.    No Increase in Rent. A tenant’s rent shall not be increased during the period provided in subsection (B)(2) of this section.

4.    Affordability of Units. The development project shall include dwelling units affordable to very low- or low-income households, at rents or sales prices that meet the city’s affordable housing standards. The number of dwellings to be rented or sold at affordable levels shall equal the maximum number of affordable dwellings that existed within the twenty-four-month period immediately prior to the application for the conversion permit, and according to the affordability guidelines described in California Government Code Sections 65583.2(g)(3) and 65915(c)(3)(B) for replacement units.

When a project is approved, for each unit merged, demolished or eliminated, the developer shall be required to provide an affordable designated unit in the new project to a qualifying household in perpetuity. The developer shall enter a regulatory agreement with the city to provide for the provision of any such units, and the regulatory agreement shall be recorded with the San Mateo County Recorder’s Office.

5.    Tenant Relocation Assistance. For very low- or low-income residents displaced by the development project, the developer shall provide relocation assistance, subject to the approval of the director. Such assistance shall at a minimum be consistent with Government Code Sections 66300.5 and 66300.6 and may include, but is not limited to, giving tenants the first right of refusal to purchase or rent affordable replacement units, reimbursement of moving costs, and/or providing rental assistance.

6.    No permit to demolish a residential building in any zoning district shall be issued until a building permit for the replacement structure is approved, consistent with Government Code Sections 66300.5 and 66300.6 and the time for filing an appeal or court action has lapsed with no appeal or court action filed, unless the building is determined to pose a serious and imminent hazard as defined in the building code. In the event an appeal or court action is filed, a permit to demolish a residential building shall not be issued unless the appeal is resolved in favor of the demolition, or the court action upholds the demolition. (Ord. 677 § 3 (Exh. C), 2024; Ord. 657 § 4 (Exh. N), 2023)