General Plan - Moreno Valley

CHAPTER 8 – HOUSING8.6.12 Development FeesDevelopment fees increased significantlyafter the passage of Proposition 13. Localgovernments have to balance the need foraffordable housing with budgetaryconstraints and the need for services to beeconomically self-supporting. The City ofMoreno Valley is sensitive to the needs ofboth the development community and itsresidents with respect to the impactdevelopment fees have on the cost ofhousing. As such, the City of Moreno Valleylowered its fees by 9% in 2000.However, fees on development are alsolevied by other agencies outside the controlof the City of Moreno Valley. For example,while the City of Moreno Valley lowered itsdevelopment fees, the school districtincreased their fees for all new residentialconstruction. This increase had the effect ofincreasing the development fees overall.City development fees are not a significantconstraint to the development of affordablehousing in Moreno Valley, but the increasesin other agency controlled development feesare a constraint on housing.8.6.13 Code ComplianceThe City’s code compliance enforcementaction as mandated by the Health andSafety Code along with State housing lawsand the Uniform Housing Code have notbeen a constraint on affordable housing.The City has not adopted more stringentstandards than those noted, but has workedto preserve and maintain the City’s housingstock in a safe and decent condition forlower income residents. The City’s codecompliance enforcement program helpspreserve affordable housing and eliminatesubstandard housing conditions.8.6.14 Community OppositionLocal governments have a difficultbalancing act when it comes to facilitatingMORENO VALLEY GENERAL PLANthe development of low and moderateincomehousing and their responsibilities toexisting residents, environmental issues andcommunity opposition to affordable housing.Community misconceptions of affordablehousing and their opposition to a project,combined with a local governments desireto respond to the community can result inconstraints to affordable housing. Sevenyears ago, the Redevelopment Agency incooperation with a non-profit developersought to develop thirty affordable townhomesin the city. However, stridentcommunity resistance to the project resultedin a denial of a request for zone change toallow the project to be built on the siteacquired the Agency.8.6.15 Housing for Persons withDisabilitiesAll new housing developments in the City ofMoreno Valley are required to comply withCalifornia Building standards (Title 24 of theCalifornia Code of Regulations) and thefederal Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) requirements. The City of MorenoValley enforces requirements under themost recently amended Uniform BuildingCode, as amended by the State ofCalifornia in 2001.The City of Moreno Valley has providedfunding in excess of $1.7 million dollars, inAgency funds, for the development of 100units of housing with affordability covenantsfor the elderly and persons with disabilities.Persons with disabilities have the uniqueopportunity of living independently inMoreno Valley, in an Agency-assisteddevelopment consisting of twenty-fiveaccessible apartments, constructed in 1996.Housing for elderly, and housing specificallydeveloped and designated for persons withdisabilities has been situated in areas witheasy access to public transportation,shopping, medical facilities and recreationaluses.Page 8-63 July 11, 2006