The City of Oxnard is in the process of updating its Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (Ordinance 2980), which currently requires that all new residential developments containing ten or more dwelling units include a minimum of 10% of all housing units within that development to be affordable to lower-income households, or developers pay an in-lieu fee instead of producing the affordable units. According to a recommendation for the State of California Housing and Community Development Department Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing law, the City of Oxnard is seeking additional community input on how the existing Inclusionary Housing Ordinance should be updated.
Draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance
A draft update to the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance is available to view at the following links:
- You may download the Clean Draft (January 2023) of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance here
and the Legislative Draft (January 2023) of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance here. - A summary list of revisions to the City of Oxnard’s existing Inclusionary Housing Ordinance is here.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. The hearing will be held in the City of Oxnard City Council Chambers at 305 West Third Street. Members of the public will also be able to participate via video conference/telephone by following instructions on the following link https://www.oxnard.org/city-meetings/. The Planning Commission staff report and report materials for the March 16, 2023, hearing will be available on the Thursday before the Planning Commission hearing by going to: https://www.oxnard.org/city-meetings/
What is Inclusionary Housing
Inclusionary housing, also called ‘inclusionary zoning,’ is a policy or regulation requiring private developers to reserve a certain percentage of housing units for very low, low, or moderate-income households in new market-rate residential developments. To ensure long-term affordability, inclusionary programs usually include a minimum number of years that affordable units are restricted as affordable. Such programs often allow developers to incorporate affordable housing into the same development, build it elsewhere, or contribute money or land to produce affordable housing instead of construction. Inclusionary housing has been practiced in California and other parts of the country since the 1970s. Over 20% of the jurisdictions in California have adopted inclusionary housing programs to help address affordable housing needs and equitable development goals.
In many inclusionary housing programs, the affordable units must be of similar size and quality as the market-rate units and must be spread throughout the project. Integrating affordable units into market-rate development creates opportunities for households with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to live in the same developments and access the same community services and amenities.
In addition to Inclusionary housing, many jurisdictions have adopted commercial linkage fee ordinances to share the public benefit-cost of affordable housing across all development types, including commercial and industrial development. The commercial linkage fee augments a jurisdiction’s Affordable Housing Funds for producing affordable housing by demonstrating a link between the jobs that businesses create and the need for workforce housing. The City’s inclusionary housing ordinance does not presently contain a commercial linkage fee, though such could be considered based on community input.
Reference link for more information on Inclusionary Housing: https://wclp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/inclusionary-factsheet_v2.pdf
The Planning Commission’s consideration of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance continues from March 2 to 6:00 p.m. on March 16, 2023.
The hearing will be held in the City of Oxnard City Council Chambers located at 305 West Third Street. Members of the public will also be able to participate via video conference/telephone. The Planning Commission staff report and report materials for the hearing will be available on the Thursday before the Planning Commission hearing by going to: https://www.oxnard.org/city-meetings/
Stay abreast of timeframes and updates by frequenting the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Update website.