By Corina Vanek | Arizona Republic
Affordable housing developers in Glendale will soon be able to save some money after the city waived community development fees for their projects, an effort city leaders hope will bolster a much-needed affordable housing supply.
The Glendale City Council unanimously supported a change that will waive community development fees for projects that are awarded tax credits through the Arizona Department of Housing. The amount of money due in fees varies based on the size of the project, but can range from about $300,000 to $1 million, Jean Moreno, community services director for Glendale, said.
“We are finding that for affordable housing developers, even though they’re getting Arizona state tax credits, they are still coming up with issues where they are having a gap in funding,” she said. “We were looking at ways where the city could work as a partner.”
Waiving the community development fees was “low-hanging fruit” for Glendale, Moreno said. Often, and in other cities, fees can be waived or reimbursed on a case-by-case basis, but the change allows developers to count on that savings and plan accordingly. Developments that are not receiving state tax credits could still get fees waived if the city determines that it meets other affordability qualifications and if the council approves it in a development agreement.
Fees generated from development go into the city’s general fund, Moreno said. Now that fees will be waived for certain developments, Moreno will annually report back to the council about how much was waived in fees.
