Developer in Oxnard Dunes project seeks to pay fee rather than build affordable units

Editor's note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated the calculation used to determine Oxnard's affordable housing in-lieu of fee. The fee is the total number of units in the housing complex, 56 in this case, multiplied by $36,000. 

The developer of a 56-unit residential complex in the Oxnard Dunes area wants to pay an in-lieu fee of $2 million instead of designating six affordable housing units. 

The developer submitted what's called a preapplication to the Oxnard City Council on Wednesday. Developers submit the preapplication for projects that may have significant impacts on roads, sewers and water systems and nearby properties and neighborhoods.

The council only discussed the request and did not take any action. Next, the request will go before Oxnard Planning Commission for a public hearing.

The Oxnard Shores Company is proposing the gated complex called Avalon on 8.75 acres of a 38.33 acre property at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and West Fifth Street.

The remaining 30 acres would be converted into accessible trails, while maintaining the sand dunes and local vegetation, said the city’s principal planner, Isidro Figueroa. Additional willow thickets will be planted among the trails to compensate for any loss of willow habitat as a result of the complex.

A city ordinance requires no less than 10% of the units built to be sold as affordable housing. 

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In a letter to the council, the company said no other residential developments in the Oxnard Coastal Zone have had to provide affordable housing, land values in the area would make affordable units economically infeasible and the $2 million would provide a higher number of affording housing units in other parts of the city. 

Chief Assistant City Attorney Ken Rozell said it is too early to determine what the market price on the units will be when the project is completed.

The newly formed Oxnard Shores Neighborhood Council requested the funds collected from the in-lieu fee be spent in the area surrounding the planned complex in a letter to the City Council.

Rozell said he recommends the money be spent throughout the city, as $2 million could create dozens of affordable housing units.

"That money should and could be used throughout the city to create housing opportunities, so the entire city would benefit, not one particular area," said Rozell.

Councilwoman Vianey Lopez said by choosing to pay an in-lieu-of fee, the developers were trying to control who lived along Oxnard’s coast. 

“When there’s developments that want to keep certain families or individuals out of the area based on the affordability of the units, it’s almost as if they’re saying only certain people should be on the coast,” said Lopez. 

Councilman Bert E. Perello disagreed. He said he didn’t think the developer is trying to remove or keep people from the coast, noting the good the city can do with the $2 million affordable housing in-lieu of fee. 

The City Council recently approved a $1.25 million loan to the nonprofit organization Many Mansions for the construction of a 86-unit low-income apartment complex on East 6th Street near Meta Street. The project is expected to cost $44.8 million to build.

The city is using money collected from affordable housing in-lieu of fees from other projects to fund the Many Mansions loan, according to Figueroa.

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Previously, Oxnard required a $5,000 in-lieu of fee per unit, but the City Council raised the cost last year after learning other communities were charging more, said Figueroa.

Over a three-year period beginning on July 1, 2020, in-lieu of fees for a single family dwelling will increase in a phased approach from $21,500 to $36,000 by July 1, 2022. 

Because the project will likely not be completed until after July 2022, Figueroa said Oxnard Shores Company will have to pay $36,000 for each of the 56 units of the project for a total of about $2.02 million.