Transcription
Affordable Housing ProgramWater and Wastewater Development Charge DeferralA Partnership Program between:andHousing Development Division1 Page
ContentsExecutive Summary2Overview .2Program Definition .3Program Qualification.3Program Guidelines4Application Process.4Conservation Criteria .4Application Evaluation .6Fee Deferral Programs.6Verification Process .8Repayment Process .8Program Conditions .9Executive SummaryOverviewThe Colorado Springs Utilities (Utilities) and the City of ColoradoSprings (CS) Housing Development Division have partneredtogether to create a fee deferral program supportive ofaffordable housing. For qualifying affordable housing projects,which meet specific energy and water conservation criteria, allor a portion of the Utilities’ water and wastewater developmentcharges can be deferred. This program is but one of severalmechanisms in place to promote affordable housing in thecommunity. For inquires on this and other programs, contactthe knowledgeable staff of CS Housing and CommunityDevelopment (719-385-5912) who are accountable for strategiccoordination of all public affordable housing related activitiesnecessary to increase the supply of affordable housing withinthe community. For information regarding the Utilities’ fee2 Page
deferral program, call Utilities Customer Contract Administrationat 719-668-8111.Program DefinitionAffordable Housing is housing that is affordable to thosehouseholds that earn 80% or less of the median family incomefor the area. According to the US Department of Housing andUrban Development (HUD), a household of four earning 56,000or less would be considered eligible for affordable housingprograms. These amounts can vary according to family size.For information on the most current median income levels andcomplete qualification criteria, applicants for the program shouldcontact CS Housing Development Division.Program QualificationQualifying Affordable Housing Projects This program is available to single-family residencesor multi-family dwellings owned by qualifying individuals,corporations, non-profit organizations and other similarcompanies providing affordable housing as defined by theCS Housing Development Division. This program is limited to housing programs thatmeet the affordable housing criteria as defined by the CSHousing Development Division and which utilize energyand water conservation measures defined by Utilities. This program is on a first-come, first-serve basisdefined at the time the service contract payment is made toUtilities. Fee deferral is limited exclusively to the water andwastewater development charges. All other charges,including, but not limited to, water and wastewater recoveryagreements and other fees, are NOT subject to this deferralprogram. Any current year fee deferrals shall not, in aggregate,exceed 5% of the previous year’s total water and wastewaterdevelopment charges revenues. Therefore, regardless of thenumber of applications reviewed and preliminarily approved,deferrals will be issued on an annual basis up to but notexceeding these financial guidelines. This program is developed in response to ExecutiveLimitation EL-14 (Revision 4, January 22, 2003). At any timethis limitation could be modified affecting the program,including cancellation of the program without notice.3 Page
Program GuidelinesApplication ProcessThe Applicant initiates the process with CS HousingDevelopment Division by submitting an application for reviewand certification including details regarding the proposed energyand water conservation measures compliant with the program.CS Housing Development Division evaluates the application fortwo principal criteria being: 1) Does project qualify as AffordableHousing per CS Housing Development Division definitions, and2) Are the minimum energy and water conservation criteria asdefined by Utilities met? Projects which do not meet both criteriain their entirety are disqualified from this program.Having met the selection criteria, CS Housing DevelopmentDivision forwards the approved application to Utilities forprocessing that occurs prior to the time of Utilities’ servicecontract (obtained by Applicant prior to issuance of buildingpermit). At any time the Applicant may contact Utilities, at 719668-8111, for an estimate of development charges, both thosethat will be paid and those that can be deferred under theprogram. In addition to the service contract, Applicant will sign acontractual agreement with Utilities, which defines the terms andconditions for repayment of the deferred charges based on theprogram for which the Applicant qualifies. Utilities collect allapplicable development charges/fees at time of issuance of theservice contract. A lien is then placed on the property in theform of a deed of trust executed by Applicant, which remainsuntil such time that all deferred charges (plus any applicableinterest) are paid in full.Conservation CriteriaTo qualify for a fee deferral, the Applicant’s project must meet aminimum level of energy and water conservation as describedbelow. The Applicant selects from the conservation criteria listelements of their project they will improve upon based on theireconomic analysis. Each type of conservation criteria has aminimum rating that must be met or exceeded to receive thecorresponding point value. The intent is that these criteriaexceed the minimum requirements specified by the Pikes PeakRegional Building Department. For a project to qualify for adeferral, the sum of qualifying project conservation measuresmust achieve a minimum rating of 7points, which must includepoints from both Energy Conservation and Water Conservation4 Page
improvements. All affordable housing units within the projectmust individually meet or exceed the selected criteria to qualify.For mixed projects wherein a portion of the units are affordableand a portion are traditional, only the affordable units may applyfor the fee deferral. Conservation measures exclusive to thetraditional units do not affect or influence the rating for theaffordable units.Conservation Criteria: Following are the criteria and minimumratings (which exceed Regional Building Department minimumrequirements) used to determine if the Applicant’s project iseligible for the fee deferral:Energy ConservationMinimum RatingPointsFurnace90% or 95% AFUE1 or 2 (or)Boiler85% or 92% AFUE1 or 2Central Air Conditioners14 SEER1Electric Water Heater.94 Energy Factor1 (or)Gas Water Heater.65 or .67 Energy Factor 1 or 2Attic InsulationR49 or R60Wall InsulationR23Windows and Exterior DoorsEnergy Star Rated1 or 211Water ConservationMinimum RatingPointsXeriscape DesignNo more than 40% of totalyard area is turf grass, andbasic Xeriscape 7 designprinciples as identified byUtilities are met.2Irrigation SystemIrrigation system should useWaterSense approvedtimer with rain shut offdevise. Requires use ofMatched PrecipitationNozzles.1Toilet, shower head,and bathroom faucetsmust be WaterSenseapproved models, fornew or retrofitconstruction.1Toilet 1.28 gpf,Showerhead 2.0 gmp andFaucets 1.5 gpm5 Page
Application EvaluationQualified CS Housing Development Division and Utilities staffwill evaluate all information submitted by Applicant. Applicationswhich meet the qualifications of this program will be approvedand may request a deferral of Utilities’ water and wastewaterdevelopment charges as defined by this program, not exceedingavailability of program funding, service availability or otherconstraints as defined in the tariffs, executive limitations or othergoverning policies. Project applications that do not qualify aredropped from this program. The decision of the staff is final.Additionally, for any project initiated as qualifying affordablehousing, but over time, through changes in use, owners or otherevents, no longer qualifies, Utilities retains the right to requestand receive full payment of all deferred charges from projectOwner.Fee Deferral ProgramsThere are two defined programs for fee deferral based ontargeted income level for the affordable housing project.Projects which are a mix of affordable and traditional units areeligible to receive a deferral only for the portion of the projectthat is affordable and qualifies per this program.Any deferred charges shall constitute a lien on the property inthe form of a deed of trust executed by Applicant until suchtime that they are paid in full.The two programs are as follows:PROGRAM A – Affordable Housing projects targetingindividuals whose income is greater than 50%, but notexceeding 80% of the area median income.A1 – Owner Occupied 25% of total water and wastewater developmentcharge is due at application for utilities. 75% of total water and wastewater developmentcharge plus any applicable interest is due at firstsubsequent sale of property, or payable at any time priorto that date, at Owner’s option, in five annual paymentsas follows:1st year2nd year3rd year20%20%20%6 Page
4th year5th year20%20% Final PaymentA2 – All others, including ownership byCorporations/Partnerships/etc. 25% of total water and wastewater developmentcharge is due at application for utilities. 75% of total water and wastewater developmentcharge plus any applicable interest is due beginning inthe 6th year after deferral (or payable at any time prior tothat date at Owner’s option) and for 4 years thereafter.Repayment of the 75% fee deferral is collected annuallyas follows:6th year7th year8th year9th year10th year20%20%20%20%20% Final PaymentPROGRAM B – Affordable Housing projects targeting individualswhose income is equal to or less than 50% of the area medianincome.B1 – Owner Occupied 0% of total water and wastewater development chargeis due at application for utilities. 100% of total water and wastewater developmentcharge plus any applicable interest is due at firstsubsequent sale of property, or payable at any time priorto that date, at Owner’s option, in five annual paymentsas follows:1st year2nd year3rd year4th year5th year20%20%20%20%20% Final PaymentB2 – All others, including ownership byCorporations/Partnerships/etc. 0% of total water and wastewater development chargeis due at application for utilities. 100% of total water and wastewater developmentcharge plus any applicable interest is due beginning in7 Page
the 6th year after deferral (or at any time prior to that dateat Owner’s option) and for 4 years thereafter.Repayment of the 100% of fee deferral is collected on anannual basis as follows:6th year7th year8th year9th year10th year20%20%20%20%20% Final PaymentVerification ProcessUtilities will verify that these conservation measures as appliedfor each qualifying project were successfully met. As a part ofthis process, the Applicant, will be required to provide proof oftheir compliance which may include receipts for furnace, waterheaters, etc.; copy of insulation certificate for the project,confirmation of equipment from their installation subcontractorsand other information required by Utilities. This requirementmust be met before utility meters will be installed. Utilities mayrequest that the Certificate of Occupancy or connection to andprovision of utilities be withheld until compliance. Ifrequirements are not met all deferred charges shall become dueand payable to Utilities within 30 days of notice from Utilities.Repayment ProcessThe lien attached to the property at the time of fee deferral shallrequire repayment of the deferred water and wastewaterdevelopment charges based upon the charges that are actuallyin effect at the time initial repayment is made. For informationalpurposes, the lien will include estimates of the repaymentamounts based upon Utilities’ current water and wastewaterdevelopment charges. Over time, the amount required todischarge the lien might increase or decrease corresponding tochanges to the water and wastewater development charges. Atthe time repayment of water and wastewater developmentcharges occurs, the then current applicable water andwastewater development charges (subject to the conditionsstated below) shall be used to determine the amounts requiredto be paid in order to discharge the lien. For example:A)5 years after fee deferral, a non-owner-occupiedaffordable housing project begins repayment per theprogram schedule. The amount to be repaid will becalculated at the time of the first payment and be basedon the then current fees (subject to the conditions stated8 Page
below). Having established the repayment amount, thefee amount is then fixed and used as a basis ofcalculation for the payment schedule; orB)An owner occupied home is resold for the 1st time10 years after fee deferral. Per the program, uponthis sale the fee deferral is due and payable at orbefore closing and transfer of ownership. Theamount of the repayment is calculated based onthe water and wastewater development charges inplace at the time of sale (subject to the conditionsstated below):Program Conditions The amounts to be repaid under any of the aboveprograms shall be based on the charges that are actually ineffect at the time the first repayment is made, but shall notexceed the deferred amount plus interest chargescalculated from the date of deferral to the date of firstrepayment in accordance with the published 10-yearTreasury note rate in effect on the date of deferral,compounded annually (subject to the terms and conditionsof the deferral agreement). If the deferred charges are not paid in full at the time ofthe initial repayment, such as by using a 5-year repaymentschedule, then interest shall be charged on the outstandingbalance during the repayment period based on the published10-year Treasury note rate in effect on the date of deferral,compounded annually. In the event there is a subsequent sale of an Owneroccupied unit after selection of the five-year repaymentoption, all remaining unpaid amounts related to that unit aredue and payable at or before the time of the subsequentsale. Failure to make payments in accordance with theprogram shall be subject to applicable Utilities’ tariffs,policies and procedures. Owner has the right to prepay the principal amount,plus any applicable interest, outstanding under the program,in whole or in part, at any time without penalty.9 Page
Affordable Housing is housing that is affordable to those households that earn 80% or less of the median family income for the area. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a household of four earning 56,000 or less would be considered eligible for affordable housing programs.
