City Council members are expected to approve a several-million-dollar housing project on Newhall Avenue to bring more low-income homes to Santa Clarita, in response to a state report on the city’s need for such homes.

Survey officials who conducted the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment, or RHNA, for 2013-21 identified a need for over 5,700 housing units for low- and moderate-income residents.

California and federal government regulations require Santa Clarita to address the need for affordable housing in several ways, according to the city’s agenda.

City officials have been in negotiations to develop the land for several years for such a use, but the dissolution of the redevelopment agency prompted several years of delay.

The development proposed for Newhall consists of 30 units of family rental housing, with 29 affordable units and one unit reserved for an on-site property manager.

The project is comprised of two-story townhomes over single-story, three-bedroom flats. Eight of the units are three-bedroom units and 22 are two-bedroom units. Parking includes 75 resident and guest parking spaces, which meets the most stringent city standard for parking in a multi-family development.

City officials explain how the rent would be controlled in the agenda item for the project:
“The agreement will control 13 of the 30 units through a 55-year affordability covenant. The covenant restricts rent and occupancy to households earning at or below 30 percent, 40 percent or 50 percent of the Area Median Income, or AMI. Currently, 50 percent AMI for a family of four is $42,500. Rent for a two-bedroom unit for that family of four would be $641 per month. A table showing the income limits and rental rates for these 13 restricted units is attached. Other non-city funding sources specified in the agreement will restrict the remaining 16 affordable units in a similar fashion.

Tenants will be required to complete a thorough application and screening process, including a criminal background check, credit check, landlord references, verification of employment and verification of other income, according to the agenda item.

Applicants will be required to prove they have sufficient resources to pay the rent, typically a stable monthly income at least twice that of the rent amount. The agreement also allows the city to inspect the development annually and review tenant eligibility documentation and waiting lists.