There is a new opportunity for developers to help Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento (at no extra cost) just by allocating a portion of your building permit fees through the City of Sacramento’s “Housing Trust Fund” program.  Interested?  So is Habitat…

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento brings together corporations, individuals, and communities to build and repair hope and homes and revitalize neighborhoods. Becoming a Housing Trust Fund sponsor with Habitat is a unique opportunity with no additional cost to developers to invest in and build visibility within the community while building your comradery and goodwill.
Housing Trust Fund Sponsors not only build homes, they change lives.

But wait, what is the housing trust fund?

The City of Sacramento requires nonresidential development to assist in the creation of low/very low income housing. Applicants for building permits can satisfy this responsibility by paying a fee or a reduced fee by constructing housing.

Background: In 1989, the Sacramento City Council (SCC) decided that nonresidential development created the need for affordable housing which market forces would not deliver. The SCC then determined that nonresidential developers (NRDs) had a responsibility to reduce this shortfall. An ordinance was passed that created Sacramento City Code 17.708 (The Housing Trust Fund pro-gram).
NRDs have two options to satisfy their responsibility- pay a fee exclusively (Fee Only) or complete a combination of fee and home construction (Construction Alternative).

This Housing Trust Fund Program continues today. The fees and offsets vary by type of development, location within the City and have generally kept pace with inflation. For discussion purposes, the Fee Only option is about $2 per square foot of commercial building. The Construction Alternative option fee is about $0.80 per square foot of commercial building plus one residence per 10,000 square feet of commercial building.

Why haven’t I heard of this and how can it help Habitat?

The HTF Program administrator for the City doesn’t remember any NRDs choosing the Housing Construction option. A number of fac-tors have led to this, primary being the obscurity of the authorizing code section and the absence of ready opportunities for harried de-velopers.

The Construction Alternative is an opportunity for Habitat for Humanity. Habitat currently works with 10 to 15 low/very low income families a year to help them build their own homes. With additional funding Habitat could readily help more families work their way into homeownership. Habitat could reach this goal by constructing homes that satisfy the HTF responsibilities of an NRD.

In simple terms, to use the Construction Alternative, a NRD would pay the base housing fee to the HTF and pay the remainder of the fee to Habitat.

Habitat would then complete the required number of units by a certain date. Upon completion of the housing, the NRD will have satisfied its responsibility under the HTF.

Who do I contact for more information on allocating a portion of my permit building fees to Habitat?

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento CEO Rob Kerth at (916) 440-1215 ext. 1105 or RKerth@HabitatGreaterSac.org 

To see and share the Housing Trust Fund Information Packet, click HERE.