Campbell is slated to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars for affordable housing annually, thanks to a decision to collect developer fees from projects without housing.
The Campbell City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to establish a commercial linkage fee, which is a flat rate of $9 per square foot developers must pay for all new retail and industrial projects that don’t include housing. The city expects it to generate about $300,000 annually and up to $4 million in 15 years. The money will be earmarked for affordable housing costs such as construction, legal advice and loans for affordable housing developers. Vice Mayor Sergio Lopez voted no even though he supported the fees, citing concerns about other aspects to the item that would require small housing projects to convert at least 15% of homes into affordable housing or pay a fee.
The policy has some exceptions for small businesses and mixed-use projects, with developments 5,000 square feet or less required to pay only 50% of the fees. Vertical mixed-use projects will be exempt from the additional cost as long as the commercial space comprises 15% or less of the development. Campbell will implement the policy in about a year.