Berkeley City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
Economic Development Improvement - Dollar Home Program
Section 400.1300 Purpose.
[Ord. No. 4754, 1-5-2023[1]]
A.
The Dollar Home Program is established to allow the City to purchase substandard housing units and offer them for sale in the City at a depressed market price. The purpose of this program is to rehabilitate substandard housing units which are having an adverse impact upon our residential neighborhoods and to resell the units to owner-occupants providing an increase in new affordable housing stock that will address the housing and neighborhood stabilization recommendation of the comprehensive plan.
B.
The City of Berkeley Dollar Home Program will positively impact the community by enabling the City to repurpose and utilize its land assets to progressively build a resilient and sustainable community through home ownership. In order to increase home ownership, facilitate family self-sufficiency through asset building and establish permanency and pride within the City, it is necessary to stabilize neighborhoods through the rehabilitation of single-family houses and to develop infill lots with newly constructed homes. The City will have increased affordable housing stock through the improvement of residential structures or the construction of new homes on vacant lots.
Section 400.1310 Program.
[Ord. No. 4754, 1-5-2023]
The Dollar Home Program will be implemented by the City of Berkeley as a local housing program offered through the Economic Development Office. The City of Berkeley will maintain a catalogue of properties located in the City that are eligible for the program.
Section 400.1320 Eligibility.
[Ord. No. 4754, 1-5-2023]
A.
The program will be available under the following guidelines:
1.
All properties are to be offered in "as is" condition.
2.
Present verifiable proof of funding guarantee (financing) that will cover the cost of the home purchase, renovations and repairs that will bring the home to required livable standards established by the City's Housing Maintenance Code.
3.
The Dollar Home Program will first be offered as an incentive to Berkeley residents to improve lots adjacent to their own homes.
4.
If interest is shown in a lot or derelict home immediately adjacent to an owner-occupied home in the City, the property owners will be notified. Precedence will be given to the owners of those adjacent properties to acquire the abandoned lot. Should the adjacent homeowner have interest, the lots will be offered to them first under the following conditions:
a.
Applicants must have paid all real estate taxes on all properties that they own in the City.
b.
Applicants must have no outstanding violations on their property.
c.
The lots must be re-platted to become a single lot (the City will provide platting services); or
d.
Building permits on new construction (not just demolition) must be initiated within one hundred twenty (120) days of property transfer or the property reverts to City ownership.
e.
Should those conditions be met, the lot(s) will be sold for one dollar ($1.00) to the new owner.
5.
Next, the Dollar Home Program will be offered as an incentive to Berkeley residents to improve lots in the community.