An applicant for a "housing development" as defined in State Density Bonus Law shall be eligible for a density bonus and other regulatory benefits that are provided by State Density Bonus Law when the applicant seeks and agrees to provide housing as specified in Government Code Section 65915(b), (c), (f), (g), (h) and (v), or in Government Code Section 65195.5, or successor provisions. The density bonus calculations shall be made in accordance with State Density Bonus Law.

The granting of a density bonus, incentive, or concession, pursuant to this chapter, shall not be interpreted, in and of itself, to require a general plan amendment, zoning code amendment, zone change, or other discretionary approval.

All requests for density bonuses, incentives, parking reductions, and waivers for a housing development shall be filed with and on a form provided by the planning director, or designee, concurrently with the filing of the planning application for the first discretionary or ministerial permit required for the housing development, whichever permit is earliest. The applicant shall be informed whether the application is complete consistent with Government Code Section 65943.

The application shall include the required fee and the following minimum information:

All requests under State Density Bonus Law shall be part of the planning application and shall be applied for, reviewed, and acted upon concurrently with the planning application by the approval body with authority to approve the development, within the timelines prescribed by Government Code Section 65950 et seq. or other statute. Appeals of the planning application in accordance with the requirements of Section 17.44.040 or Section 17.48.070, as applicable, shall include all requests under State Density Bonus Law if appeals are authorized for the discretionary or ministerial permit applied for.

The decision-making body shall grant an incentive requested by the applicant unless it makes a written finding, based upon substantial evidence, of any of the following:

The decision-making body shall grant the waiver of development standards requested by the applicant unless it makes a written finding, based upon substantial evidence, of any of the following:

If a child care center complies with the requirements of Government Code Section 65915(h), the decision-making body may deny a density bonus or incentive that is based on the provision of child care facilities only if it makes a written finding, based on substantial evidence, that the city already has adequate child care facilities.

A request for minor modification of an approved density bonus housing plan may be granted by the city manager, or their designee, if the modification substantially complies with the original density bonus housing plan and conditions of approval. Other modifications to the density bonus housing plan shall be processed in the same manner as the original plan.

If a density bonus, incentive, parking reduction, or waiver is approved pursuant to this chapter, the applicant shall enter into a binding affordable housing agreement or restrictive covenant, as described below, with the city, which sets forth the conditions and guidelines to be met in the implementation of State Density Bonus Law and that ensures compliance with all of the provisions of this chapter. The agreement will also establish specific compliance standards and remedies available to the city upon failure by the applicant to comply with State Density Bonus Law, this chapter, or the affordable housing agreement.

For rental projects, the applicant shall enter into an affordable housing agreement with the city, running with the land, in a form approved by the city attorney, to be executed by the city manager, or their designee. The agreement shall require the continued affordability of all rental units that qualified the applicant for the receipt of the density bonus, incentive, waiver, or parking reduction for a minimum of fifty-five years or a longer period of time if required by the construction or mortgage financing assistance program, mortgage insurance program, or rental subsidy program; shall identify the type, size and location of each affordable unit; shall specify the eligible occupants; shall specify phasing of the affordable units in relation to the market-rate units; and shall contain other relevant provisions approved by the city attorney. Rents for the lower income density bonus units shall be set at an affordable rent as defined in State Density Bonus Law.

For for-sale projects, the applicant shall enter into an affordable housing agreement with the city, running with the land, in a form approved by the city attorney, to be executed by the city manager, or their designee. The affordable housing agreement shall require that the initial purchasers of those for-sale units that qualified the applicant for the receipt of the density bonus, incentive, waiver, or parking reduction are persons and families of lower or moderate income, as applicable, or if any for-sale unit is not purchased by an income-qualified household within one-hundred eighty days after the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, then the unit(s) must be sold pursuant to a contract that satisfies the requirements of Revenue and Taxation Code Section 402.1(a)(10) to a qualified non-profit housing corporation as defined in State Density Bonus Law and that the units are offered at an affordable housing cost, as that cost is defined in Health and Safety Code Section 50052.5; and shall contain other relevant provisions approved by the city attorney. The affordable housing agreement shall require the continued affordability of the for-sale units for forty-five years and for rent units for fifty-five years.

Where a density bonus, waiver or parking reduction is provided for a market-rate senior housing development, the applicant shall enter into a restrictive covenant with the city, running with the land, in a form approved by the city attorney, to be executed by the city manager, or their designee, to require the housing development to be operated as "housing for older persons" consistent with state and federal fair housing laws.

The executed affordable housing agreement shall be recorded against the housing development prior to final or parcel map approval, or, where a map is not being processed, prior to issuance of building permits for the housing development, whichever is earliest. The affordable housing agreement shall be binding on all future owners and successors in interest.

In determining the total number of units to be granted, each component of any density calculation, including base density and bonus density, resulting in fractional units shall be separately rounded up to the next whole number.

When calculating the number of affordable units needed to qualify for a given density bonus, any fractions of affordable dwelling units shall be rounded up to the next whole number.

Except where a housing development is eligible for an additional bonus pursuant to Government Code Section 65915(v) or other provision of Density Bonus Law, each housing development is entitled to only one density bonus. If a housing development qualifies for a density bonus under more than one category, the applicant shall identify the category under which the density bonus is requested to be granted.

In determining the number of affordable units required to qualify a housing development for a density bonus pursuant to State Density Bonus Law, units added by a density bonus are not included in the calculations.

The applicant may elect to accept a lesser percentage of density bonus than the housing development is entitled to, or no density bonus, but no reduction will be permitted in the percentages of affordable units required by State Density Bonus law. Regardless of the number of affordable units, no housing development shall be entitled to a density bonus greater than that authorized under State Density Bonus Law.

Nothing in this chapter requires the provision of direct financial incentives from the city for the housing development, including, but not limited to, the provision of financial subsidies, publicly owned land, fee waivers, or waiver of dedication requirements. The city, at its sole discretion, may choose to provide such direct financial incentives.

Building permits and final inspections or certificates of occupancy shall be issued concurrently for the market rate units and for any affordable units that qualified the project for a density bonus, incentive, waiver, or parking reduction, so that the affordable units comprise the required percentage of total units.

Affordable units shall be comparable in exterior appearance and overall quality of construction to market rate units in the same housing development. Interior finishes and amenities may differ from those provided in the market rate units, but neither the workmanship nor the products may be of substandard or inferior quality as determined by the city.

To comply with fair housing laws, the affordable units shall contain the same proportional mix of bedroom sizes as the market-rate units. In mixed-income buildings, the occupants of the affordable units shall have the same access to the common entrances and to the common areas, parking, and amenities of the project as the occupants of the market-rate housing units, and the affordable units shall be located throughout the building and not isolated on one floor or to an area on a specific floor.