The Riverside City Council Tuesday voted unanimously to pilot a year-long program on University Avenue that, if effective, could jumpstart housing development in the area, according to the city.
“One of the biggest things I’ve noticed over the last five years has been the challenge of being able to see some of these sites be able to move forward,” Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes said during the April 21 meeting. “So I hope that this pilot project could be a creative opportunity and solution to see us continue to bring more housing online.”
The University Avenue Density Transfer Pilot Program would allow developers that want to build housing on University Avenue — in the corridor between the downtown region and the University of California, Riverside — to request additional housing units from a “development bank” or directly from another plot of land.
Plots of land permitted for housing by local zoning codes are given a residential limit, which is the total number of units that can be built on a parcel. Some projects ultimately build below their limit, according to the staff report, while other parcels are overlooked for housing development because of their low residential capacity.
“We have engaged directly with the development community to better understand the constraints and opportunities that shape these projects,” Miranda Evans, the city’s deputy director of community and economic development, told the council. “The feedback has been consistent and clear: for projects to be financially feasible right now, truly penciled, developers need the ability to build at greater density.”
With the bank method, developers who build nonresidential units or under their capacity within that University Avenue section would be required to deposit the unused units to a bank-like system run by the city. Those looking to add to their capacity, within the pilot program’s boundaries, could request to withdraw those units on a first-come, first-served basis. University Avenue housing developers could also work directly with those with excess capacity.
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The city chose to test the program on the University Avenue segment due to the area’s longstanding struggle with attracting new housing.
“One hundred and thirty-three out of 138 parcels in the University Avenue specific plan corridor have land use designations that allow residential development, however, most have not been developed with residential uses,” Clarissa Manges, the city’s assistant planner, told the council. “More specifically, the corridor has a maximum residential capacity of 6,819 units, yet less than 10% of those units have been built.”
Following the one-year pilot, data on the effort will be brought back to the council for review. Depending on the results, staff could recommend implementing the program across the city, using University Avenue as a model.
The program’s approval comes a month after city staff provided the council with a progress report on the city’s state-mandated housing units, commonly referred to as its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). According to the report, the city is behind on meeting its requirements.
Local housing advocates previously warned that the city could be at risk of state intervention if the issue is not addressed by the 2029 deadline.
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