Builders howling over proposed fee

CARLSBAD A fee proposed for developers who want to build apartment complexes in Carlsbad is being called excessive, punitive and something that wont accomplish the citys goal of making housing more affordable for the working class.

Carlsbad officials say the fee, which would be higher than what most other cities in the region charge, is necessary to help subsidize enough low-income apartments to meet a sharply growing need for such housing.

The fee would increase the cost of building a typical apartment complex by somewhere around 10 percent, depending on the price of land adding hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions, to the total price tag.

Revenue from the fee would go into a fund the city uses to subsidize construction of low-income apartments, which allows the builders of those complexes to charge lower rents to qualified tenants.

The fee, which the City Council is expected to consider in March or April, is based on the same reasoning as the commercial development linkage fee that has become controversial in the San Diego mayoral race.

The idea behind San Diegos linkage fee is that commercial projects create low-paying jobs, which increases the need for affordable housing. The idea behind Carlsbads new housing fee is that market-rate apartment complexes bring new customers to town who buy goods and services, creating low-paying jobs and more need for low-income housing.

A consultant hired by Carlsbad presented the citys Housing Commission an 86-page report in January demonstrating the connection between apartment-building construction and an increased need for subsidized, low-income housing. Partly based on that report, the Housing Commission voted 3-2 on Jan. 9 in favor of recommending the new fee to the City Council.

The reasoning the consultant used is disputed by the Building Industry Association, which lobbies for developers and contractors, and the San Diego Apartment Association, which lobbies for landlords and housing developers.

I think the connection theyre making is overblown, said Molly Kirkland, public affairs director for the apartment association. All the people who work at the new businesses wont be living in Carlsbad.

Kirkland also said the proposed fee, which would be $20 per square foot of construction, would be passed along to people living in market-rate apartments in the form of higher rent.

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Builders howling over proposed fee