Anaheim city leaders will decide on Thursday, May 29, how to use the first $15 million received from Disney for affordable housing needs around the city.
The plan before the City Council calls for assisting in three areas: Money for helping build affordable units, providing loan assistance to homebuyers in the city and funding for low-income families at risk of eviction.
Disney promised Anaheim $30 million for affordable housing as part of the community benefits agreement that came with the approval of the resort’s DisneylandForward expansion project more than a year ago. With the first $15 million expected this summer, city officials have crafted a plan for how to allocate that money.
The next $15 million from Disney will come in five years. It’s part of more than $100 million in community benefits the two sides agreed to including money for parks and upgrading infrastructure around the resort area.
The City Council last summer created a local housing trust to take in funding for affordable housing knowing that the money from Disney was coming. City leaders also created a new law that would require larger rental developments to have 10% of their units be affordable, or pay into the housing trust.
With the $15 million from Disney, plus another million from a federal grant, city staff will present a plan at the next City Council meeting for how money in the housing trust should be allocated.
The majority, at $9.5 million, is proposed to go toward what’s been termed the “Build More Homes Initiative.” The funds would be used for building affordable and for-sale housing units.
The money for affordable housing can be used to provide gap financing to developers or help buy land to build on. The money could not be used for homeless shelters or group housing, according to proposed guidelines for the housing trust.
City officials estimate that the $9.5 million under the Build More Homes Initiative could support the production of 250 to 300 affordable housing rental units.
About one-third of renters in the city spend more than half of their annual income on housing costs, officials said, and the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Anaheim is $2,639, according to Apartment List.
The city is also creating a new downpayment assistance program for people who live or work in Anaheim. The city could offer a “silent second mortgage” at $50,000 that allows borrowers to not make payments until they sell, refinance or pay off their home. It’d be a 30-year mortgage with a 3% interest rate.
A down payment assistance from the city allows for lower monthly mortgage payments on the main loan, making homeownership more affordable, according to a city staff report.
The guidelines proposed require that the household income not exceed 150% of the median income for the county for the homebuyer and it be their primary home. One hundred homebuyers, representing $5 million from the housing trust, would benefit from the program.
City staff are also asking that $1 million be set aside for helping those at risk of eviction. One-time grants up to $5,000, or two months rent, whichever is lower, would be provided to households facing eviction and making under 50% of the median income for the county,
The city’s Housing and Community Development Commission unanimously approved the recommendations for how the funding should be used at its May 7 meeting.
The City Council will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday at 200 S. Anaheim Blvd.