(a) Whenever dwelling units located within that portion of the project area described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 8180 (the R Street Area) and housing of persons and families of low or moderate income are destroyed or removed from the low- and moderate-income housing market as part of a redevelopment project that is subject to a written agreement with the authority or where financial assistance has been provided by the authority, the authority shall, within four years of the destruction or removal, rehabilitate, develop, or construct, or cause to be rehabilitated, developed, or constructed, for rental or sale to persons and families of low or moderate income, an equal number of replacement dwelling units that have an equal or greater number of bedrooms as those destroyed or removed units at affordable housing costs within the R Street Area. One hundred percent of the replacement dwelling units shall be available at affordable housing cost to persons in the same or a lower income category (low, very low, or moderate) as the persons displaced from those destroyed or removed units.

(b) (1) Prior to the time limit on the authority’s activities established pursuant to Section 8194, at least 30 percent of all new and substantially rehabilitated dwelling units developed by the authority within the R Street Area shall be available at affordable housing cost to persons and families of low or moderate income and shall be occupied by those persons and families. Not less than 50 percent of the dwelling units required to be available at affordable housing cost to persons and families of low or moderate income shall be available at affordable housing cost to, and occupied by, very low income households.

(2) (A) (i) Prior to the time limit on the authority’s activities established pursuant to Section 8194, at least 15 percent of all new and substantially rehabilitated dwelling units developed within the R Street Area by public or private entities or persons other than the authority shall be available at affordable housing cost to persons and families of low or moderate income and shall be occupied by those persons and families. Not less than 40 percent of the dwelling units required to be available at affordable housing cost to persons and families of low or moderate income shall be available at affordable housing cost to very low income households and shall be occupied by those persons and families.

(ii) To satisfy this paragraph, in whole or in part, the authority may cause, by regulation or agreement, to be available, at affordable housing costs, to persons and families of low or moderate income or to very low income households, as applicable, two units outside the R Street Area for each unit that otherwise would have been required to be available inside the R Street Area.

(iii) As used in this subdivision, “substantially rehabilitated dwelling units” means substantially rehabilitated, with authority assistance, multifamily rented dwelling units with three or more units, or substantially rehabilitated, with authority assistance, single-family dwelling units with one or two units.

(iv) As used in this subdivision, “substantial rehabilitation” means rehabilitation, the value of which constitutes 25 percent of the after-rehabilitation value of the dwelling, inclusive of the land value.

(B) To satisfy the requirements of this subdivision, the authority may purchase, or otherwise acquire or cause by regulation or agreement the purchase or other acquisition of, long-term affordability covenants on multifamily units that restrict the cost of renting or purchasing those units that meet either of the following criteria:

(i) The units are not presently available at affordable housing cost to persons and families of low or very low income.

(ii) The units are presently available at affordable housing cost to these persons and families of low or very low income, but are units that the authority finds, based upon substantial evidence, after a public hearing, cannot reasonably be expected to remain affordable to this same group of persons or families.

(3) To satisfy the requirements of this subdivision, newly constructed rental dwelling units shall remain affordable to, and occupied by, persons and families of low or moderate income for not less than 55 years.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 468, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2003.)