After a court ruled that the city of Clovis excluded affordable housing from the Clovis Way of Life, officials have a correction plan.

However, homebuilders say the plan, which adds upward of $5,000 a home to the cost, would make market-rate housing less affordable.

Builders and advocates got a presentation of the city’s Mixed Income Zoning Ordinance on Dec. 18, explaining how new zoning rules would produce affordable housing.

It requires builders with projects of 10 homes or more — including apartment complexes — to set aside at least 5% of those units to families earning less than the area average. Builders who don’t do the set-aside can instead pay into the city’s new housing fund. The fund’s first project is a senior housing center, said Chad McCollum, economic development director for the city.

He said while this is a new program, the city wants to give builders options to make home construction easier.

“We know this is going to be a different way of doing business,” McCollum said. “The ability to either dedicate land, to pay the in-lieu fee, to build offsite, to acquire and rehab an existing apartment building or other property to be used for that set-aside. These are all other ways to ensure that there’s options for developers.”

(Disclosure: GV Wire Publisher Darius Assemi is the owner of Granville Homes.)

Affordable Housing Policy to Add to Housing Costs: De Young

McCollum said they hope to meet with developers and members of the public to refine the plan before it goes to the city’s planning commission in February and the Clovis City Council in March.

Plaintiff and homeless advocate Desiree Martinez declined to comment on the plan. Attorney Patience Milrod deferred a comment to an attorney with Central California Legal Services, who did not respond in time for publication.

Brandon De Young, executive vice president at De Young Properties, said builders need more time to understand the policy and rushing could lead to unintended consequences for development.

Clovis’ builder fees are typically higher than in Fresno.

“As a local builder, our main concern with the new (Mixed Income Zoning Ordinance) is that it adds significant costs to new homebuilding at a time when Clovis housing is already strained by high developer impact fees and other factors,” De Young said. “For example, the in-lieu fee of $2.80 per square foot of living space would add about $5,600 to a typical 2,000 square-foot home, further eroding affordability for buyers.”

Does Clovis Want Affordable Housing?

The city found itself having to implement changes after a lawsuit from Martinez and housing advocate/attorney Milrod. The state sided with plaintiffs, saying the city was 4,425 housing units short — much of it high density — in its state-mandated plan.

As part of the court-ordered settlement, the city found space in it zoning plan for 1,300 units and agreed to six terms that would make up the remaining difference.

One of the items now being discussed — to be considered by the city’s planning commission and city council in early 2026 — would require homebuilders to either build affordable housing or pay into a fund to support construction of it.

The Mixed-Income Zoning Ordinance requires that 5% of new homes be priced for people earning less than the area median income. For apartments and duplexes, half of that 5% must be priced for people earning 50% AMI and the other half for people earning 80% AMI.

Apartment broker Robin Kane, managing director for Northmarq, said while normally he opposes government intervention, he supports increasing affordable housing stock.

“The problem is rents have risen far beyond the majority of the market’s ability to afford,” Kane said.

One woman at the city meeting said when her family moved to Clovis, they did not want affordable housing near them.

“You’re coming back after us, who have put our blood, sweat, and tears into our properties and are risking our futures because you guys are now having to place these affordable homes in our neighborhoods,” the woman said.

‘Who Keeps the Equity?’

New homebuilders must also account for the 5% requirement. That means any new development of more than 10 units has to build one affordable home — the city rounds up decimals to the next whole number. At 30 units, the developer must build two affordable residences. Builders will have to spread out the loss across the market rate homes.

What is considered “affordable?”

For a couple earning $60,100 — the current 80% AMI figure — that equates to about a $310,000 home with a 5% down payment, according to GV Wire research.

That feasibility study says the average smaller new home north of Herndon Avenue sells for about $472,400. A smaller home east of Fowler Avenue and south of Herndon sells for about $442,000. A small home west of Fowler Avenue goes for $421,200.

Affordable homes have 45-year covenants, so for families buying those residences, reselling caps earnings because the 80% area median income price ceiling will remain.

Assemi said that means reduced equity power for homeowners.

“Who keeps the equity?” Assemi asked.

Clovis to Build Affordable Senior Living

Part of the settlement includes the creation of a housing trust fund. Courts ordered Clovis to put $1 million in it and an additional $100,000 every year for the next eight years — even longer if Clovis fails to meet its housing goals in the future.

The money that builders pay in-lieu of constructing affordable housing goes into the fund.

The city first plans to build a 47-unit dedicated affordable senior housing complex near the city’s senior center at 135 Osmun Drive. The project is from the Clovis-based Affordable Housing Development Corp.

The developer plans to begin construction in 2026, though grants and tax credits still need to be secured, McCollum said.

The two- and three-story apartments would have a library, laundry facilities, courtyard, and dog run.

“The reality is the state wants to house people. In the judgment, the goal is to house people,” McCollum said. “The goal is to create units that people can live in.”