Authorize the Chief Financial Officer to provide waiver of the Primero Grove Regulatory Agreement from September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022. (No general fund impact) (Rinde)

Authorize the Chief Financial Officer to provide waiver of the Primero Grove Regulatory Agreement from September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022.

Safe Communities

In 1998, the County issued $11,715,000 in Housing Revenue Bonds for the purpose of loaning to Beckett Hall, Inc. to finance the acquisition and construction of a 181 unit multi-family housing development on the Campus of the University of California Davis known as the Primero Grove Student Apartments. The County is a conduit issuer and the bonds are wholly paid by the revenues generated by the Primero Grove Housing development. 

The County at the time of conduit issuance entered into a Regulatory Agreement with Beckett Hall, Inc. that restricted 20% of the housing units (36 units) to be retained for low-income housing for which annual compliance measurements and reporting would be required. 

EAH Housing, the parent company to Beckett Hall, Inc., asked the County to allow for a temporary partial waiver to the Regulatory Agreement to remove the restriction on the low-income units on certain buildings.

The waiver was previously approved from September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021 to support UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services in adapting to the circumstances of COVID-19 (for the 2020-21 academic year), by only placing or assigning students in the Primero Grove units for isolation or quarantine purposes and not allowing use for regular student housing (non-isolation purposes).

EAH Housing has requested that a waiver be granted to allow this to continue for the 2021-22 academic year through August 31, 2022. As part of the university's plan for the upcoming year, they intend to use the Laurel and Magnolia Buildings at Primero Grove for students needing to isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19 and thus request the requirements for low-income and very-low income tenants be waived.  The spaces at the Spruce Building will be available for student living with 8 units (20% of the 39 units) subject to the low-income requirements for the regulatory agreement. 

County staff have consulted with County Counsel and Bond Counsel and determined that this waiver is legally allowable and the request is reasonable to support the University's ability to adapt to COVID-19. Thus, the request of the Board is to authorize the County Chief Financial Officer to provide authorization for the temporary waiver of the Primero Grove Regulatory Agreement.

The Department of Financial Services collaborated with County Counsel, County Administrator, Bond Counsel, and EAH Housing on this request.

Not applicable.