How to read your results

Before you start

Your results are only as good as five inputs. Gather these before you replace the example, and mark anything you guessed so the board knows which figures are firm.

A staff housing survey is the best source for interest levels and household sizes. Until you have one, the planner’s 10% to 30% interest range is a reasonable placeholder.

Results at a glance

Section 8 shows nine measures, each with a coloured top edge: green is on track, amber needs attention, and red needs action. Read the plain-language summary under them first; it states each result in a sentence.

Site screen

Each site gets one of three labels in section 9, tested against Gov. Code § 65914.7 as amended by AB 1021.

• Eligible means the site passes every test you answered. Housing that meets the law is an allowable use, with no rezoning, use permit, or variance.
• Confirm means the site passes so far but has open questions, usually ownership, infrastructure, or distance to transit. The Open items row lists each one.
• Not eligible means the site fails a test outright, such as land outside an urban limit line or bought after January 1, 2026. Read the red note for the reason.

Allowed density is the greater of local zoning or twice the housing element default for the jurisdiction: 60 units an acre in a metropolitan jurisdiction, 40 in a suburban one. Unit capacity is that density on the housing footprint. Height limit is 35 feet, or 45 to 65 feet within half a mile of a major transit stop when the site is not surrounded by single-family zoning.

In the example, the 1.6-acre annex site allows 96 units and 65 feet because it is near transit. The former elementary school allows 210 units but only 35 feet, so it would need a lower, spread-out building.

Staff affordability

Section 10 sorts each staff group into an income tier using the 2026 HCD State Income Limits for your county and the group’s household size. The tier decides which restricted units the group can rent.

• Very low income is at or under about 50% of area median income. Lower income is at or under HCD’s Low Income limit, about 80%. Moderate income is at or under 120%. Above that, staff can rent only unrestricted units.
• Share of income is market rent for the unit the group needs, divided by monthly household income. Red means over 30%, so the group is priced out.
• Interested is headcount times likely interest.

The chart under the table compares interested staff with the units you plan in each tier. A tier where units far exceed interested staff will fill partly from other education agencies, local public employees, and then the public, in the order the law sets. A tier where staff far exceed units shows where demand is going unmet.

In the example, paraeducators earn $56,000 as a household and would pay 46% of income for a market two-bedroom. They qualify for very low income units, where rent drops to 27% of their income.

Program rents and the affordability mix

The law requires a 55-year deed restriction meeting one of two options. Section 11 shows a bar for each share with a marker at the required level; a bar that reaches its marker meets that share.

The planner counts each unit once, in its own tier, which is the cautious reading. Your counsel may count the shares differently.

Rents are estimates of Tax Credit Allocation Committee limits: 30% of income at the share of median you choose, at 1.5 people a bedroom, less the utility allowance. Confirm them against TCAC’s published table before you set real rents. A rent shown in red sits above market, so that unit rents at market and gives staff no discount; lower that tier’s rent level in section 4.

The table under the bars shows which staff groups qualify for each tier and what share of income they would pay. A group shown as “Unrestricted only” earns too much for any restricted unit.

Development cost

Section 12 lists every cost line in total, a unit, and as a share of the whole. The total development cost is what the funding stack has to cover. Read it in three steps:

1. Check the cost a unit against recent projects in your region. The example’s $658,000 a unit, including $60,000 of district land, is typical of new California infill apartments with podium parking.
2. Find the lines that dominate. Building construction is usually 50% to 60%; podium parking, soft costs, and fees are the usual surprises.
3. Replace the placeholder costs with a cost estimator’s figures before the board relies on the total.

District land appears as both a cost and a source when you choose to show it. It does not change the gap; it shows the board the value the district is contributing.

Operating pro forma

Section 13 projects 30 years of operations. The key line is net operating income: rents and other income, less vacancy, operating costs, management, reserves, and property tax. It is the cash available to pay debt.

• In the chart, the navy line (net operating income) should stay above the dashed red line (debt payments). The gap between them is the copper line, cash flow after debt payments.
• Debt coverage is net operating income divided by debt payments. Lenders size the permanent loan so year 1 meets their test, usually 1.15 to 1.25.
• Cash flow turning negative in later years means costs are set to grow faster than rents. Lower the cost growth, raise rent growth within the limits, or reduce debt.

In the example, year 1 net operating income is $795,000, debt payments are $662,000, and coverage is 1.20. Cash flow grows from $133,000 to $573,000 by year 30, which could repay the soft loan, top up reserves, or lower rents.

Sources, uses, and the funding gap

Section 14 sets the development cost against every source. The funding gap is the cost the sources do not cover; a striped red block on the sources bar shows its size. A gap at this stage is normal. It tells the board how much more the district or its partners need to find.

The Terms column shows how each source is repaid, which matters as much as its size:

Ways to close a gap, roughly from least to most effort:

1. Lower costs: smaller units, less or cheaper parking, or a simpler building.
2. Shift the mix toward moderate and unrestricted units, which raises rent and the loan, while still meeting option A or B.
3. Add tax credits for the lower income units.
4. Add soft loans from the county, city, or state, or grants.
5. Increase the district’s own contribution through bonds, certificates of participation, or cash.

Readiness checks and your board

Section 15 lists every check with a status. On track meets the statute and good practice. Watch needs an answer before the board commits, and is usually a question for counsel, the planning department, or a lender. Action should be fixed now; the note under it says what is wrong and how to fix it.

Before taking the plan to the board:

• Clear every Action item, or explain why it stays open.
• Replace the example and placeholder figures with your own, and note which are estimates.
• Confirm the program site’s ownership date and urban limit line with title and planning.
• Download the board report (PDF) for the board package.
• Use Present to walk the board through the results in the meeting.

The report ends with decisions requested of the board, drafted from your results. Edit them to fit your district’s process; most boards start by directing staff to pursue a site, run a staff survey, and commission a cost estimate and appraisal.

Limits and who to confirm with

The planner organizes the tests and the numbers; it does not give legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm each area with the right adviser before the board commits money:

The allowable-use law is in effect until January 1, 2036. Income limits are updated each spring, so refresh the county figures when HCD publishes the next table.