In reviewing requests for conversion of existing apartments to condominiums, the planning commission shall consider the following:

(a) Whether or not the amount and impact of the displacement of tenants, if the conversion is approved, would be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of the community.

(b) The role that the apartment structure plays in the existing housing market. Particular emphasis will be placed on the evaluation of rental structures to determine if the existing apartment complex is serving low-income and moderate-income households. Criteria to determine low-income and moderate-income households used by the federal and state governments will be used in the evaluation. Along with other factors, the city will consider the following:

(1) The number of families on current waiting lists for assisted rental housing programs that operate in Oroville, such as the Section 8, Section 23, and Section 236 programs, and the most current Housing Assistance Plan (HAP) of the city and any successor programs;

(2) The probable income range of tenants living in existing apartments based on factual information supplied by the applicant which can be adequately documented, or the assumption that households pay between one-fourth and one-half of their income for housing. That income range will be compared with existing income limits for said Section 8 program to determine whether potential displaced tenants can be categorized as low-income and moderate-income.

(c) The need and demand and community benefits which are derived from the provision of lower cost home ownership opportunities which opportunities are increased by the conversion of apartments to condominiums.

(d) If the planning commission determines that vacancies in the project have been increased for the purpose of preparing the project for conversion, the conversion shall be disapproved. In evaluation of the current vacancy rate under this subsection, the increase in rental rates for each unit over the preceding five years and the average monthly vacancy rate for the project over the preceding two years shall be considered. (Ord. No. 1315, § 14.)