Builders in the city of Santa Fe won't have to provide as many homes for the affordable program over the next three years under a rule change adopted by the City Council.

Councilors on Wednesday night voted 5-2 to amend housing regulations that have been in place since 2006. They required developers to build 30 percent of homes in a new subdivision to certain standards and to sell them at fixed prices to income-qualified buyers.

Under the amendment, developers of new subdivisions will only have to make 20 percent of their homes available to low-income buyers. And they will no longer have to build homes for the affordable-program buyers who earn more than 80 percent of the area median income.

Backers of the change say it's a reasonable response to drastic economic conditions that have altered the local housing market.

Developers whose subdivisions have been approved by the city but who have not completed construction can renegotiate agreements with the city under the new provisions.

Councilor Carmichael Dominguez, who voted in favor of the plan, said the reduction might provide opportunities not provided now. "It makes it a little bit easier to get a project off the ground," he said.

Developer Jeff Branch, whose proposed housing project on the south side has been in the planning stages for four years, said he hopes the change will alter financial projections for developments just enough that banks will loan money they currently are not lending.

"We've got to do anything we can right now," he said.

However, not everyone involved with the development community said the plan was the right one. Karl Sommer, an attorney who represents builders and landowners, said he favored an earlier proposal to slice the requirement from 30 percent to 15 percent. By reducing just the top tier of affordable-housing requirements, officials won't really relieve the burden on developers who have to subsidize affordable homes for low-income buyers by $60,000 or more per house, he said.

Councilor Patti Bushee, who voted against the plan along with Councilor Miguel Chavez, said she worried that the amendments unraveled years of work at City Hall and in the community.

Councilors Chris Calvert, Rosemary Romero, Ronald Trujillo and Rebecca Wurzburger also voted in favor of the rule change.

Along with reducing the percentage of affordable-program homes required for large developments, the council also scaled back fees charged for small developments.

Builder Bill Roth said that as someone who works on small projects, he knows that change will help projects come to fruition.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.