VCC Land Use & Natural Resources Committee Meeting - Oct 20, 1999 Land Use Committee attendees: Ray Bottemly, John Gerstle, Jacqui Pegues, Gardner Perry, Sharon Price,. Brian Vance Others: Hal Stewart, Carol Stewart, and Cynthia Ricks-Maccotan representing King County At the September 20 VMI Community Council Meeting, the following motion: Amend King County Comprehensive Plan to include: A subdevelopment of five or more residences (apartments or detached housing ) shall be required to provide one dwelling that would be affordable to low income families (as defined by King County for Vashon) for each five residences in the subdevelopment was tabled after Brian Vance proposed the following amendment A sub-development of five or more residences (apartments or detached housing) on Vashon-Maury Island should be allowed to provide one additional dwelling unit (over and above that allowed by current zoning) to be affordable to low income families (as defined by King County for Vashon) for each five residences in the sub-development (subject to current water and sewage regulations). and discussion ensued as to whether it could be dealt with as a friendly amendment. At the Committee meeting, Cynthia Ricks-Maccotan-King County Lead on Housing Issues discussed the issues with inclusionary zoning. (Is zoning fair and equitable?, does it meet need for public benefit?, requirements of the Growth Management Act) Cynthia cited the example of the City of Snoqualamie which recently instigated a code change effective in January 2000 requiring a developer of 20 or more units to provide one affordable unit for every 20 housing units. Another option that has been used is to offer a density bonus wherein the developer is not charged for some permit costs in exchange for building some affordable housing. With these options are restrictions on resale and caps on improvements to ensure that the dwellings continue to meet the affordable criteria. Another option is for the developer to pay upfront some development costs of affordable housing to non-profit group(s) developing low income housing. ( A more complete explanation of affordable housing incentives has been sent by Cynthia and is included below). After lengthy discussion, Gardner commented that these options were too complex to lend themselves to relatively simple amendments. Brian then made the following motion: Discard the original motion and the alternative motion and instead offer: Amend King County Comprehensive Plan to say: King County shall encourage suitable development on Vashon Island of low income housing through the application of incentives to private developers such as a density bonus system, tax incentives and permit cost rebate incentives. The moition was passed by a vote of Aye 6, Nay 2. The Committee will offer this new motion to the VMICC at its November meeting. The discussion of future activity and the original 4 goals of this committee was deferred until the next meeting. It was reported that the hearing on Vashon Meadows has been indefinitely postponed. Next Meeting: November 17, 1999 7:30 pm Chatauqua School Multipurpose Room Other meetings of interest · Tuesday, October 26th "Meeting on the Maury Island Aquifer Study - Presentation by Department of Ecology at 7 p.m. at Chautauqua School · Saturday Nov. 13 Vashon Streams Forum to include exhibits, speakers, and a panel discussion from 1 to 4 pm. at McMurray Middle School. Rayna Holtz is preparing brochures. · King County - Appendix H Affordable Housing Incentives In addition to direct funding, King County uses a variety of programs to encourage the construction of new housing that is affordable to low-income households. This section provides policies governing eligibility for land use incentives programs for affordable housing adopted in the King County Zoning Code and mitigation fee ordinances. The following programs are currently available and are covered by these policies: Road fee exemptions. The roads Mitigation Payment System allows for a fee waiver for housing developed by public and nonprofit agencies, and a fee reduction for private for-profit developments that set aside certain units for low- and moderate-income buyers or renters. The housing must remain affordable for at least 15 years. The MPS program also waives fees for low-income homebuyers who are building or siting a home on their own property. Density bonuses. The Zoning Code contains affordable housing density bonuses for rental housing, home ownership developments, and mobile home parks that accept displaced homes. Developments providing affordable housing may increase the number of dwelling units on the site, up to 150 percent of the base density permitted by zoning. School fee exemptions. Similar to the roads fee program, the ordinance establishing mitigation fees for schools allows fee waivers and reductions for affordable housing. Housing developed for low- and moderate-income buyers or renters must remain affordable for 15 years. Waivers are also available for low-income homebuyers who are building or siting a home on their own property, however, if the home is sold within 10 years, the fee must be paid to the school district. For each of these programs, general eligibility criteria in the ordinance have been established in the ordinance; additional procedures are contained in administrative rules for each program. The following policies are intended to guide development of administrative rules and operations of the programs. The affordable housing density bonuses and fee exemptions may be used by developments also receiving financial subsidies, such as loans or grants from the State Housing Trust Fund, King County Consortium CDBG or HOME funds, King County Housing Opportunity Fund or low-interest mortgages through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. For such projects the eligibility criteria established by the funding source or sources would take precedence. Any project that met or exceeded the policies below would be eligible for density bonuses and fee exemptions. Policy: Rental housing programs eligible for density bonuses or fee exemptions shall serve households with incomes at or below 50 percent of the Countywide median household income, adjusted for household size. Rents shall not exceed 30 percent of the monthly household income, based on the size of the household and housing unit size. Ownership programs eligible for density bonuses or fee exemptions shall serve households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the Countywide median household income, adjusted for household size. Total household assets shall be no greater than $30,000, excluding personal property such as furniture and car; exemptions may be granted under extenuating circumstances. House value shall not exceed an amount, which is affordable to a household at 80 percent of median income, based on standard lending criteria, and prevailing interest rates. The house must be the purchasing household’s primary residence. When long term affordability is required by ordinance, the housing shall remain affordable for at least 15 years. A covenant, deed restriction or other contractual arrangement shall be recorded to establish ongoing affordability requirements and monitoring procedures. Household incomes, house prices and rental rates shall be adjusted annually by King County. Home ownership programs shall require resale to income-eligible purchasers and/or recapture of subsidy to finance future housing programs. Other examples of Consortium City Incentives for Affordable Housing Density bonuses for senior housing Density bonuses for affordable housing in general developments Waiver for traffic impact fees for affordability Minimum lot size calculations that promotes maximum number of units Manufactured housing and accessory dwelling units are allowed throughout some cities