[Added 12-10-2013 by L.L. No. 12-2013[1]]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This local law also repealed former Article
XV, Affordable Housing, and further provided that it would take effect
on the 90th day following its adoption but would not apply "to any
approved residential development, or any amendment thereto, or any
proposed residential development with a completed application, proposed
contract of sale, or proposed development lease, or any amendment
thereto, filed with the City Council or any City Board or Commission
on or before November 22, 2013."
This article shall be known as the "Affordable Housing Ordinance"
of the City of Yonkers.
This Affordable Housing Ordinance is adopted in furtherance
of the following related and more specific purposes:
A.
To implement a program whereby all newly constructed or substantially
rehabilitated multifamily housing developments in Yonkers will be
required to include affordable housing units.
B.
To provide for the construction and rehabilitation of housing units
for rental or sale that will be affordable to households earning between
30% and 100% of the Westchester County area median income.
C.
To provide for a variety of affordable housing units in both size
and type.
D.
To promote affordable housing units throughout the City.
E.
To promote the provision of affordable housing units in a dispersed
manner.
F.
To provide measures to ensure that affordable housing units remain
affordable for specified periods of time.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
following meanings as indicated:
A trust fund created for the use of receiving funds from
developers required to provide affordable housing units that have
been granted the option of paying into the AHTF in lieu of developing
the required number of affordable units. The AHTF shall further the
purpose of the renovation, rehabilitation, and/or remediation of units
and infrastructure dedicated for affordable housing. The AHTF Committee
must apply at least 50% of the AHTF funds to assist projects promoting
the construction, rehabilitation or redevelopment of units that will
be affordable to households earning between 30% and 49% of AMI. The
AHTF Committee shall apply 10% of the AHTF funds to the assistance
of housing for seniors or disabled persons. The AHTF Committee shall
apply the remaining 40% of the AHTF funds to such other purposes as
it deems appropriate to further the purposes of this article. All
decisions by the AHTF Committee regarding the allocation of funds
are within its discretion. Nothing in this article shall be construed
as providing to any developer or other applicant any AHTF funds or
other subsidy from the City as a matter of right.
A committee composed of the following five voting members:
the Mayor of the City of Yonkers, or his/her designee; the Deputy
Mayor of the City of Yonkers, or his/her designee; the Commissioner
of Planning and Development of the City of Yonkers, or his/her designee;
the Majority Leader of the Yonkers City Council, or his/her designee;
and the Minority Leader of the Yonkers City Council, or his/her designee.
The AHTF Committee shall administer the AHTF and perform such other
duties as provided in this article.
A dwelling unit, as defined herein, which has been made affordable by public subsidy or by internal cross subsidy to a specified income group as defined herein, and for which affordability controls, as defined in § 43-198, shall apply.
The most recently updated annual median household income
figures, adjusted for family size, calculated and published by the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Westchester
County, New York State.
A multifamily development in which more than 10% of the dwelling
units are affordable housing units.
A municipal corporation established pursuant to the laws
of the State of New York with offices at 40 South Broadway, Yonkers,
New York, 10701.
The lead entity responsible for the assemblage of property
and overseeing the planning, design, financing, construction, marketing,
and lease or sale of a multifamily development.
A building, or entirely self-contained portion thereof, containing
its own sleeping, sanitary and cooking facilities, occupied or intended
to be occupied for residential purposes by one family. (All references
to a family herein shall include a single-person family.)
A multifamily development in which a portion of the dwelling units are affordable housing units as required by § 43-194.
A multifamily development containing 100 or more dwelling
units.
A building, or entirely self-contained portion thereof, containing
its own sleeping, sanitary and cooking facilities, occupied or intended
to be occupied for residential purposes by one family that is not
income-restricted or publicly subsidized.
A multifamily development containing between 75 and 99 dwelling
units.
One or more residential buildings developed in a single project
collectively containing 20 or more dwelling units.
A multifamily development containing between 21 and 74 dwelling
units.
The duration, beginning on the date of first rental or sale,
that a new or rehabilitated affordable housing unit must remain affordable
to its originally intended income category.
A census tract within the City of Yonkers where the number
of low-income persons living in the census tract is greater than 50%
as defined by the most recently published U.S. Census Bureau demographics
for the City of Yonkers.
This article constitutes an overlay district to the D-MX, UR-LD,
UR-MD, UR-HD, SBD, M, MG, B, A and BA Zones. This article shall apply
to multifamily developments which will require zoning changes, variances,
special exceptions or other discretionary approvals from the City
to begin construction after the effective date of this article.
A.
Except as provided in Subsection F, all large multifamily housing developments shall contain a minimum number of affordable housing units equal to 10% of the maximum aggregate number of units authorized for construction in such development. The affordable housing units shall be made available to families (including single-person families) with an annual household income in the following proportion and income-eligibility ranges:
B.
All medium multifamily housing developments shall contain at least
two affordable housing units. The units shall be provided to families
with an annual household income in the following proportion and income-eligibility
ranges:
C.
All small multifamily housing developments shall contain at least
one affordable housing unit. In the event that one affordable housing
unit is built, that unit shall be provided to individuals and families
with an annual household income between 40% and 65% of AMI. In the
event that more than one affordable housing unit is built, the units
shall be provided to individuals and families with an annual household
income in the following proportion and income-eligibility ranges:
D.
Any development of fewer than 20 units is exempt from the requirements
of this article.
E.
In calculating the required number of affordable housing units based
on the percentage required, a fraction of a unit less than 0.5 shall
be rounded down to the nearest whole number, and a fraction of a unit
0.5 or greater shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.
F.
A simple majority of the AHTF Committee may waive the on-site requirements of § 43-195A for any large multifamily housing developments and require them to contain a minimum number of affordable housing units equal to 5% of the maximum aggregate number of units authorized for construction in such development and provide a cash payment in lieu of affordable housing units in the following manner:
(1)
Pay, in lieu of providing a minimum number of affordable housing
units equal to 5% of the maximum aggregate number of units authorized
for construction in such development, a fee to the AHTF in accordance
with the following contribution requirements:
|
Unit Size
|
Per-Unit AHTF Contribution
|
|---|---|
|
Studio
|
$90,000
|
|
1 bedroom
|
$130,000
|
|
2 bedroom
|
$150,000
|
|
3 bedroom
|
$200,000
|
|
These unit contribution rates shall remain in effect through the end of 2014. Thereafter, annual contribution rates shall be established by the AHTF Committee based on rules and regulations promulgated by the AHTF Committee. Under no circumstances shall the Committee reduce the per-unit AHTF contribution levels listed above. For purposes of the developer's contributions to the AHTF, the provisions of § 43-197 (Bedroom distribution) shall govern. Specifically, the bedroom distribution for the affordable housing units payment in lieu of development shall be in the same proportion and mix as the market rate units; and
|
(2)
Set aside a minimum number of affordable housing units equal to 5%
of the maximum aggregate number of units authorized for construction
in such developments. The units shall be provided to families with
an annual household income in the following proportion and income-eligibility
ranges:
A.
Developers of inclusionary developments and bonus inclusionary developments
are eligible for a reduction in parking to one parking space per unit
for each affordable housing unit made available to those units provided
to households earning between 40% and 80% of AMI, in lieu of other
City of Yonkers Zoning Code parking requirements.
B.
Developers of bonus inclusionary developments are eligible a density bonus of four market-rate units for each affordable housing unit provided, up to a maximum of 40 density bonus units in a development, above the minimum number of affordable housing units built on site. All market-rate density bonus units shall be provided on site, except that in a development undertaken in phases, stages or otherwise developed in distinct sections, such units may be located in other phases, stages or sections. This section shall not apply to any large multifamily development which receives a waiver from the AHTF Committee as permitted by § 43-194F.
In addition to the standards of review for site plan approval set forth in this chapter, including Article IX, § 43-105, and Article XV, § 202, the Planning Board, as part of the environmental review of a proposed affordable housing development, shall consider the potential social and economic impacts of further undue concentration of a proposed inclusionary development or bonus inclusionary development on census tracts where the number of low-income persons living in the census tract is greater than 50%.
An inclusionary development and bonus inclusionary development
shall provide bedroom distribution for the affordable housing units
in the same proportion and mix as the market rate units.
Affordable housing units shall meet the following affordability
criteria with regards to rental and for-sale inclusionary developments
and bonus inclusionary developments:
A.
Sold at a price, assuming a down payment of 5%, entailing a monthly
carrying cost (which includes a mortgage with principal and interest
payments, property taxes and homeowners' insurance, and may also include
homeowners' association fees or maintenance or carrying costs, but
excludes utilities) not exceeding at any time 33% (or such higher
percentage as permitted by the applicable housing finance program)
of the annualized monthly gross income of the household occupying
the affordable housing unit; or
B.
Rented at a monthly rent (including an allowance for utilities) not
exceeding at any time 30% of the annualized monthly gross income of
the household occupying the affordable housing unit.
A.
Affordable housing units shall be rented or sold only to households meeting (at the time of rental or sale) the affordability criteria in § 43-198 of this chapter as from time to time adjusted for Westchester County by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Such units shall be the primary residence of the occupants, and subletting and assignments to avoid these requirements shall be prohibited.
B.
All affordable housing units subject to purchase shall have resale-price limitations (enforced by covenants running with the land, restrictions on registration of title, or any other appropriate legal mechanism approved by the AHTF Committee or the City) which will ensure that, for a minimum period 30 years, or the minimum period term of affordability required by a government entity providing subsidies, whichever is greater, from the time of their first sale, such housing units are sold or resold only to, and at a price affordable to, a household which is, at the time of purchase, in the same group (referred to in § 43-198 of this chapter) as was the seller at the time such previous owner first occupied the unit.
C.
The owner of rental affordable housing units shall be required to
ensure that, by appropriate covenants enforceable by the AHTF Committee
or the City, for a period of at least 30 years, or the minimum period
term of affordability required by a government entity providing subsidies,
whichever is greater, from the time of first rental, such units are
affordable to, and are re-rented only to, a household which is, at
the time of re-rental, in the same income group as was the previous
tenant at the time such previous tenant first occupied the unit.
D.
Affordable housing units for rental may be converted to units for sale, subject, however, to the same ownership eligibility standards as applicable to units for sale for the remainder of the affordability period from original occupancy referred to in the previous sentence. All tenants in place at the time initial notice of conversion is provided who meet the income qualifications set forth in § 43-198 of this chapter (as at that time adjusted) shall be permitted to purchase their unit at a price affordable to them as defined herein and in accordance with Article 9-B of the Real Property Law or § 352-eee of the General Business Law.
E.
Exempt transfers.
(1)
The affordability and other restrictions on resale and/or occupancy
shall not apply to:
(a)
The transfer of ownership of an affordable housing unit between
spouses or former spouses ordered as a result of a judicial decree
of divorce or separation agreement (not including transfers to third
parties).
(b)
The transfer of ownership of a unit between family members as
a result of inheritance.
(c)
Former HUD-insured multifamily projects which, following default
on the mortgage, HUD acquires or is mortgagee in possession ("MIP"),
to the extent that the provisions are inconsistent with applicable
HUD statutes and regulations regarding management or disposition of
HUD-owned projects or projects for which HUD is MIP.
(3)
An exempted transfer as heretofore provided in this subsection shall
not toll the running of the minimum thirty-year period referred to
in this section.
F.
This section shall not be interpreted as in any way affecting or
diminishing, and shall apply together with, occupancy criteria (to
be applied in good faith by the City or the developer) substantially
of the type set forth in 24 CFR 960.205 to ensure that the personal
and financial background of each potential tenant or owner of affordable
housing units will not be detrimental to the viability of the housing
development.
The developer shall be responsible for prescreening, qualifying
and selecting applicants who wish to occupy (as tenants or purchasers)
affordable housing units. The developer may contract with a qualified
housing services provider to assist in outreach, screening and certifications.
The AHTF Committee and designated City staff shall be permitted to
review and monitor a developer's ongoing compliance with the provisions
of this article, including the long-term enforcement of affordability
covenants. In the event a developer fails to enforce the long-term
affordability requirements of this article, the AHTF Committee and
the City shall have the right to elect to take control of said function
and enforce the requirements of this article.
A.
In all inclusionary developments and bonus inclusionary developments,
the following staging schedule shall apply for rental or sale units:
|
Percentage of Market Rate Units Receiving Certificates
of Occupancy
|
Percentage of Assisted Units Receiving Certificates of
Occupancy
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Up to 25%
|
0% (none required)
| |
|
25% + 1 unit
|
At least 10%
| |
|
50%
|
At least 50%
| |
|
75%
|
At least 75%
| |
|
100%
|
100%
|
B.
Certificates of occupancy shall be issued to market rate units when
the required percentage of assisted units for the respective stage
has been completed.
The AHTF Committee shall be responsible for establishing rules,
regulations and procedures necessary for the implementation and administration
of the AHTF as created by this article.
