[Added 9-18-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008]
[Amended 5-2-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]
A. Establishment of Housing Board. The Town Board hereby establishes
a Town Housing Board, which shall be responsible for the administration
of the below-market-rate housing requirements of this section as well
as for the promulgation of rules and regulations as may be necessary
to implement such requirements.
(1) The Housing Board shall consist of seven members appointed by the
Town Board and serving at the pleasure of the Town Board, with the
Chairperson appointed annually.
(2) The rules and regulations developed by the Housing Board as may be
necessary to implement the requirements outlined below must be approved
by the Town Board.
(3) The Town Housing Board shall certify as eligible all applicants for
rental or sales of below-market-rate dwelling units and shall annually
reexamine, or cause to be reexamined, each renter occupant's family
income and assets.
(4) On or before March 30 of each year thereafter, the Town Housing Board
shall notify the owner or manager of each multifamily development
containing below-market-rate affordable units as to the rent, sales
and income eligibility requirements for such units derived from the
preceding calendar year.
(5) The owner or manager of each multifamily development shall certify
to the Housing Board on or before May 31 of each year that the current
rental or sales prices and income eligibility of all below-market-rate
dwelling units and their occupants comply with the terms of this article.
(6) Below-market-rate dwelling units may be occupied only by the owner, his or her immediate family and occasional houseguests, except by express permission of the Housing Board. Any unit not owner-occupied may be rented only if approved by the Housing Board, to applicants who qualify according to Subsections
B,
C, and
D of this section.
B. Income eligibility for below-market-rate housing units. Income eligibility
for below-market-rate housing applicants shall be verified by the
Housing Board according to the following standards or as further restricted
in the applicable zone:
(1) Families whose aggregate income, including the total of all current
annual income of all adult members residing in the household from
any source whatsoever at the time of application, but excluding the
earnings of working minors (under 21 years of age) attending school
full time, does not exceed the following multiples of Westchester
County median income established by HUD during the three most recently
completed calendar years:
Size of Family
(persons)
|
Multiple of Median Wages
|
---|
1
|
0.9
|
2
|
1.1
|
3
|
1.3
|
4
|
1.4
|
5
|
1.6
|
6
|
1.7
|
7
|
1.9
|
8 or more
|
2.0
|
(2) Property income. For property or other investments that are not returning
dividends, rents or other measurable income (excluding normal household
personal possessions), a yearly income of 5% of the fair market value
of the investment shall be included in the family's aggregate income.
(3) Applicants for below-market-rate rental units referred to in this
section shall, if eligible and if certified for occupancy by the Housing
Board, sign leases for a term of no more than two years.
(4) As long as a resident remains eligible and has complied with the terms of the lease, said resident may be offered a one-year renewal of the lease. If a resident's annual gross income should subsequently exceed by more than 20% of the maximum then allowable, as defined in this section, and if there is at that time an otherwise eligible applicant within one of the categories in Subsection
B above, said resident may complete his current lease term or one year from date of notification, whichever is longer.
(5) In the case of owner-occupied below-market-rate dwelling units, the title to said property shall be restricted so that in the event of any resale by the home buyer or any successor, the resale price shall not exceed the then maximum sales price for said unit, regardless of improvement, as determined in accordance with Subsection
B of this section. It is assumed that homeowners, in the course of their homeownership, will be making improvements to their property.
C. Additional eligibility priorities. Financially eligible persons and
families applying for below-market-rate dwelling units shall be selected
by the Housing Board on the basis of the following categories of priority:
(1) Pound Ridge Volunteer Fire Department Member or Pound Ridge Volunteer
Ambulance Corps Member. Applicants must now be and have been members
in good standing for not less than two years.
(2) Town of Pound Ridge municipal employees.
(4) Immediate relatives of Pound Ridge residents (children, parents,
siblings, aunts and uncles).
(5) Bedford Central and Katonah-Lewisboro School District employees.
(6) Other persons employed in Pound Ridge.
(7) Seniors from contiguous towns.
(8) Other persons employed in Westchester County.
D. Selection priorities. Within each of the above categories, the applicant
shall be selected according to the following additional priorities.
(1) Families of which the head or spouse is 62 years or older.
(2) Families of which the head or spouse is handicapped (certified by
a physician).
(3) Pound Ridge head of family, 35 years of age or younger.
E. Monthly rent and/or sale price of below-market-rate units.
(1) The maximum monthly rent for a below-market-rate dwelling unit shall
not exceed 1.75%, excluding utilities (gas, oil, electricity, water
and sewage, common charges), or 2%, if utilities and common charges
are included, of the multiple assigned to the number of bedrooms in
the dwelling unit times the average of the last three-year median
income levels published by Westchester County.
(2) The maximum gross sales price for a below-market-rate dwelling unit
shall not exceed two times the multiple assigned to the number of
bedrooms in the dwelling unit times the average of the last three-year
median of annual paid wages as outlined in the table below.
|
|
Number of Occupants Permitted
|
---|
Number of Bedrooms in Dwelling Unit
|
Multiple Applied to Three-Year Average
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
---|
Efficiency
|
0.9
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
11
|
2
|
2
|
1.25
|
2
|
4
|
3
|
1.5
|
3
|
6
|
4
|
1.75
|
5
|
8
|
NOTE:
|
---|
1Only if efficiency is not available.
Tenant should be transferred to efficiency when one becomes available;
lease should so provide.
|
(3) At the time of the issuance of a certificate of compliance, the Building
Inspector shall send a copy of such certificate to the Town Housing
Board, which shall then inform the applicant of the maximum rental
or sales charge which may be established for the below-market-rate
dwelling units in such development and the maximum annual gross family
income for eligibility for occupancy of said units.
(4) Tax assessment. The limited rental income and/or sales value of below-market-rate
units shall be taken into consideration by the Town Assessor in determining
the full value basis for assessments on such units.
F. Other Housing Board responsibilities. In addition to the administrative
responsibilities outlined herein, the Housing Board shall also evaluate
resident housing needs, identify housing opportunities and maintain
waiting lists for those seeking housing. The Housing Board shall make
recommendations to the Town Board on the status of various housing-related
issues at least once each calendar year.
G. New dwellings and occupancies. Notwithstanding the subsections above, subsequent to the effective date of §
113-100 of this chapter, all new affordable dwelling units created in accordance with §
113-99 shall be affordable fair housing dwelling units regulated by §
113-100, rather than below-market-rate units. The same shall be true for all new occupancies of all existing below-market-rate units.
[Added 5-2-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]
A. Required affordable fair housing dwelling unit component. Within all residential developments of 10 or more dwelling units created by subdivision or site plan approval in the Town, no less than 10% of the total number of units must be created as affordable fair housing units. For example, one dwelling unit out of 10 approved units shall be an affordable fair housing dwelling. In the calculation of the required number of affordable fair housing dwellings in projects containing 30 or fewer dwelling units, when 10% of the total lots results in a fraction of a whole number, fractions of 0.6 or greater shall result in the creation of an additional affordable fair housing dwelling unit. In the calculation of the required number of affordable fair housing dwellings in projects containing more than 30 dwelling units, when 10% of the total lots results in a fraction of a whole number, said fraction shall result in the creation of an additional affordable fair housing dwelling unit. Notwithstanding the above, all multifamily housing projects containing four or more dwellings approved in accordance with §
113-57 of this chapter shall contain at least one affordable fair housing unit.
[Amended 2-6-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
B. Maximum rent and sales price. The maximum monthly rent for an affordable
fair housing dwelling unit and the maximum gross sales price for such
a unit shall be established in accordance with U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development guidelines as published in the current
edition of the "Westchester County Area Median Income (AMI) Sales
& Rent Limits," available from the County of Westchester.
C. Time period of affordability. Affordable fair housing dwelling units
must remain affordable for a minimum of 50 years from the date of
the initial certificate of occupancy for rental properties and from
the date of the original sale for ownership units.
D. Property restriction. A property containing any affordable fair housing
dwelling units must be restricted using a mechanism such as a declaration
of restrictive covenants in recordable form acceptable to the Town
Attorney which shall ensure that the affordable fair housing unit(s)
shall remain subject to the affordable fair housing regulations for
a minimum of 50 years. Among other provisions, the covenants shall
require that the affordable fair housing unit shall be the primary
residence of the household selected to occupy the unit. Upon approval,
such declaration shall be recorded against said property prior to
the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the development.
E. Unit appearance and integration. All affordable fair housing dwelling
units shall be indistinguishable in appearance, siting, and exterior
design and finishes from the other homes in the development, to the
greatest extent possible. Interior finishes and furnishings may be
reduced in quality and cost to assist in the lowering of the cost
of development of the affordable fair housing units. The affordable
fair housing units shall be physically integrated into the design
of the development and shall be distributed among various sizes (efficiency,
one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units) in the same proportion
as all other dwelling units in the development.
F. Minimum floor area. In single-family subdivisions, the minimum gross
floor area of the affordable fair housing dwelling units shall not
be less than 50% of the average floor area of the market-rate homes
in the project. In multifamily projects, the minimum gross floor area
of the affordable fair housing dwelling units shall not be less than
80% of the average floor area of the market-rate housing units in
the development. Further, the affordable fair housing dwellings shall
be no less than the following in size:
Number of Bedrooms in Dwelling Unit
|
Minimum Gross Floor Area
(square feet)
|
---|
Efficiency
|
450
|
1
|
675
|
2
|
750
|
3
|
1,000 (including at least 1.5 baths)
|
4
|
1,200 (including at least 1.5 baths)
|
G. Occupancy standards. The following occupancy schedule shall apply
to affordable fair housing dwelling units:
|
Number of Occupants Permitted
|
---|
Number of Bedrooms in Dwelling Unit
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
---|
Efficiency
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
6
|
4
|
4
|
8
|
H. Marketing.
(1)
The affordable fair housing dwelling units created under the
provisions of this section shall be sold or rented, and resold and
re-rented during the required period of affordability, to only qualifying
income-eligible households. Such income-eligible households shall
be solicited in accordance with the requirements, policies and protocols
established in the Westchester County Fair & Affordable Housing
Affirmative Marketing Plan.
(2)
Notwithstanding the above, not more than 25% of the affordable
fair housing units in a particular development may be marketed to
the Town's nonresident workforce if it can be shown that such targeted
nonresident workforce is more diverse than the existing resident population
in the Town.
I. Resale requirements.
(1)
All affordable fair housing units shall have the title to said
property and be deed restricted so that in the event of any resale
by the home buyer or any successor, the resale price shall not exceed
the then-maximum sales price for said unit, as determined in this
chapter, or the sum of:
(a)
The net purchase price (i.e., gross sales prices minus subsidies)
paid for the unit by the selling owner, increased by the percentage
increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers in the New York-Northern New Jersey Area, as
published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (the "Index")
on any date between:
[1]
The month that was two months earlier than the date on which
the seller acquired the unit; and
[2]
The month that is two months earlier than the month in which
the seller contracts to sell the unit. If the Bureau stops publishing
this Index, and fails to designate a successor index, the Town shall
designate a substitute index; and
(b)
The cost of major capital improvements made by the seller of
the unit while said seller of the unit owned the unit as evidenced
by paid receipts depreciated on a straight line basis over a fifteen-year
period from the date of completion and such approval shall be requested
for said major capital improvement no later than the time the seller
of the unit desires to include it in the resale price.
(2)
Notwithstanding the above, in no event shall the resale price
exceed an amount affordable to a household at 80% of AMI at the time
of the resale.
J. Lease renewal requirements.
(1)
Applicants for affordable fair housing rental units shall, if
eligible and if selected for occupancy, sign leases for a term of
no more than two years. As long as a household remains eligible and
has complied with the terms of the lease, said household shall be
offered renewal leases for a term of no more than two years each.
Renewal of a lease shall be subject to the conditions of federal,
state or county provisions that may be imposed by the terms of the
original development funding agreements for the development or to
the provisions of other applicable local law.
(2)
If no such provisions are applicable and if a household's annual
gross income should subsequently exceed the maximum then allowable,
as defined in this chapter, then said household may complete their
current lease term and shall be offered a market-rate rental unit
available in the development at the termination of such lease term,
if available. If no such dwelling unit shall be available at said
time, the resident may be allowed to sign one additional one-year
lease for the affordable fair housing unit they occupy but shall not
be offered a renewal of the lease beyond the expiration of said term.
K. Incentives for the provision of affordable fair housing dwelling
units.
(1)
Each single-family detached affordable fair housing dwelling
may be located on a lot meeting at least 75% of the minimum lot area
for the single-family homes in the development.
(2)
The Planning Board may, in its discretion, waive up to 50% of
the recreation fee otherwise attributable to the creation of affordable
fair housing dwelling units.
L. Tax assessment. The limited rental income and/or sales value of the
affordable fair housing units shall be taken into consideration by
the Town Assessor in determining the full value basis for assessments
on such units.
M. Administration and monitoring. The Town Board shall designate a board,
commission or other organization to administer and monitor compliance
with these regulations. If the affordable fair housing has a regulatory
agreement regarding the affordable fair housing nature of the project
with a state and/or federal agency, a copy of the annual audit(s)
by the regulatory agency(ies) shall be submitted to the Town.
N. Expedited project review process.
(1)
The various review and approval authorities involved with a
project having an affordable fair housing dwelling unit component
shall make every practicable effort to hold their meetings and/or
hearings concurrently.
(2)
Projects containing affordable fair housing dwelling units shall
be placed at the beginning of all relevant meeting and work session
agendas.
(3)
Should the approval process extend beyond one year, an applicant
for a project containing affordable fair housing dwelling units shall
be entitled to at least one additional meeting per year with said
review and approval authorities.