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:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND (AHTF)
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.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND COMMITTEE (AHTF COMMITTEE)
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.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNIT
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.
AREA MEDIAN INCOME (AMI)
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.
CITY OF YONKERS
A municipal corporation established pursuant to the laws
of the State of New York with offices at 40 South Broadway, Yonkers,
New York, 10701.
DEVELOPER
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.
DWELLING UNIT OR DWELLING
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.)
MARKET RATE DWELLING UNIT
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.
MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT
One or more residential buildings developed in a single project
collectively containing 20 or more dwelling units.
TERM OF AFFORDABILITY
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.
UNDUE CONCENTRATION
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.
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.
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.
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.