The Village of Pelham's Comprehensive Plan and Restoration Initiatives are explicitly designed to support housing affordability in Pelham's downtown core, both through the construction of new for-sale and rental housing and/or adaptive reuse of existing buildings. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the continued availability of diverse housing options for residents which in turn will help maintain Pelham's community character, and which further promotes the general welfare by increasing the potential for qualifying individuals or families who also may be workers and volunteers providing valuable services to the Village to be able to live in the community. It is the objective of this chapter to address this critical housing need by facilitating the construction of new housing or through the adaptive reuse of existing structures to contribute to the creation of affordable housing that affirmatively promotes fair housing consistent with the standards and conditions of this chapter.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Pelham 2-3-2026 by L.L. No. 2-2026. Amendments noted where applicable.]
An affordable affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) unit shall qualify if it complies with the following provisions:
MAXIMUM SALES PRICE
A for-purchase housing unit that is affordable to a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the area median income (AMI) for Westchester County as defined annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and for which the annual housing cost of a unit including common charges, principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) does not exceed 33% of 80% AMI, adjusted for family size and that is marketed in accordance with the Westchester County Fair and Affordable Housing Affirmative Marketing Plan.
MAXIMUM RENT
A rental unit that is affordable to a household whose income does not exceed 60% AMI and for which the annual housing cost of the unit, defined as rent plus any tenant paid utilities, does not exceed 30% of 60% AMI adjusted for family size and is marketed in accordance with the Westchester County Fair and Affordable Housing Affirmative Marketing Plan.
Area median income for Westchester County as defined annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Within all residential or mixed-use developments of 10 or more units created by subdivision or site plan approval, no less than 10% of the total number of units must be created as AFFH units. In residential developments of five to nine units, at least one AFFH unit shall be created. No preferences shall be utilized to prioritize the selection of income eligible tenants or purchasers for AFFH units created under this chapter.
An AFFH unit must remain affordable for a minimum of 50 years from the date of initial certificate of occupancy issued on or immediately preceding it becoming an AFFH unit for rental property and from the date of original sale as an AFFH unit for ownership.
A property containing an AFFH unit must be restricted using a mechanism such as a declaration of restrictive covenants in recordable form acceptable to the Village Board which shall ensure that each AFFH unit shall remain subject to affordable regulations for the minimum 50-year period of affordability. Among other provisions, the covenants shall require that the unit be the primary residence of the resident household selected to occupy the unit. Upon approval, such a declaration shall be recorded against the property containing the AFFH unit prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any dwelling unit on the property.
For-purchase AFFH units must be owner-occupied.
A.
Within a multi-family residential development, all affordable AFFH units shall be physically integrated into the design of the multi-family development.
B.
All AFFH units shall be indistinguishable in appearance, siting and exterior design from the other units 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 AFFH unit(s).
The minimum gross floor area for any given AFFH unit shall not be less than 80% of the average floor area of similar unit types in the residential development which are not AFFH units and unless otherwise required to meet the requirements of the New York State Building Code as may be amended from time to time. For the purposes of this chapter, a balcony or terrace appurtenant to a dwelling unit located above the ground floor and having an area of 50 square feet or more may be counted for the purpose of meeting the minimum floor area requirement.
For the sale or rental of AFFH units the minimum and maximum occupancy per AFFH units, as required to meet requirements of the New York State Building Code, shall be:
Number of Bedrooms | Number of Persons |
|---|---|
Studio | Minimum: 1; maximum: 1 |
1 bedroom | Minimum: 1; maximum: 3 |
2 bedroom | Minimum: 2; maximum: 5 |
3 bedroom | Minimum: 3; maximum: 7 |
The AFFH units created under the provisions of this chapter 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 and Affordable Housing Affirmative Marketing Plan to ensure outreach to diverse households.
A.
In the case of owner-occupied AFFH units the title to the 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 the units, as determined in this chapter, or the sum of:
(1)
The net purchase price (i.e., gross sales price 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 the month that was two months earlier than the date on which the seller acquired the unit and 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, then the Village shall designate a substitute index; plus
(2)
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 15-year period from the date of completion, and such approval shall be requested for said major capital improvement(s) no later than the time the seller of the unit desires to include it in the resale price.
B.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the resale price exceed an amount affordable to a household at 80% of AMI at the time of the resale.
A person renting an AFFH unit shall sign a lease for a term of no more than two years. As long as a renter remains eligible and has complied with the terms of the lease, the renter shall be offered renewal leases for a term of no more than two years each.
A.
Renewal of a lease shall be subject to the conditions of federal, state, and county provisions that may be imposed by the terms of the original development funding agreements for the residential development or to the provisions of other applicable local laws.
B.
If no conditions of federal, state, or county provisions that may be imposed by the terms of the original development funding agreements for the residential development are applicable, and if no provisions of local law are applicable, and if a tenant's annual gross income should subsequently exceed the maximum then allowable, then the renter may complete their current lease term and at the end of that lease term, if a rental unit that is not an AFFH unit is available in the residential development, he or she shall be offered a lease for that rental unit that is not an AFFH unit, or if a rental unit that is not an AFFH unit is not available he or she may be allowed to sign one additional one-year lease for the AFFH unit he or she occupies but shall not be offered a renewal of the lease beyond the expiration of that additional one-year lease term.
The Village Board shall be responsible for facilitating the affordable housing program and monitoring compliance with the affordable housing requirements of this chapter and shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to facilitate, administer, implement, and enforce this chapter. The Village Board may designate an administering entity to carry out the requirements of this chapter. If so designated, the administering entity will be responsible for monitoring the AFFH unit(s) during the units' period of affordability and for monitoring compliance by those creating the AFFH units.
Mixed-use development projects that include other critical community priorities — such as new commercial and retail space, age-restricted housing, off-street public parking in excess of any required, infrastructure modernization, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, or the provision of nonprofit or civic spaces — may face unique financial and design constraints that make deep affordability levels difficult to achieve. Upon a finding by the Village Board that compliance with affordability requirements in this chapter would either render a proposed mixed-use development financially infeasible, or materially constrain the realization of a project that delivers a significant public benefit, the Village Board may authorize, by resolution, an adjustment to the total percentage of AFFH units required in a project and/or the area median income (AMI) threshold required for such units.
A.
Pre-application meeting. The applicant for a development including AFFH units shall be entitled to attend at least one pre-application meeting at which representatives from the Village and Village staff expected to play a role in the review and approval of the development application will be in attendance. The purpose of the pre-application meeting will be to expedite the development application site plan review process through: