§ 42-128-8.1 - Housing production and rehabilitation.
SECTION 42-128-8.1
§ 42-128-8.1 Housing production andrehabilitation. – (a) Short title. This section shall be known and may be cited as the"Comprehensive Housing Production and Rehabilitation Act of 2004."
(b) Findings. The general assembly finds and declaresthat:
(1) The state must maintain a comprehensive housing strategyapplicable to all cities and towns that addresses the housing needs ofdifferent populations including, but not limited to, workers and their familieswho earn less than one hundred twenty percent (120%) of median income, oldercitizens, students attending institutions of higher education, low and very lowincome individuals and families, and vulnerable populations including, but notlimited to, persons with disabilities, homeless individuals and families, andindividuals released from correctional institutions.
(2) Efforts and programs to increase the production ofhousing must be sensitive to the distinctive characteristics of cities andtowns, neighborhoods and areas and the need to manage growth and to pace andphase development, especially in high growth areas.
(3) The state in partnership with local communities mustremove barriers to housing development and update and maintain zoning andbuilding regulations to facilitate the construction, rehabilitation ofproperties and retrofitting of buildings for use as safe affordable housing.
(4) Creative funding mechanisms are needed at the local andstate levels that provide additional resources for housing development, becausethere is an inadequate amount of federal and state subsidies to support theaffordable housing needs of Rhode Island's current and projected population.
(5) Innovative community planning tools, including, but notlimited to, density bonuses and permitted accessory dwelling units, are neededto offset escalating land costs and project financing costs that contribute tothe overall cost of housing and tend to restrict the development andpreservation of housing affordable to very low income, low income and moderateincome persons.
(6) The gap between the annual increase in personal incomeand the annual increase in the median sales price of a single-family home isgrowing, therefore, the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance ofaffordable, multi-family housing needs to increase to provide more rentalhousing options to individuals and families, especially those who are unable toafford homeownership of a single-family home.
(7) The state needs to foster the formation of cooperativepartnerships between communities and institutions of higher education tosignificantly increase the amount of residential housing options for students.
(8) The production of housing for older citizens as well asurban populations must keep pace with the next twenty-year projected increasesin those populations of the state.
(9) Efforts must be made to balance the needs of Rhode Islandresidents with the ability of the residents of surrounding states to enter intoRhode Island's housing market with much higher annual incomes at their disposal.
(c) Strategic plan. The commission, in conjunctionwith the statewide planning program, shall develop by July 1, 2006, a five (5)year strategic plan for housing, which plan shall be adopted as an element ofthe state guide plan, and which shall include quantified goals, measurableintermediate steps toward the accomplishment of the goals, implementationactivities, and standards for the production and/or rehabilitation ofyear-round housing to meet the housing needs including, but not limited to, thefollowing:
(1) Older Rhode Islanders, including senior citizens,appropriate, affordable housing options;
(2) Workers, housing affordable at their income level;
(3) Students, dormitory, student housing and otherresidential options;
(4) Low income and very low income households, rental housing;
(5) Persons with disabilities, appropriate housing; and
(6) Vulnerable individuals and families, permanent housing,single room occupancy units, transitional housing and shelters.
(d) As used in this section and for the purposes of thepreparation of affordable housing plans as specified in chapter 45-22.2, wordsand terms shall have the meaning set forth in chapter 45-22.2, chapter 45-53,and/or § 42-11-10, unless this section provides a different meaning orunless the context indicates a different meaning or intent.
(1) "Affordable housing" means residential housing that has asales price or rental amount that is within the means of a household that ismoderate income or less. In the case of dwelling units for sale, housing thatis affordable means housing in which principal, interest, taxes, which may beadjusted by state and local programs for property tax relief, and insuranceconstitute no more than thirty percent (30%) of the gross household income fora household with less than one hundred and twenty percent (120%) of area medianincome, adjusted for family size. In the case of dwelling units for rent,housing that is affordable means housing for which the rent, heat, andutilities other than telephone constitute no more than thirty percent (30%) ofthe gross annual household income for a household with eighty percent (80%) orless of area median income, adjusted for family size. Affordable housing shallinclude all types of year-round housing, including, but not limited to,manufactured housing, housing originally constructed for workers and theirfamilies, accessory dwelling units, housing accepting rental vouchers and/ortenant-based certificates under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of1937, as amended, and assisted living housing, where the sales or rental amountof such housing, adjusted for any federal, state, or municipal governmentsubsidy, is less than or equal to thirty percent (30%) of the gross householdincome of the low and/or moderate income occupants of the housing.
(2) "Affordable housing plan" means a plan prepared andadopted by a town or city either to meet the requirements of chapter 45-53 orto meet the requirements of § 45-22.2-10(f), which require thatcomprehensive plans and the elements thereof be revised to conform withamendments to the state guide plan.
(3) "Approved affordable housing plan" means an affordablehousing plan that has been reviewed and approved in accordance with §45-22.2-9.
(4) "Moderate income household" means a single person,family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted gross income ismore than eighty percent (80%) but less than one hundred twenty percent (120%)of the area median income, adjusted for family size.
(5) "Seasonal housing" means housing that is intended to beoccupied during limited portions of the year.
(6) "Year-round housing" means housing that is intended to beoccupied by people as their usual residence and/or vacant units that areintended by their owner for occupancy at all times of the year; occupied roomsor suites of rooms in hotels are year-round housing only when occupied bypermanent residents as their usual place of residence.
(e) The strategic plan shall be updated and/or amended asnecessary, but not less than once every five (5) years.
(f) Upon the adoption of the strategic plan as an element ofthe state guide plan, towns and cities shall bring their comprehensive plansinto conformity with its requirements, in accordance with the timetable setforth in § 45-22.2-10(f), provided, however, that any town that hasadopted an affordable housing plan in order to comply with the provisions ofchapter 45-53, which has been approved for consistency pursuant to §45-22.2-9, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of the strategic planfor low and moderate income housing until such time as the town must completeits next required comprehensive community plan update.
(g) Guidelines. The commission shall advise the stateplanning council and the state planning council shall promulgate and adopt notlater than July 1, 2006, guidelines for higher density development, including,but not limited to: (A) inclusionary zoning provisions for low and moderateincome housing with appropriate density bonuses and other subsidies that makethe development financially feasible; and (B) mixed-use development thatincludes residential development, which guidelines shall take into accountinfrastructure availability; soil type and land capacity; environmentalprotection; water supply protection; and agricultural, open space, historicalpreservation, and community development pattern constraints.
(h) The statewide planning program shall maintain ageographic information system map that identifies, to the extent feasible,areas throughout the state suitable for higher density residential developmentconsistent with the guidelines adopted pursuant to subsection (g).