Beacon City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IVB
Affordable-Workforce Housing
[Added 11-15-2010 by L.L. No. 15-2010; amended 5-1-2017 by L.L. No. 6-2017]
§ 223-41.8 Findings.
The City Council of the City of Beacon acknowledges the high cost of housing compared to average earnings in the City and county, and this trend has grown more noticeable as land and housing values have increased in recent years. Maintaining and ensuring a balanced mix of housing types and sizes that are affordable to a range of incomes is essential to ensuring the long-term health of the community. Such balanced housing stock enables a variety of residents to live and work in the City, maintain family ties, and participate in community services, such as emergency services. Balanced housing is also essential to attracting and maintaining an adequate workforce, a healthy business environment, and a balanced tax base that supports local services and the quality of life. The primary purpose of this article is to allow the City to maintain an appropriate mix of housing choices by creating a required number of quality new or rehabilitated below-market-rate (BMR) units in future renovation and development. The goal is not to offer a limited number of high-end units for a few qualified households, but to provide as many quality affordable and workforce housing units as possible, integrated throughout the City.
§ 223-41.9 Provision of BMR units.
To achieve the purposes above, the approval authority shall require that 10% of all projects containing 10 or more apartment dwellings and/or attached dwellings (townhouses), as defined in § 223-63 of this chapter, shall be comprised of below-market-rate units as defined and regulated in this article. Any fraction at or above 0.5 shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number, and any fraction below 0.5 shall be rounded down. Subject to the Planning Board's approval, developer shall provide BMR units mixed throughout the same building(s). Units designated as BMR units must remain affordable for a minimum of 50 years from date of initial certificate of occupancy for rental properties and from date of original sale for owner-occupied units.
§ 223-41.10 Below-market-rate units.
Finishes, amenities, size, distribution and mix. BMR units shall have exterior finishes comparable to the market-rate units within the development. Interior finishes and amenities for the BMR units shall be comparable to the market-rate units within the development, subject to approval by the Planning Board. The timing of the construction of the BMR units shall be in conjunction with the construction of the market rate units in the project. Further, the BMR units shall be provided in a mix of unit types in the same proportion as all other units in the development unless a different proportion is approved by the Planning Board as being better related to the housing needs, current or projected, of the City of Beacon.
Minimum gross floor area.
The size of the BMR multifamily units may be smaller than the market rate units, but notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, the minimum gross floor area per dwelling unit shall not be less than the following:
An applicant may seek approval from the Planning Board to construct units smaller than the minimum gross floor area set forth above, only if the applicant constructs more units than it is required to construct pursuant to this chapter.
Occupancy standards. The minimum and maximum occupancy of a BMR unit shall be as follows:
Number of Bedrooms | Minimum Number of Persons | Maximum Number of Persons | |
|---|---|---|---|
Studio/efficiency | 1 | 2 | |
1 | 1 | 3 | |
2 | 2 | 4 | |
3 | 3 | 6 | |
4 | 4 | 8 |
For townhouse developments containing BMR units, frontage, building size and lot size may be reduced by up to 25% for the BMR units.
BMR unit eligible household. Households must meet the criteria established in § 223-63 of this chapter, within the definition of "BMR unit eligible household." Rental households shall be required to requalify with respect to said criteria on an annual basis.
Maximum rent and sales price.
Rental units: The monthly rent including utilities for BMR units shall not exceed 30% of the figure that represents 70% of the Dutchess County's current area median income.
For-sale units: The maximum gross sales price for a BMR unit shall not exceed 30% of the figure that represents 90% of the Dutchess County's current area median income. This figure will be based on the sum of principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, based on industry-standard mortgage underwriting guidelines for a thirty-year fixed rate mortgage, prevailing interest rates, and a down payment of 5%.
All projects approved by the Planning Board prior to the effective date of this chapter may continue to set a monthly rent including utilities for BMR units not to exceed 30% of 100% of the Dutchess County area median annual income for the household size that will occupy such unit as set forth in Subsection C income for its household size [based on the United States Census and as updated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)].
In the event the owner of the BMR unit governed by Subsection F(1) above, demonstrates to the satisfaction of the City Administrator or its designee that after a good faith effort it is not able to rent a BMR unit pursuant to Subsection F(1), it may instead comply with Subsection F(3) above, until the unit is next offered for rent.
Categories of priority in descending order of priority.
Households applying for BMR units shall be selected on the basis of the following categories of priority:
Within each of the above categories, the following special groups shall receive priority in the following order:
Priority for rental units shall be established for all eligible households as defined in § 223-63, whose aggregate gross annual income is between 70% and 80% of the Dutchess County area median annual income.
The deed, certificate of occupancy and/or rental agreement, as appropriate, for each BMR dwelling unit shall contain language, satisfactory to the City Attorney in form and substance, which states that the subject dwelling is a below-market-rate unit as defined in § 223-63 of the Code of the City of Beacon, New York, and is subject to all restrictions and limitations as set forth therein.
Resale. In the case of owner-occupied BMR units, the title to said property shall be restricted so that in the event of any resale by the homeowner or any successor, the resale price shall not exceed the maximum sales price for said unit, as determined in Subsection F, plus the depreciated value of capital improvements based on their estimated life for up to 5% of the price of the unit. Units designated as BMR units must remain affordable for a minimum of 50 years from date of original sale for owner-occupied units.
Lease of a BMR unit.
Individual BMR unit owners may lease their units to BMR eligible unit households, as defined in § 223-63, for a period not exceeding two years, with the consent of the City Administrator or its designee.
Applicants for rental BMR units, if eligible and if selected for occupancy, may sign a lease for a term of no more than two years. As long as a resident remains eligible and has complied with the terms of the lease, said resident 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.
If a resident's annual gross income should subsequently exceed the maximum income then allowable, said resident may complete their current lease term and shall be offered a market-rate housing unit in the development at the termination of such lease term. If no such dwelling unit shall be available at said time, the resident may be allowed to sign one additional one-year lease for BMR unit they occupy but shall not be offered a renewal of the lease beyond that expiration of said term. Tenants who again become eligible for a BMR unit during the one-year term shall be eligible for a renewal of their lease term.
Implementing regulations. The City Council may, by resolution, adopt specific regulations to foster the efficient and equitable implementation of this chapter.
Administration. The City Council shall be responsible for administering these regulations and may designate a board, commission or other organization to monitor compliance.
Developer incentives. For every one BMR unit provided as part of the overall development, the developer shall have the right to 0.5 additional market rate unit above the maximum number otherwise permitted under applicable provisions of this chapter. Any fraction at or above 0.5 shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number, and any fraction below 0.5 shall be rounded down. The Planning Board may grant up to 10 additional units. District building height requirements must be maintained, but the Planning Board may modify lot area per unit, setbacks, building coverage, number of units per building, and parking requirements to accommodate the bonus unit or units.