East Greenwich City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVII
Affordable Housing
§ 260-98 Purpose, authority and applicability.
A.
The purpose of this article is to:
(1)
Implement the Town's Affordable Housing Plan contained in the state-approved Comprehensive Community Plan, as adopted by the Town Council and amended from time to time.
(2)
Promote the public health, safety and welfare by promoting the development of affordable housing within the Town of East Greenwich in accordance with the state mandate and to promote a full range of housing choices throughout the Town for households of all incomes, ages and sizes.
(3)
Promote housing that qualifies as "low- or moderate-income housing" under R.I.G.L. § 45-53-3(9).
B.
The authority for adoption and implementation of the Affordable Housing Plan is conferred by R.I.G.L. §§ 42-128-8.1(d)(2) and (3), and 45-22.2-6(b)(6).
C.
This article shall apply to all subdivisions and land development projects of five or more residential units, as classified under East Greenwich's Zoning Ordinance and Land Development and Subdivision Regulations,[1] within zones where residential units are permitted.
D.
All developers of the aforementioned projects shall be required to submit a "yield plan," defined as: a plan demonstrating a subdivision's or land development project's maximum density (maximum number of lots or units), taking into account all environmental, natural and man-made physical constraints to development, including but not limited to wetlands, topography, groundwater characteristics, and existing improvements. A yield plan shall meet all conventional zoning and subdivision requirements, including minimum buildable area requirements, and shall not assume that any waivers, variances or special use permits will be granted. On parcels located in areas not serviced by public sewers and not proposed for extension of public sewers, the yield plan shall include the location of an appropriate on-site wastewater treatment system on each lot.
E.
For all applicable projects under the preceding, at least 20% of the proposed base developable yield must qualify as affordable housing as defined per Subsection A(3) above. Affordable units must be deed restricted to remain affordable to households with gross incomes at or below 120% of the area median income, adjusted for family size, per R.I.G.L. § 42-128-8.1(d)(1).
F.
When a subdivision or land development project that creates fewer than five new dwelling units is approved on a portion of a parcel of land, leaving another portion of the same parcel undeveloped, the portion left undeveloped shall not be subdivided or developed for residential or mixed use unless the undeveloped portion is subject to the inclusionary requirements of this chapter. The number of inclusionary units required in the later development shall be calculated as if the earlier development were part of it. This provision does not apply when an entire parcel receives Master Plan approval and is developed in phases.
§ 260-99 Incentives & building requirements for production of affordable housing.
[Amended 12-11-2023 by Ord. No. 920-H]
A.
Consistent with Chapter 93 of the Town Code, Fees, Article II, Development Impact Fees, affordable housing units [those referenced in § 260-98A(3) above] are exempt from the Town's development impact fee and this fee waiver shall constitute a municipal government subsidy as defined in R.I.G.L. § 45-53-3, the Rhode Island Low and Moderate Income Housing Act, Definitions.
B.
All projects subject to the provisions of this article wherein low- and moderate-income housing units are being provided on site as part of an approved development shall be entitled to a density bonus of up to 20% more units than otherwise allowed consistent with Subsection C below. Development of projects that include a density bonus shall require a dimensional variance from the Planning Board under the unified development review process that incorporates deviations from the ordinary dimensional standards. Such review process can also be used to allow multiple residential structures on one lot.
C.
Additional units/lots allowed under this zoning incentive provision shall constitute a municipal government subsidy as defined in the Rhode Island Low and Moderate Income Housing Act. In addition to the yield plan required of each developer to show the maximum base number of units/lots, developers shall also be required to submit a second yield plan that includes the additional units as permitted with the zoning incentive. The Planning Board may require the modification via dimensional variance of the building height cap and/or minimum dimensional standards, including overall lot size, lot coverage, setbacks, and frontage requirements to accommodate affordable units. Lot size, coverage, setback, and frontage requirements can be reduced by up to 20% but only following an affirmative finding by the Planning Board that:
(1)
Using a flexible zoning standard is in the best interest of good planning practice as evidenced by consistency with the Comprehensive Community Plan, including the Housing Plan; and
D.
A "yield plan" indicates the basic maximum number of units or lots a parcel can support. A minimum of 20% of all proposed lots or units shall be affordable to low- or moderate-income households as defined in R.I.G.L. § 45-53. Where such calculation yields a fraction of a unit and such fraction is 0.5 or higher, the requirement shall be rounded to the next higher, whole number. Where such calculation yields a fraction of a unit and that fraction is less than 0.5, the requirement shall be rounded to the lower whole number.
E.
All affordable units provided within a development shall comply with all of the following requirements:
(1)
All affordable units shall be dispersed throughout the development so as to ensure a true mix of market-rate and affordable housing.
(2)
All affordable units shall be visually compatible with market-rate units in the same development. Affordable units shall be comparable to market-rate units in terms of location, type, quality, character, architectural style, and primary exterior building finishes and materials.
(3)
Except as otherwise authorized by the Town, all affordable units shall contain one or more bedrooms. The mix of unit sizes and number of bedrooms per unit among the affordable units shall be in the same proportion as the mix among the market-rate units. If only one affordable unit is required and the other units in the development are of various sizes with varying numbers of bedrooms, the affordable unit shall contain an average of the number of bedrooms located in the market-rate units rounded to the nearest whole number.
(4)
In assessing the compatibility of character between the affordable units and the market-rate units within a development, the Planning Board may consider building elevations, renderings, models and any other materials it deems necessary to assess and compare building features, including but not limited to overall height, roof pitch, building shape and footprint, exterior materials, structural massing and window pattern, style, and sizes.
(5)
The owners or renters of affordable units shall have all rights, privileges and responsibilities accorded to market-rate owners or renters, including access to all non-fee amenities within the development.
(6)
Certificates of occupancy (C/Os) for affordable units shall be issued prior to, or simultaneously with, the certificates of occupancy for market-rate units. In phased developments, the affordable units shall be phased, built, and occupied at least at the same proportionate rate as the market-rate units. If the off-site exaction is exercised (see § 260-101.1) and affordable units are rehabilitated or constructed at some other location, certificates of occupancy for the off-site units shall be issued at the same rate as certificates of occupancy for the market-rate units in the development.
F.
Any dwelling units proposed to be deed-restricted and counted as affordable units must be in full compliance with all applicable construction and occupancy codes, and shall be sufficiently maintained or rehabilitated so that all major systems meet standards comparable to new construction.
§ 260-100 Substandard lots of record.
A.
Complete applications for construction of affordable housing on substandard lots of record (nonconforming by dimension) will be reviewed as land development projects.
C.
Applications for development of one substandard lot of record not abutting any other lot or parcel in the same ownership shall include the completed Master Plan Checklist in the Land Development and Subdivision Review Regulations, § A263-17, Subsection (a), Items 1 through 12, 14, 17, 18, and 23 and Subsection (b), Items (3) and (9).
D.
The Planning Board, with advice from the Technical Review Committee, shall recommend the dimensional requirements for these applications. The Zoning Board of Review retains purview over projects requiring variances and special use permits, and any necessary relief shall be subject to its review and approval.
§ 260-101 Affordability requirements.
All affordable housing units constructed pursuant to this article must qualify as low- and/or moderate-income housing units as defined in Title 45, Chapter 53 of the Rhode Island General Laws. To accomplish this, an applicant shall, at a minimum, make the following submission in conjunction with the final plan:
A.
A Town-Solicitor-approved monitoring service agreement with a qualified organization; and
B.
Town-Solicitor-approved land lease and/or deed restriction to be in place not less than 30 years that includes the Town as a signatory, and grants to the Town enforcement authority and the right to notice.
§ 260-101.1 Off-site exactions.
[Amended 12-11-2023 by Ord. No. 920-H]
A.
Purpose. It is acknowledged that not every subdivision proposal or project site will be compatible with the goals and requirements of this Affordable Housing Ordinance. Therefore, the Planning Board, with input from the Town professional staff and Technical Review Committee, may exempt a subdivision or land development project from the requirement to provide affordable units on-site, and instead require an off-site exaction. The Planning Board may allow off-site exactions when, in its determination, either of the following conditions is met:
(1)
It would not be feasible to provide affordable units on-site due to existing physical conditions that present unusual development challenges. These challenges may be environmental or regulatory and could impact the public safety or welfare. Examples include high water tables, presence of sensitive wildlife habitat, lot geometry, and surrounding traffic circulation patterns.
(2)
The off-site alternative would be beneficial to the Town or to future residents of the units because it is more likely to produce housing that accomplishes the goals of the Town's Affordable Housing Plan, which calls for, among other things, housing locations to be closely related to the presence of existing public services and facilities, jobs, transit and other amenities.
B.
Options. On-site affordable unit provision within a new development is strongly preferred. In special circumstances consistent with the above, the following off-site exactions may be allowed by the Planning Board in priority order:
C.
Compatibility. Off-site units rehabilitated or constructed in other neighborhoods remote from the proposed development site shall be compatible in siting, style, character, quality, and scale with existing dwelling units in the surrounding area.
D.
Concurrent development. Any required off-site affordable units shall be developed concurrently with the market-rate units in the subject subdivision or land development project, and certificates of occupancy (C/Os) for market-rate units shall be issued at the same proportionate rate as C/Os for newly constructed or rehabilitated affordable units. Where only one affordable unit is required to be provided, the Planning Board shall impose a condition of final plan approval that stipulates the timing of the availability of the affordable unit. In no case shall the final C/O for a market-rate unit in a development be granted before rehabilitation/construction of all required affordable units is complete.
E.
Rehabilitation. Existing housing units provided to satisfy the affordable housing requirement as described herein shall be rehabilitated consistent with the definition of "low or moderate income housing" found in the R.I.G.L. § 45-53-3(9). Affordable off-site units provided without any rehabilitation shall not be accepted.
F.
Incentive. Pursuant to R.I.G.L. § 45-24-46.1, which requires a subsidy or financial incentive for all residential projects with an inclusionary component, the twenty-percent density bonus over the base developable yield shall also be applied to projects pursuing an off-site exaction. As an example, if a parcel's yield plan shows development potential for six units, the developer, taking advantage of the density bonus, could propose construction of seven units on the project site but would also need to construct and deed-restrict, or purchase, rehabilitate and deed-restrict, an off-site unit as well. Consistent with § 260-99B above, projects including density bonus units shall require a dimensional variance from the permitting authority that incorporates any necessary deviations from the ordinary dimensional standards.
§ 260-101.2 Reports.
A.
The local review board shall submit a report on affordable housing activities in each fiscal year to the Town Council not later than August 14 of the following fiscal year.
B.
The report shall include the following:
(1)
The number of applications to construct or rehabilitate affordable housing units submitted, accepted as complete, and rejected as incomplete.
(2)
The total number of dwelling units proposed to be constructed or rehabilitated in applications that are accepted and the number of dwelling units that are proposed to be affordable in such applications.