Ramsey City Zoning Code
34-23.6 Affordable
housing requirements.
a.
All multifamily developments constructed in the R-5B Overlay Zoning District shall be required to set aside a minimum percentage of units for affordable housing. Where units will be for sale, the minimum set-aside shall be 20%. Where units will be for rent, the minimum set-aside shall be 15%. When calculating the required number of affordable units, any computation resulting in a fraction of a unit shall be rounded upwards to the next whole number.
b.
All affordable units to be produced pursuant to this section shall comply with the Borough's Affordable Housing Ordinance at Chapter 29 of the Borough Code, the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls ("UHAC") (N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq.) and the Borough's Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, as may be amended from time to time. This includes, but is not limited to, the following requirements for all affordable units:
1.
Low/moderate income split: A maximum of 50% of the affordable units shall be moderate-income units and a minimum of 50% of the affordable units shall be low-income units. At least 13% of all restricted rental units shall be very-low-income units, which shall be counted as part of the required number of low-income units within the development.
2.
Bedroom mix: If the development is not age-restricted, the following bedroom mix shall apply:
(a)
The combined number of efficiency and one-bedroom units shall be no greater than 20% of the total low- and moderate-income units;
(b)
At least 30% of all low- and moderate-income units shall be two-bedroom units;
(c)
At least 20% of all low- and moderate-income units shall be three-bedroom units; and
(d)
The remaining units may be allocated among two- and three-bedroom units at the discretion of the developer.
3.
Deed restriction period: All affordable units shall be deed restricted for a period of 30 years from the date of the initial occupancy of each affordable unit (the "deed-restriction period"). The affordability controls shall expire at the end of 30 years after the date of the initial occupancy of the respective individual affordable unit, except, as to rental units, the affordability controls shall remain in effect until the date on which a rental unit shall become vacant, provided that the occupant household continues to earn a gross annual income of less than 80% of the applicable median income. See N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.11(b). If, at any time after the end of 30 years after the date of initial occupancy, a rental household's income is found to exceed 80% of the regional median income, the rental rate restriction shall expire at the later of either the next scheduled lease renewal or 60 days. Ibid.[1] For for-sale units, the deed restriction shall expire only after it is properly released by the Borough and/or the Borough's administrative agent.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.11(b).
4.
Administrative agent: All affordable units shall be administered by a qualified administrative agent paid for by the developer.
5.
Other affordable housing unit requirements: Developers shall also comply with all of the other requirements of the Borough's Affordable Housing Ordinance,[2] including, but not limited to, affirmative marketing requirements, candidate qualification and screening requirements, integrating the affordable units amongst the market-rate units, and unit phasing requirements. Developers shall ensure that the affordable units are dispersed between all of the buildings on its site, and shall identify the exact location of each affordable unit at the time of site plan application.