The City of Sanford is committed to fair, open, and affordable housing and shall approve sites for affordable housing which are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, Policy 3-1.1.4 and land development regulations as herein stated. The purpose of the affordable housing regulations are to:

A.

Provide fair, open, and affordable housing opportunities for the city's low and moderate income households;

B.

Implement affordable housing policies and programs included in the city's Comprehensive Plan;

C.

Stabilize and improve existing neighborhoods;

D.

Assist private sector development by providing incentives which help make affordable housing development economically feasible.

These provisions shall apply to affordable housing developments. Affordable housing developments are those residential development projects that are specially designed to accommodate low and moderate income households. Low and moderate income households are defined as those households with a household income that does not exceed 80 percent of the median area income adjusted to family size. Median area income means family income adjusted to family size for the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area as reported by the federal department of housing and urban development.

A.

Reserved.

B.

Modification of minimum standards and specifications. As an incentive for affordable housing production, the city commission is authorized to consider and approve modifications from the minimum requirements of the land development regulations. Such modifications or deviations shall:

1.

Not result in higher longterm maintenance costs by the public;

2.

Insure that public facilities and services function in an adequate manner;

3.

Result in cost savings that are passed on to the consumer, i.e., the occupant.

The developer shall be responsible for providing all information necessary to insure compliance with the immediately above criteria.

C.

Waive, discount or defer application and permit fees. The city commission shall have the authority to waive, discount or defer site development permits, building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits and other similar permits for affording housing developments for developments that qualify as affordable housing developments.

(Code 1973, § 3.0; Ord. No. 3552, § 2, 4-11-2000)

A.

Applicant eligibility requirements for affordable housing. The following eligibility requirements shall be required of households to qualify as affordable housing for incentives stated herein:

1.

Household income shall not exceed 80 percent of the median area income.

2.

Single persons eligible for affordable housing shall be 18 years or older.

3.

The applicant shall execute a sworn affidavit stating the applicant's intention to occupy the dwelling unit.

B.

Eligibility requirements for dwelling units to qualify as affordable housing. The following criteria shall be required for dwelling units to qualify as affordable housing:

1.

Owner-occupied dwelling units. In the case of for-sale dwelling units to be owner occupied, the dwelling unit shall have a sales price, including escrow requirements, less than or equal to three times the median area income.

2.

Rental dwelling units. In the case of rental dwelling units, annual rental rates, including utilities such as water, sewer and solid waste charges, shall be less than or equal to 30 percent of the median area income.

3.

Maintenance. The landlord and/or owner shall perform routine maintenance and keep the units in standard condition.

4.

Occupancy. The dwelling unit shall be occupied by a low or moderate income household.

5.

Site. As a minimum, sites for affordable housing shall have access to the following facilities and services:

a.

Potable water and central wastewater systems;

b.

Access to employment centers, including shopping centers which accommodate stores offering household goods and services needed on a frequent and recurring basis;

c.

Location on a paved street accessible to a major street (i.e., included in the city's future traffic circulation map;

d.

Access to public parks, recreation areas, and/or open space systems;

e.

Adequate surface water management and solid waste collection and disposal; and

f.

If possible, affordable housing sites should be accessible to social service centers which offer such services as counseling and day care.

As a condition of approval of incentives set forth in these provisions, the city may require the developer and/or owner to furnish the administrative official with all information necessary to assure continued compliance with affordability criteria in such manner as may be set forth in a development agreement or by the administrative official. The specifications of such information may include but not be limited to the following:

A.

Deed restriction or another method to insure that, when dwelling units are sold, the price will be meet affordable housing criteria for for-sale dwelling units.

B.

Provision of tenant qualifications and related household size and income data necessary to insure that rental dwelling units continue to meet affordable housing criteria.

C.

Time limitations whereby the developer/owner shall provide information for a limited period of time at a specified time interval. For example, a condition upon an affordable rental housing development may include annual reporting for five years.