HomeMy WebLinkAboutUpdate on affordable homes as required by Ordinance No. 1954
Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Martin Matsen, Director of Community Development
SUBJECT: Update on affordable homes as required by Ordinance No. 1954 MEETING DATE: July 10th, 2017
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Special Presentation RECOMMENDATION: None
BACKGROUND: The City Commission of the City of Bozeman adopted Ordinance
1922 on December 7, 2015. This Ordinance contained provisions to incentivize the creation of
affordable housing through expedited permitting, down payment assistance, impact fee payments
and the commitment to create an innovative housing ordinance. Ordinance 1954 was adopted on
July 25, 2016. This Ordinance set goals that if not achieved would trigger the enforcement of the
mandatory inclusion of affordable housing units in new residential subdivision and site planning
as outlined in section 3 of the original ordinance 1922.
More specifically, Section 1 of ordinance 1954 reads as follows, “Section 3 of Ordinance 1922
shall be effective 30 days following the occurrence of any one of the following contingencies.”
The first of these contingencies states that, “If less than 14 (fourteen) affordable homes, as
defined in Section 2 of this Ordinance, are constructed and sold as single household detached
dwellings or townhomes and sold cumulatively throughout the city prior to June 12, 2017 and of
these 14 affordable homes no less than four (4) qualify as lower-priced homes.”
The criteria as laid out in the ordinance would mean that between the dates of July 2016 and June
2017, 10 homes classified as Affordable would need to have been constructed and sold as single
household detached dwellings or townhomes. These homes would be targeted at those
households making between 81% and 100% of Area Median Income (AMI). These homes would
be priced in the range between roughly $160,000 and $260,000, in 2017, depending on the
income, household size of the buyer and number of bedrooms in the unit.
Additionally, 4 homes classified as Lower-Priced would need to have been constructed and sold
as single household detached dwellings or townhomes. These homes would be targeted at those
households making between 65% and 80% of AMI. These homes would have been priced
121
somewhere between approximately $120,000 and $215,000, in 2017, depending on the income,
household size of the buyer and number of bedrooms in the unit.
The Community Development Department received Applications to utilize the expedited review
incentive for nine units during this time period. Our records indicate that seven of these units
have received certificates of occupancy however my office has not been provided any sales data.
The June 12th, 2017 date has now passed and my office has no other verified information that
would indicate that the contingencies as laid out in ordinance 1954 have been satisfied. My staff
will therefore proceed with the implementation and enforcement of Ordinance 1922 beginning
July 12th 2017.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES: N/A
ALTERNATIVES: N/A FISCAL EFFECTS: N/A Attachments: HRDC Memo
Report compiled on: July 3, 2017
122
TO: Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Tracy Menuez, Special Projects Officer, HRDC IX
SUBJECT: Update on affordable homes administration MEETING DATE: July 10th, 2017 The City of Bozeman adopted a Voluntary Affordable Housing Ordinance to encourage the creation of affordable housing through expedited permitting, down payment assistance, impact fee payments and other incentives. Through an administrative agreement with the City, HRDC agreed to income qualify potential purchasers, create a waiting list of qualified buyers, and certify owner occupancy for units produced. Since the voluntary ordinance’s adoption, we have worked with both the City and building industry representatives to meet its administrative requirements. While we have discussed affordable housing options with a number of builders, no builder or developer has contacted HRDC with homes available for sale to households earning less than 90% of the Area Median Income that would meet the requirements of the voluntary ordinance. We were made aware of the nine units requesting incentives after their sale, and were therefore unable to income qualify or certify occupancy status for the purchasers. It is unclear if the developer of the homes submitted an affordable housing plan for approval by the City. Despite the lack of homes, HRDC has committed to creating and maintaining the wait list for available homes, which currently has over 100 customers. HRDC remains dedicated to supporting the City with the implementation of the Affordable Housing Ordinance and to assisting the pool of qualified buyers to achieve homeownership.
123