HomeMy WebLinkAboutCondo Inclusion StrategyCondo Inclusion Strategy
1. Last meeting general support was voiced for including Condos in the AHO.
2. Reasons why they were excluded from the AHO:
a. Language in the AHO was interpreted to say that if a builder / developer built condos
they had to build detached single family dwellings to satisfy the requirement to provide
affordable units. Nowhere in the document does it explicitly state that homes built to
satisfy the ordinance must be detached single family units. I believe the word “home”
was construed to mean stand alone detached homes. “Home” is not defined in the
definitions section of the ordinance.
i. Reviewing the AHO, the only place where single family detached units are called
out is in the Legislative findings and the word “detached” is referred to just
once. Single Family Dwellings or lots are not called out at all. In fact, the
legislative findings refer to the need to “…promote the development of a variety
of housing types, designs, and costs to meet the wide range of needs of
Bozeman residents.
b. Financing was considered to be an impediment
i. Circumstances have changed and / or are now better understood so that
financing no longer appears to be an impediment.
1. New HUD Condo rules issued in October of 2019
3. The solution to fixing these perceived problems was to exclude condos from the AHO rather
than clarifying language so that when condos were being built, the affordable units required
under the AHO could also be condos. I believe if our desire is to get condos back into the AHO
we can do so by making the following changes:
a. Remove the last sentence in section 38.380.040.A that states, “For the purposes of
38.380 “affordable housing” or “affordable homes” does not include condominium
units.”
b. Remove the last sentence in section 38.380.040.G that states, “For the purposes of
38.380, “market rate home” does not include condominium units.”
c. Shift the current sections 38.380.090.A through 38.380.090.E to 38.380.090.B through
38.380.090.F and insert a new 38.380.090.A that reads, “Affordable dwelling units to be
provided under this ordinance are generally expected to be of the same type as the
market rate units in the Affordable Housing Plan submitted for the development.”
d. Add a new term to the list of definitions: Dwelling Unit – An area designed for
residential habitation that meets building codes in effect at the time it was constructed.
e. Replace the word home(s) or dwelling(s) with dwelling unit(s)
My recommendation is that we plan on reviewing these changes between now and our next meeting
and take a vote at that meeting on whether to move this recommendation forward to the City
Commission.