2022 -- H 8057

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LC005602

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND HOUSING

RESOURCES ACT OF 1998 -- AFFORDABLE HOUSING

     Introduced By: Representatives Williams, Giraldo, Henries, Biah, Cassar, Hull, Diaz,
Batista, Felix, and Perez

     Date Introduced: March 25, 2022

     Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. The title of Chapter 42-128 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island

Housing Resources Act of 1998" is hereby amended to read as follows:

CHAPTER 42-128

Rhode Island Housing Resources Act of 1998

CHAPTER 42-128

COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ACT OF 2022

     SECTION 2. Section 42-128-8.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-128 entitled "Rhode

Island Housing Resources Act of 1998" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-128-8.1. Housing production and rehabilitation.

     (a) Short title. This section chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Comprehensive

Housing Production and Rehabilitation Act of 2004." "Comprehensive Housing Affordability Act

of 2022."

     (b) Findings. The general assembly finds and declares that:

     (1) The state must maintain a comprehensive housing strategy applicable to all cities and

towns that addresses the housing needs of different populations including, but not limited to,

workers and their families who earn less than one hundred twenty percent (120%) ninety percent

(90%) of median income, older citizens, students attending institutions of higher education, low

and very low income individuals and families, and vulnerable populations including, but not limited

to, persons with disabilities, homeless individuals and families, and individuals released from

correctional institutions.

     (2) Efforts and programs to increase the production of housing must be sensitive to the

distinctive characteristics of cities and towns, neighborhoods and areas and the need to manage

growth and to pace and phase development, especially in high growth areas.

     (3) The state in partnership with local communities must remove barriers to housing

development and update and maintain zoning and building regulations to facilitate the construction,

rehabilitation of properties and retrofitting of buildings for use as safe affordable housing.

     (4) Creative funding mechanisms are needed at the local and state levels that provide

additional resources for housing development, because there is an inadequate amount of federal

and state subsidies to support the affordable housing needs of Rhode Island's current and projected

population.

     (5) Innovative community planning tools, including, but not limited to, density bonuses

and permitted accessory dwelling units, are needed to offset escalating land costs and project

financing costs that contribute to the overall cost of housing and tend to restrict the development

and preservation of housing affordable to very low income, low income and moderate income

persons.

     (6) The gap between the annual increase in personal income and the annual increase in the

median sales price of a single-family home is growing, therefore, the construction, rehabilitation

and maintenance of affordable, multi-family housing needs to increase to provide more rental

housing options to individuals and families, especially those who are unable to afford

homeownership of a single-family home.

     (7) The state needs to foster the formation of cooperative partnerships between

communities and institutions of higher education to significantly increase the amount of residential

housing options for students.

     (8) The production of housing for older citizens as well as urban populations must keep

pace with the next twenty-year projected increases in those populations of the state.

     (9) Efforts must be made to balance the needs of Rhode Island residents with the ability of

the residents of surrounding states to enter into Rhode Island's housing market with much higher

annual incomes at their disposal.

     (c) Strategic plan. The commission, in conjunction with the statewide planning program,

shall develop by July 1, 2006, a five (5) year strategic plan for housing, which plan shall be adopted

as an element of the state guide plan, and which shall include quantified goals, measurable

intermediate steps toward the accomplishment of the goals, implementation activities, and

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standards for the production and/or rehabilitation of year-round housing to meet the housing needs

including, but not limited to, the following:

     (1) Older Rhode Islanders, including senior citizens, appropriate, affordable housing

options;

     (2) Workers, housing affordable at their income level;

     (3) Students, dormitory, student housing and other residential options;

     (4) Low income and very low income households, rental housing;

     (5) Persons with disabilities, appropriate housing; and

     (6) Vulnerable individuals and families, permanent housing, single room occupancy units,

transitional housing and shelters.

     (d) As used in this section and for the purposes of the preparation of affordable housing

plans as specified in chapter 45-22.2, words and terms shall have the meaning set forth in chapter

45-22.2, chapter 45-53, and/or § 42-11-10, unless this section provides a different meaning or

unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent.

     (1) "Affordable housing" means residential housing that has a sales price or rental amount

that is within the means of a household that is moderate income or less. In the case of dwelling

units for sale, housing that is affordable means housing in which principal, interest, taxes, which

may be adjusted by state and local programs for property tax relief, and insurance constitute no

more than thirty percent (30%) of the gross household income for a household with less than one

hundred and twenty percent (120%) ninety percent (90%) of area median income, adjusted for

family size. In the case of dwelling units for rent, housing that is affordable means housing for

which the rent, heat, and utilities other than telephone constitute no more than thirty percent (30%)

of the gross annual household income for a household with eighty percent (80%) or less of area

median income, adjusted for family size. Affordable housing shall include all types of year-round

housing, including, but not limited to, manufactured housing, housing originally constructed for

workers and their families, accessory dwelling units, housing accepting rental vouchers and/or

tenant-based certificates under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended,

and assisted living housing, where the sales or rental amount of such housing, adjusted for any

federal, state, or municipal government subsidy, is less than or equal to thirty percent (30%) of the

gross household income of the low and/or moderate income occupants of the housing.

     (2) "Affordable housing plan" means a plan prepared and adopted by a town or city either

to meet the requirements of chapter 45-53 or to meet the requirements of § 45-22.2-10(f), which

require that comprehensive plans and the elements thereof be revised to conform with amendments

to the state guide plan.

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     (3) "Approved affordable housing plan" means an affordable housing plan that has been

reviewed and approved in accordance with § 45-22.2-9.

     (4) "Moderate income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons

living together whose adjusted gross income is more than eighty percent (80%) but less than one

hundred twenty percent (120%) ninety percent (90%) of the area median income, adjusted for

family size.

     (5) "Seasonal housing" means housing that is intended to be occupied during limited

portions of the year.

     (6) "Year-round housing" means housing that is intended to be occupied by people as their

usual residence and/or vacant units that are intended by their owner for occupancy at all times of

the year; occupied rooms or suites of rooms in hotels are year-round housing only when occupied

by permanent residents as their usual place of residence.

     (e) The strategic plan shall be updated and/or amended as necessary, but not less than once

every five (5) years.

     (f) Upon the adoption of the strategic plan as an element of the state guide plan, towns and

cities shall bring their comprehensive plans into conformity with its requirements, in accordance

with the timetable set forth in § 45-22.2-10(f), provided, however, that any town that has adopted

an affordable housing plan in order to comply with the provisions of chapter 45-53, which has been

approved for consistency pursuant to § 45-22.2-9, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of

the strategic plan for low and moderate income housing until such time as the town must complete

its next required comprehensive community plan update.

     (g) Guidelines. The commission shall advise the state planning council and the state

planning council shall promulgate and adopt not later than July 1, 2006, guidelines for higher

density development, including, but not limited to: (A) inclusionary zoning provisions for low and

moderate income housing with appropriate density bonuses and other subsidies that make the

development financially feasible; and (B) mixed-use development that includes residential

development, which guidelines shall take into account infrastructure availability; soil type and land

capacity; environmental protection; water supply protection; and agricultural, open space, historical

preservation, and community development pattern constraints.

     (h) The statewide planning program shall maintain a geographic information system map

that identifies, to the extent feasible, areas throughout the state suitable for higher density

residential development consistent with the guidelines adopted pursuant to subsection (g).

     SECTION 3. Chapter 42-128 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Housing

Resources Act of 1998" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     42-128-1.1. Name change.

     When in any existing law, rule or regulation reference is made to the "Rhode Island

Housing Act of 1998" or the "Comprehensive Housing Production and Rehabilitation Act of 2004"

as variously used, the reference shall be deemed to refer to the "Comprehensive Housing

Affordability Act of 2022."

     SECTION 4. Section 45-53-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-53 entitled "Low and

Moderate Income Housing" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     45-53-4. Procedure for approval of construction of low or moderate income housing.

     (a) Any applicant proposing to build low or moderate income housing may submit to the

local review board a single application for a comprehensive permit to build that housing in lieu of

separate applications to the applicable local boards. This procedure is only available for proposals

in which at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the housing is low or moderate income housing. The

application and review process for a comprehensive permit shall be as follows:

     (1) Submission requirements. Applications for a comprehensive permit shall include:

     (i) A letter of eligibility issued by the Rhode Island housing mortgage finance corporation,

or in the case of projects primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development or other state or federal agencies, an award letter indicating the subsidy, or

application in such form as may be prescribed for a municipal government subsidy; and however,

     (A) Except as provided in subsection (a)(1)(i)(C) of this section, any residential

development, whether it includes homes for sale or for rent or is a mixed use development that

includes homes for sale or for rent, that receives a federal, state or municipal subsidy in any form,

including, but not limited to, a development cost or interest rate subsidy; a dedicated housing

voucher; tax abatement, tax stabilization or payment in lieu of taxes or other tax subsidy;

contribution or discounted value of land; abatement of environmental conditions, or construction

of infrastructure; shall maintain, for not less than twenty (20) years from the date of initial

occupancy, not less than twenty percent (20%) of its residential units as affordable as defined in §

42-128-8.1 and restrict occupancy of those units to households whose income at time of the

residents’ initial occupancy is not more than eighty percent (80%) of area median income as

adjusted for family size for rental households and not more than ninety percent (90%) of area

median income as adjusted for family size for owner occupants.

     (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of state or local law, rule, regulation, ordinance

or resolution, in no instance shall a home developed or refinanced after June 30, 2022, be

considered affordable if the income limit or deed restriction for that home exceeds ninety percent

(90%) of area median income (AMI) adjusted for family size.

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     (C) If the purchaser of a home with a deed restriction on affordability imposed pursuant to

a state law or local ordinance, or resolution, is a first-generation homebuyer whose income at time

of purchase was less than eighty percent (80%) of area median income and has occupied that home

as their primary residence for ten (10) or more years, then such deed restriction shall no longer be

in effect and the requirement for twenty percent (20%) affordable units provided by the provisions

of subsection (a)(1)(i)(A) of this section shall be proportionately reduced by the number of deed

restrictions released pursuant to the provisions of this subsection. Deed restrictions shall contain

language to this effect and the monitoring agent shall periodically notify the homeowners of this

deed restriction release provision and provide evidence of the release to the homeowners if

requested. For the purposes of this section, a "first generation homebuyer" shall be defined as a

household in which no member of the household nor any of the household members' parent(s) or

guardian(s) previously owned a home. Any household member who lived in foster care and has not

previously owned a home may also be considered as a first generation homebuyer. This provision

shall not supersede the provisions of any deed restriction required by any federal program.

     (ii) A written request to the local review board to submit a single application to build or

rehabilitate low or moderate income housing in lieu of separate applications to the applicable local

boards. The written request shall identify the specific sections and provisions of applicable local

ordinances and regulations from which the applicant is seeking relief; and

     (iii) A proposed timetable for the commencement of construction and completion of the

project; and

     (iv) A sample land lease or deed restriction with affordability liens that will restrict use as

low and moderate income housing in conformance with the guidelines of the agency providing the

subsidy for the low and moderate income housing, but for a period of not less than thirty (30) years;

and

     (v) Identification of an approved entity that will monitor the long-term affordability of the

low and moderate income units; and

     (vi) A financial pro-forma for the proposed development; and

     (vii) For comprehensive permit applications: (A) not involving major land developments

or major subdivisions including, but not limited to, applications seeking relief from specific

provisions of a local zoning ordinance, or involving administrative subdivisions, minor land

developments or minor subdivisions, or other local ordinances and regulations: those items required

by local regulations promulgated pursuant to applicable state law, with the exception of evidence

of state or federal permits; and for comprehensive permit applications; and (B) involving major

land developments and major subdivisions, unless otherwise agreed to by the applicant and the

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town; those items included in the checklist for the master plan in the local regulations promulgated

pursuant to § 45-23-40. Subsequent to master plan approval, the applicant must submit those items

included in the checklist for a preliminary plan for a major land development or major subdivision

project in the local regulations promulgated pursuant to § 45-23-41, with the exception of evidence

of state or federal permits. All required state and federal permits must be obtained prior to the final

plan approval or the issuance of a building permit; and

     (viii) Municipalities may impose fees on comprehensive permit applications that are

consistent with but do not exceed fees that would otherwise be assessed for a project of the same

scope and type but not proceeding under this chapter, provided, however, that the imposition of

such fees shall not preclude a showing by a non-profit applicant that the fees make the project

financially infeasible; and

     (xi) Notwithstanding the submission requirements set forth above, the local review board

may request additional, reasonable documentation throughout the public hearing, including, but not

limited to, opinions of experts, credible evidence of application for necessary federal and/or state

permits, statements and advice from other local boards and officials.

     (2) Certification of completeness. The application must be certified complete or incomplete

by the administrative officer according to the provisions of § 45-23-36; provided, however, that for

a major land development or major subdivision, the certificate for a master plan shall be granted

within thirty (30) days and for a preliminary plan shall be granted within forty-five (45) days. The

running of the time period set forth herein will be deemed stopped upon the issuance of a certificate

of incompleteness of the application by the administrative officer and will recommence upon the

resubmission of a corrected application by the applicant. However, in no event will the

administrative officer be required to certify a corrected submission as complete or incomplete less

than fourteen (14) days after its resubmission. If the administrative officer certifies the application

as incomplete, the officer shall set forth in writing with specificity the missing or incomplete items.

     (3) Pre-application conference. Where the comprehensive permit application proposal is a

major land development project or a major subdivision pursuant to chapter 23 of this title a

municipality may require an applicant proposing a project under this chapter to first schedule a pre-

application conference with the local review board, the technical review committee established

pursuant to § 45-23-56, or with the administrative officer for the local review board and other local

officials, as appropriate. To request a pre-application conference, the applicant shall submit a short

description of the project in writing including the number of units, type of housing, as well as a

location map. The purpose of the pre-application conference shall be to review a concept plan of

the proposed development. Upon receipt of a request by an applicant for a pre-application

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conference, the municipality has thirty (30) days to schedule and hold the pre-application

conference. If thirty (30) days has elapsed from the filing of the pre-application submission and no

pre-application conference has taken place, nothing shall be deemed to preclude an applicant from

thereafter filing and proceeding with an application for a comprehensive permit.

     (4) Review of applications. An application filed in accordance with this chapter shall be

reviewed by the local review board at a public hearing in accordance with the following provisions:

     (i) Notification. Upon issuance of a certificate of completeness for a comprehensive permit,

the local review board shall immediately notify each local board, as applicable, of the filing of the

application, by sending a copy to the local boards and to other parties entitled to notice of hearings

on applications under the zoning ordinance and/or land development and subdivision regulations

as applicable.

     (ii) Public Notice. Public notice for all public hearings will be the same notice required

under local regulations for a public hearing for a preliminary plan promulgated in accordance with

§ 45-23-42. The cost of notice shall be paid by the applicant.

     (iii) Review of minor projects. The review of a comprehensive permit application involving

only minor land developments or minor subdivisions or requesting zoning ordinance relief or relief

from other local regulations or ordinances not otherwise addressed in this subsection, shall be

conducted following the procedures in the applicable local regulations, with the exception that all

minor land developments or minor subdivisions under this section are required to hold a public

hearing on the application, and within ninety-five (95) days of issuance of the certificate of

completeness, or within such further time as is agreed to by the applicant and the local review

board, render a decision.

     (iv) Review of major projects. In the review of a comprehensive permit application

involving a major land development and/or major subdivision, the local review board shall hold a

public hearing on the master plan and shall, within one hundred and twenty (120) days of issuance

of the certification of completeness, or within such further amount of time as may be agreed to by

the local review board and the applicant, render a decision. Preliminary and final plan review shall

be conducted according to local regulations promulgated pursuant to chapter 23 of this title except

as otherwise specified in this section.

     (v) Required findings. In approving on an application, the local review board shall make

positive findings, supported by legally competent evidence on the record which discloses the nature

and character of the observations upon which the fact finders acted, on each of the following

standard provisions, where applicable:

     (A) The proposed development is consistent with local needs as identified in the local

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comprehensive community plan with particular emphasis on the community's affordable housing

plan and/or has satisfactorily addressed the issues where there may be inconsistencies.

     (B) The proposed development is in compliance with the standards and provisions of the

municipality's zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations, and/or where expressly varied or

waived local concerns that have been affected by the relief granted do not outweigh the state and

local need for low and moderate income housing.

     (C) All low and moderate income housing units proposed are integrated throughout the

development; are compatible in scale and architectural style to the market rate units within the

project; and will be built and occupied prior to, or simultaneous with the construction and

occupancy of any market rate units.

     (D) There will be no significant negative environmental impacts from the proposed

development as shown on the final plan, with all required conditions for approval.

     (E) There will be no significant negative impacts on the health and safety of current or

future residents of the community, in areas including, but not limited to, safe circulation of

pedestrian and vehicular traffic, provision of emergency services, sewerage disposal, availability

of potable water, adequate surface water run-off, and the preservation of natural, historical or

cultural features that contribute to the attractiveness of the community.

     (F) All proposed land developments and all subdivisions lots will have adequate and

permanent physical access to a public street in accordance with the requirements of § 45-23-60(5).

     (G) The proposed development will not result in the creation of individual lots with any

physical constraints to development that building on those lots according to pertinent regulations

and building standards would be impracticable, unless created only as permanent open space or

permanently reserved for a public purpose on the approved, recorded plans.

     (vi) The local review board has the same power to issue permits or approvals that any local

board or official who would otherwise act with respect to the application, including, but not limited

to, the power to attach to the permit or approval, conditions, and requirements with respect to

height, site plan, size, or shape, or building materials, as are consistent with the terms of this section.

     (vii) In reviewing the comprehensive permit request, the local review board may deny the

request for any of the following reasons: (A) if city or town has an approved affordable housing

plan and is meeting housing needs, and the proposal is inconsistent with the affordable housing

plan; (B) the proposal is not consistent with local needs, including, but not limited to, the needs

identified in an approved comprehensive plan, and/or local zoning ordinances and procedures

promulgated in conformance with the comprehensive plan; (C) the proposal is not in conformance

with the comprehensive plan; (D) the community has met or has plans to meet the goal of ten

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percent (10%) of the year-round units or, in the case of an urban town or city, fifteen percent (15%)

of the occupied rental housing units as defined in § 45-53-3(2)(i) being low and moderate income

housing; or (E) concerns for the environment and the health and safety of current residents have

not been adequately addressed.

     (viii) All local review board decisions on comprehensive permits shall be by majority vote

of the membership of the board and may be appealed by the applicant to the state housing appeals

board.

     (ix) If the public hearing is not convened or a decision is not rendered within the time

allowed in subsection (a)(4)(iii) and (iv), the application is deemed to have been allowed and the

relevant approval shall issue immediately; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to

any application remanded for hearing in any town where more than one application has been

remanded for hearing provided for in § 45-53-6(f)(2).

     (x) Any person aggrieved by the issuance of an approval may appeal to the superior court

within twenty (20) days of the issuance of approval.

     (xi) A comprehensive permit shall expire unless construction is started within twelve (12)

months and completed within sixty (60) months of final plan approval unless a longer and/or phased

period for development is agreed to by the local review board and the applicant. Low and moderate

income housing units shall be built and occupied prior to, or simultaneous with the construction

and occupancy of market rate units.

     (xii) A town with an approved affordable housing plan and that is meeting local housing

needs may by council action limit the annual total number of dwelling units in comprehensive

permit applications from for-profit developers to an aggregate of one percent (1%) of the total

number of year-round housing units in the town, as recognized in the affordable housing plan and

notwithstanding the timetables set forth elsewhere in this section, the local review board shall have

the authority to consider comprehensive permit applications from for-profit developers, which are

made pursuant to this paragraph, sequentially in the order in which they are submitted.

     (xiii) The local review board of a town with an approved affordable housing plan shall

report the status of implementation to the housing resources commission, including the disposition

of any applications made under the plan, as of June 30, 2006, by September 1, 2006 and for each

June 30 thereafter by September 1 through 2010. The housing resources commission shall prepare

by October 15 and adopt by December 31, a report on the status of implementation, which shall be

submitted to the governor, the speaker, the president of the senate and the chairperson of the state

housing appeals board, and shall find which towns are not in compliance with implementation

requirements.

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     (xiv) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 45-53-4 in effect on February 13, 2004, to

commence hearings within thirty (30) days of receiving an application remanded by the state

housing appeals board pursuant to § 45-53-6(f)(2) shall be heard as herein provided; in any town

with more than one remanded application, applications may be scheduled for hearing in the order

in which they were received, and may be taken up sequentially, with the thirty (30) day requirement

for the initiation of hearings, commencing upon the decision of the earlier filed application.

     (b)(1) The general assembly finds and declares that in January 2004 towns throughout

Rhode Island have been confronted by an unprecedented volume and complexity of development

applications as a result of private for-profit developers using the provisions of this chapter and that

in order to protect the public health and welfare in communities and to provide sufficient time to

establish a reasonable and orderly process for the consideration of applications made under the

provisions of this chapter, and to have communities prepare plans to meet low and moderate income

housing goals, that it is necessary to impose a moratorium on the use of comprehensive permit

applications as herein provided by private for-profit developers; a moratorium is hereby imposed

on the use of the provisions of this chapter by private for-profit developers, which moratorium shall

be effective on passage and shall expire on January 31, 2005 and may be revisited prior to expiration

and extended to such other date as may be established by law. Notwithstanding the provisions of

subsection (a) of this section, private for-profit developers may not utilize the procedure of this

chapter until the expiration of the moratorium.

     (2) No for-profit developer shall submit a new application for comprehensive permits until

July 1, 2005, except by mutual agreement with the local review board.

     (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (b)(2) of this section, a local review

board in a town which has submitted a plan in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, shall

not be required to accept an application for a new comprehensive permit from a for-profit developer

until October 1, 2005.

     (c) Towns and cities that are not in conformity with the provisions of § 45-53-3(2)(i) shall

prepare by December 31, 2004, a comprehensive plan housing element for low and moderate

income housing as specified by § 45-53-3(2)(ii), consistent with applicable law and regulation.

That the secretary of the planning board or commission of each city or town subject to the

requirements of this paragraph shall report in writing the status of the preparation of the housing

element for low and moderate income housing on or before June 30, 2004, and on or before

December 31, 2004, to the secretary of the state planning council, to the chair of the house

committee on corporations and to the chair of the senate committee on commerce, housing and

municipal government. The state housing appeals board shall use said plan elements in making

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determinations provided for in § 45-53-6(b)(2).

     (d) If any provision of this section or the application thereof shall for any reason be judged

invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this section or of any

other provision of this chapter, but shall be confined in its effect to the provision or application

directly involved in the controversy giving rise to the judgment, and a moratorium on the

applications of for-profit developers pursuant to this chapter shall remain and continue to be in

effect for the period commencing on the day this section becomes law [February 13, 2004] and

continue until it shall expire on January 31, 2005, or until amended further.

     (e) In planning for, awarding and otherwise administering programs and funds for housing

and for community development, state departments, agencies, boards and commissions, public

corporations, as defined in chapter 18 of title 35, shall among the towns subject to the provision of

§ 45-53-3(ii) give priority to the maximum extent allowable by law, to towns with an approved

affordable housing plan. The director of administration shall adopt not later than January 31, 2005,

regulations to implement the provisions of this section.

     SECTION 5. Section 42-128-2.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-128 entitled "Rhode

Island Housing Resources Act of 1998" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-128-2.1. Housing Production Fund.

     (a) There is hereby established a restricted receipt account within the general fund of the

state, to be known as the housing production fund. Funds from this account shall be administered

by the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation, subject to program and reporting

guidelines adopted by the coordinating committee of the Rhode Island housing resources

commission for housing production initiatives, including:

     (1) Financial assistance by loan, grant, or otherwise, for the planning, production, or

preservation of affordable housing in Rhode Island for households earning not more than eighty

percent (80%) of area median income; and

     (2) Technical and financial assistance for cities and towns to support increased local

housing production, including by reducing regulatory barriers and through the housing incentives

for municipalities program.

     (b) In administering the housing production fund, the Rhode Island housing and mortgage

finance corporation shall give priority to households either exiting homelessness or earning not

more than thirty percent (30%) of area median income.

     (c) Notwithstanding any ordinance, resolution, regulation or finding, any fee paid by a

builder to offset a local obligation to build affordable homes shall be deposited by the city or town

into a restricted receipt account created and administered by the Rhode Island housing resources

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commission to provide grants to first generation homebuyers whose household income at the time

of purchase does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of area median income. For the purposes of this

section, a "first generation homebuyer" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 45-53-4.

     SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND HOUSING

RESOURCES ACT OF 1998 -- AFFORDABLE HOUSING

***

     This act would require any residential development that receives any form of federal, state

or local subsidy or incentive, to allocate twenty percent (20%) of the development for affordable

housing.

     This act would provide that the affordable housing eligibility standards for households with

gross household income be not more than eighty percent (80%) of area median income for rental

units and not more than ninety percent (90%) of area median income for owner-occupied units.

     This act would also allow an affordability deed restriction to expire after ten (10) years on

a primary residence occupied by a first generation homebuyer.

     This act would also create a restricted receipt account for any fees generated pursuant to §

42-128-2.1(c) to be used for grants to first generation homebuyers.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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