093_HB0220eng HB0220 Engrossed LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 AN ACT concerning affordable housing. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act. 6 Section 5. Findings. The legislature finds and declares 7 that: 8 (1) there exists a shortage of affordable, 9 accessible, safe, and sanitary housing in the State; 10 (2) it is imperative that action be taken to assure 11 the availability of workforce and retirement housing; and 12 (3) local governments in the State that do not have 13 sufficient affordable housing are encouraged to assist in 14 providing affordable housing opportunities to assure the 15 health, safety, and welfare of all citizens of the State. 16 Section 10. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to 17 encourage counties and municipalities to incorporate 18 affordable housing within their housing stock sufficient to 19 meet the needs of their county or community. Further, 20 affordable housing developers who believe that they have been 21 unfairly treated due to the fact that the development 22 contains affordable housing may seek relief from local 23 ordinances and regulations that may inhibit the construction 24 of affordable housing needed to serve low-income and 25 moderate-income households in this State. 26 Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act: 27 "Affordable housing" means housing that has a sales price 28 or rental amount that is within the means of a household that 29 may occupy moderate-income or low-income housing. In the case HB0220 Engrossed -2- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 of dwelling units for sale, housing that is affordable means 2 housing in which mortgage, amortization, taxes, insurance, 3 and condominium or association fees, if any, constitute no 4 more than 30% of the gross annual household income for a 5 household of the size that may occupy the unit. In the case 6 of dwelling units for rent, housing that is affordable means 7 housing for which the rent and utilities constitute no more 8 than 30% of the gross annual household income for a household 9 of the size that may occupy the unit. 10 "Affordable housing developer" means a nonprofit entity, 11 limited equity cooperative or public agency, or private 12 individual, firm, corporation, or other entity seeking to 13 build an affordable housing development. 14 "Affordable housing development" means (i) any housing 15 that is subsidized by the federal or State government or (ii) 16 any housing in which at least 20% of the dwelling units are 17 subject to covenants or restrictions that require that the 18 dwelling units be sold or rented at prices that preserve them 19 as affordable housing for a period of at least 15 years, in 20 the case of for-sale housing, and at least 30 years, in the 21 case of rental housing. 22 "Approving authority" means the governing body of the 23 county or municipality. 24 "Development" means any building, construction, 25 renovation, or excavation or any material change in the use 26 or appearance of any structure or in the land itself; the 27 division of land into parcels; or any change in the intensity 28 or use of land, such as an increase in the number of dwelling 29 units in a structure or a change to a commercial use. 30 "Exempt local government" means any local government in 31 which at least 10% of its total year-round housing units are 32 affordable, as determined by the Illinois Housing Development 33 Authority pursuant to Section 20 of this Act; or any 34 municipality under 1,000 population. HB0220 Engrossed -3- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 "Household" means the person or persons occupying a 2 dwelling unit. 3 "Local government" means a county or municipality. 4 "Low-income housing" means housing that is affordable, 5 according to the federal Department of Housing and Urban 6 Development, for either home ownership or rental, and that is 7 occupied, reserved, or marketed for occupancy by households 8 with a gross household income that does not exceed 50% of the 9 median gross household income for households of the same size 10 within the county in which the housing is located. 11 "Moderate-income housing" means housing that is 12 affordable, according to the federal Department of Housing 13 and Urban Development, for either home ownership or rental, 14 and that is occupied, reserved, or marketed for occupancy by 15 households with a gross household income that is greater than 16 50% but does not exceed 80% of the median gross household 17 income for households of the same size within the county in 18 which the housing is located. 19 "Non-appealable local government requirements" means all 20 essential requirements that protect the public health and 21 safety, including any local building, electrical, or plumbing 22 code requirements or those requirements that are critical to 23 the protection or preservation of the environment. 24 Section 20. Determination of exempt local governments. 25 (a) Beginning January 1, 2006, the Illinois Housing 26 Development Authority shall determine which local governments 27 are exempt and not exempt from the operation of this Act 28 based on an identification of the total number of year-round 29 housing units in the most recent decennial census for each 30 local government within the State and by an inventory of 31 for-sale and rental affordable housing units, as defined in 32 this Act, for each local government from the decennial census 33 and other relevant sources. HB0220 Engrossed -4- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 (b) The Illinois Housing Development Authority shall 2 make this determination by: 3 (i) totaling the number of for-sale housing units 4 in each local government that are affordable to 5 households with a gross household income that is less 6 than 80% of the median household income within the county 7 or primary metropolitan statistical area; 8 (ii) totaling the number of rental units in each 9 local government that are affordable to households with a 10 gross household income that is less than 60% of the 11 median household income within the county or primary 12 metropolitan statistical area; 13 (iii) adding the number of for-sale and rental 14 units for each local government from items (i) and (ii); 15 and 16 (iv) dividing the sum of (iii) above by the total 17 number of year-round housing units in the local 18 government as contained in the latest decennial census 19 and multiplying the result by 100 to determine the 20 percentage of affordable housing units within the 21 jurisdiction of the local government. 22 (c) Beginning January 1, 2006, the Illinois Housing 23 Development Authority shall publish on an annual basis a list 24 of exempt and non-exempt local governments and the data that 25 it used to calculate its determination. The data shall be 26 shown for each local government in the State and for the 27 State as a whole. 28 (d) A local government or developer of affordable 29 housing may appeal the determination of the Illinois Housing 30 Development Authority as to whether the local government is 31 exempt or non-exempt under this Act in connection with an 32 appeal under Section 30 of this Act. 33 Section 25. Affordable housing plan. HB0220 Engrossed -5- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 (a) Prior to July 1, 2004, all non-exempt local 2 governments must approve an affordable housing plan. 3 (b) For the purposes of this Act, the affordable housing 4 plan shall consist of at least the following: 5 (i) a statement of the total number of affordable 6 housing units that are necessary to exempt the local 7 government from the operation of this Act as defined in 8 Section 15 and Section 20; 9 (ii) an identification of lands within the 10 jurisdiction that are most appropriate for the 11 construction of affordable housing and of existing 12 structures most appropriate for conversion to, or 13 rehabilitation for, affordable housing, including a 14 consideration of lands and structures of developers who 15 have expressed a commitment to provide affordable housing 16 and lands and structures that are publicly or 17 semi-publicly owned; 18 (iii) incentives that local governments may provide 19 for the purpose of attracting affordable housing to their 20 jurisdiction; and 21 (iv) a goal of a minimum of 15% of all new 22 development or redevelopment within the local government 23 that would be defined as affordable housing in this Act; 24 or a minimum of a 3 percentage point increase in the 25 overall percentage of affordable housing within its 26 jurisdiction, as defined in Section 20 of this Act; or a 27 minimum of a total of 10% of affordable housing within 28 its jurisdiction. 29 (c) Within 60 days after the adoption of an affordable 30 housing plan or revisions to its affordable housing plan, the 31 local government must submit a copy of that plan to the 32 Illinois Housing Development Authority. 33 Section 30. Appeal to State Housing Appeals Board. HB0220 Engrossed -6- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 (a) Beginning January 1, 2006, an affordable housing 2 developer whose application is either denied or approved with 3 conditions that in his or her judgment render the provision 4 of affordable housing infeasible may, within 45 days after 5 the decision, submit to the State Housing Appeals Board 6 information regarding why the developer believes he or she 7 was unfairly denied or conditions were placed upon the 8 tentative approval of the development unless the local 9 government that rendered the decision is exempt under Section 10 15 or Section 20 of this Act. The Board shall maintain all 11 information forwarded to them by developers and shall compile 12 and make available an annual report summarizing the 13 information thus received. 14 (b) Beginning January 1, 2009, an affordable housing 15 developer whose application is either denied or approved with 16 conditions that in his or her judgment render the provision 17 of affordable housing infeasible may, within 45 days after 18 the decision, appeal to the State Housing Appeals Board 19 challenging that decision unless the municipality or county 20 that rendered the decision is exempt under Section 15 of this 21 Act. The developer must submit information regarding why the 22 developer believes he or she was unfairly denied or 23 unreasonable conditions were placed upon the tentative 24 approval of the development. 25 (c) Beginning January 1, 2009, the Board shall render a 26 decision on the appeal within 120 days after the appeal is 27 filed. In its determination of an appeal, the Board shall 28 conduct a de novo review of the matter. In rendering its 29 decision, the Board shall consider the facts and whether the 30 developer was treated in a manner that places an undue burden 31 on the development due to the fact that the development 32 contains affordable housing as defined in this Act. The Board 33 shall further consider any action taken by the unit of local 34 government in regards to granting waivers or variances that HB0220 Engrossed -7- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 would have the effect of creating or prohibiting the economic 2 viability of the development. In any proceeding before the 3 Board, the developer bears the burden of demonstrating that 4 he or she has been unfairly denied or unreasonable conditions 5 have been placed upon the tentative approval for the 6 application for an affordable housing development. 7 (d) The Board shall dismiss any appeal if: 8 (i) the local government has adopted an affordable 9 housing plan as defined in Section 25 of this Act and 10 submitted that plan to the Illinois Housing Development 11 Authority within the time frame required by this Act; and 12 (ii) the local government has implemented its 13 affordable housing plan and has met its goal as 14 established in its affordable housing plan as defined in 15 Section 25 of this Act. 16 (e) The Board shall dismiss any appeal if the reason for 17 denying the application or placing conditions upon the 18 approval is a non-appealable local government requirement 19 under Section 15 of this Act. 20 (f) The Board may affirm, reverse, or modify the 21 conditions of, or add conditions to, a decision made by the 22 approving authority. The decision of the Board constitutes an 23 order directed to the approving authority and is binding on 24 the local government, which shall forthwith issue any and all 25 necessary permits and approvals consistent with the 26 determination of the Board. 27 (g) The appellate court has the exclusive jurisdiction 28 to review decisions of the Board. 29 Section 40. Nonresidential development as part of an 30 affordable housing development. 31 (a) An affordable housing developer who applies to 32 develop property that contains nonresidential uses in a 33 nonresidential zoning district must designate either at least HB0220 Engrossed -8- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 50% of the area or at least 50% of the square footage of the 2 development for residential use. Unless adjacent to a 3 residential development, the nonresidential zoning district 4 shall not include property zoned industrial. The applicant 5 bears the burden of proof of demonstrating that the purposes 6 of a nonresidential zoning district will not be impaired by 7 the construction of housing in the zoning district and that 8 the public health and safety of the residents of the 9 affordable housing will not be adversely affected by 10 nonresidential uses either in existence or permitted in that 11 zoning district. The development should be completed 12 simultaneously to the extent possible and shall be unified in 13 design. 14 (b) For purposes of subsection (a), the square footage 15 of the residential portion of the development shall be 16 measured by the interior floor area of dwelling units, 17 excluding that portion that is unheated. Square footage of 18 the nonresidential portion shall be calculated according to 19 the gross leasable area. 20 Section 50. Housing Appeals Board. 21 (a) Prior to July 1, 2006, a Housing Appeals Board shall 22 be created consisting of 7 members appointed by the Governor 23 as follows: 24 (1) a retired circuit judge or retired appellate 25 judge, who shall act as chairperson; 26 (2) a zoning board of appeals member; 27 (3) a planning board member; 28 (4) a mayor or municipal council or board member; 29 (5) a county board member; 30 (6) an affordable housing developer; and 31 (7) an affordable housing advocate. 32 In addition, the Chairman of the Illinois Housing 33 Development Authority, ex officio, shall serve as a HB0220 Engrossed -9- LRB093 04610 RCE 04663 b 1 non-voting member. 2 (b) Initial terms of 4 members designated by the 3 Governor shall be for 2 years. Initial terms of 3 members 4 designated by the Governor shall be for one year. Thereafter, 5 members shall be appointed for terms of 2 years. A member 6 shall receive no compensation for his or her services, but 7 shall be reimbursed by the State for all reasonable expenses 8 actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his 9 or her official duties. The board shall hear all petitions 10 for review filed under this Act and shall conduct all 11 hearings in accordance with the rules and regulations 12 established by the chairperson. The Illinois Housing 13 Development Authority shall provide space and clerical and 14 other assistance that the Board may require. 15 (c) The Illinois Housing Development Authority may adopt 16 such other rules and regulations as it deems necessary and 17 appropriate to carry out the Board's responsibilities under 18 this Act and to provide direction to local governments and 19 affordable housing developers.