20D.30.10 Affordable Housing.

20D.30.10-010 Purpose.

The purpose of this section is to:

(1) Implement through regulations the responsibility of the City under State law to provide for housing opportunities for all economic segments of the community.

(2) Help address the shortage of housing in the City for persons of low- and moderate-income, helping to provide opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons who work in the City to live here, rather than in locations distant from employment that contribute to increased length and number of vehicle trips.

(3) Help assure an adequate affordable housing supply in the City by offsetting the pressure on housing costs resulting from high job growth and construction of high-end housing.

(4) Preserve land for affordable housing as the City continues to grow.

(5) Promote development of housing that would not otherwise be built in the City. (Ord. 2126; Ord. 1756. Formerly 20C.20.016)

20D.30.10-020 General.

This section applies to: (1) all new senior housing developments and congregate care senior dwelling units, not including nursing homes; (2) all new dwelling units within the City Center Neighborhood, and (3) all new single-family attached and detached dwelling units within the Willows/Rose Hill Neighborhood. In areas where density limitation is expressed as a floor area ratio (FAR), density bonuses will be calculated as an equivalent FAR bonus.

(1) Affordable Housing. At least 10 percent of the units in new housing developments of 10 units or greater must be affordable units. At least one bonus market rate unit is permitted for each affordable unit provided, up to 15 percent above the maximum allowed density permitted on the site. For example, if the maximum allowed density for the site is 20 units per acre, the density bonus shall not exceed three units per acre, yielding a total allowed density, with bonus, of 23 units per acre, or, 20 units x 15 percent = 23 units. The bonuses granted under this provision are in addition to any bonuses granted for senior housing under RCDG 20D.30.15, Affordable Senior Housing Bonus.

(2) Affordable Housing – Low Cost Units. Each low cost affordable unit provided counts as two affordable units for the purpose of satisfying the affordable unit requirement under subsection (1). For purposes of computing bonus market rate units under subsection (1) of this section, two bonus market rate units are permitted for each low cost affordable unit provided, up to 20 percent above the maximum density permitted on the site.

(3) Affordable Housing Calculation. The number of required affordable housing units is determined by rounding fractional numbers up to the nearest whole number from 0.5. The project proponent may propose to provide alternative payments for fractional portions of units, as provided for in RCDG 20D.30.10-020(2)(b).

(4) Housing Construction Timing. Affordable home construction shall be concurrent with construction of market rate dwelling units unless the requirements of this section are met through RCDG 20D.30.10, Alternative Compliance Methods.

(5) Duration. An agreement in a form approved by the City must be recorded with the King County Department of Records and Elections to stipulate conditions under which required affordable housing units will remain as affordable housing for the life of the development. This agreement shall be a covenant running with the land, binding on the assigns, heirs, and successors of the applicant. Prior to the issuance of any building permit, the owner shall sign any necessary agreements with the City to implement these requirements. The City may agree, at its sole discretion, to subordinate any affordable housing regulatory agreement for the purpose of enabling the owner to obtain financing for development of the property, consistent with any applicable provision of the Community Development Guide in effect at the time of the issuance of the development permit(s).

(6) City Center Neighborhood. The definitions of and requirements for affordable housing for projects in the City Center neighborhood shall be as provided in the following table. This subsection shall apply to those projects which meet the affordability requirements on-site or off-site, but within the boundaries of the City Center neighborhood, but shall not apply to those projects which elect to use an alternate payment method as authorized in subsection (2)(b) of this section.

      The affordable housing requirements for projects vested on or after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section must be targeted for households whose incomes do not exceed the following:

Number of Total Units	Median Income Level
First 250 units	Inclusionary requirements optional
Second 250 units	90% of median income
All subsequent units	80% of median income

      Number of Total Units shall mean the total number of housing units (affordable and otherwise) permitted to be constructed within the City Center neighborhood and to which this subsection shall apply. In establishing an affordable rent or sales price, Median Income Level shall be adjusted for household size, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Seattle MSA, and shall assure that no more than 30 percent of household income is used for housing expenses.

(7) Supplemental Requirements: Willows/Rose Hill Neighborhood.

(a) Calculation of Affordable Housing Requirement. The required number of affordable housing units shall be calculated as a minimum of 10 percent of the greater of: (i) proposed dwelling units on the site, excluding cottage housing density bonus or other bonuses, or (ii) net buildable area multiplied by the site’s allowed or “zoned” density.

(b) Development of a Size-Limited Dwelling as Defined by RCDG 20A.20.190. A duplex unit, or cottage as defined by RCDG 20A.20.030 may be used to meet affordability requirements as prescribed in RCDG 20D.30.10-020.

(c) Demonstration Project. As provided for in N-WR-E-7, the allowed density shall be seven units per acre for a demonstration project in which at least 20 percent of the total dwelling units are affordable as defined by RCDG 20A.20.010. Other bonuses allowed by the RCDG may be used in addition to this bonus.

(d) Design Standards. Affordable dwelling units shall meet neighborhood design standards contained in RCDG 20C.70.50-040 and 20C.70.50-050 and be compatible with the exterior appearance of nearby market-rate dwellings.

(e) Alternative Compliance Methods. In addition to meeting the provisions in RCDG 20D.30.10-030, a project proponent who proposes off-site location of affordable housing units shall locate the dwellings within the Willows/Rose Hill Neighborhood unless there is no feasible site. If no site in the neighborhood is feasible, the preferred alternative compliance method is construction of affordable housing elsewhere in the City (method 2b). (Ord. 2126; Ord. 2115; Ord. 1756. Formerly 20C.20.016)

20D.30.10-030 Alternative Compliance Methods.

(1) General. The Technical Committee may approve a request for satisfying all or part of the affordable housing requirements with alternative compliance methods proposed by the applicant, if they meet the intent of this affordable housing section.

(2) Alternatives. The project proponent may propose one or more of the following alternatives, and must demonstrate that any alternative compliance method achieves a result equal to or better than providing affordable housing on-site. Housing units provided through the alternative compliance method must be based on providing the same type of units as the units in the project which gives rise to the requirement.

(a) Affordable housing units may be provided off-site provided the location chosen does not lead to undue concentration of affordable housing in any particular area of the City and the site is within close proximity to employment opportunities and transit services.

(b) Cash payments in-lieu of providing actual housing units may be provided. The formula for alternative payments will be established by an administrative order. The payment obligation will be established at the time of issuance of building permits or preliminary plat approval for the project.

(c) The Technical Committee will consider other options for satisfying the affordable housing requirements, as proposed by the project proponent. (Ord. 2126; Ord. 1756. Formerly 20C.20.016)