2007-03-36 to 2007-05-02-ATM-min

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Adjourned Session of the 2007Annual Town Meeting—March 28,2007 REPORT TEXT for ARTICLE 4: Motion:that the Town vote to amend the Lexington Zoning By-law as follows: 1.Add a new§135-46.1 to read as follows: I. Inclusionary Housing. (1) General Objective.This section is intended to ensure that those residential developments which arc authorized through special permits with site plan review will provide some housing that is affordable to low-,moderate-,or middle-income households to offset the reduction in the Town's percentage of such housing that would result from those developments' incremental increase to the Town's overall housing stock.To achieve that intention,some of the units in such developments are required to be Inclusionary Units,as defined below. (2) Applicability.These provisions shall apply to all residential developments with five or more dwelling units which are authorized through special pennits with site plan review,including residential developments in CD or RD Districts. (3) Inclusionary Units. (a) Definition. "Inclusionary Units"are dwelling units which are subject to price restrictions and which may be owned and occupied or rented and occupied only by"Eligible Households"with income and assets below specified maximum limits,as provided in §135-46.1(3)(d)below. (b) Siting.Inclusionary Units may result from either new construction or existing dwelling units,located on one or more sites. (c) Accessory Apartments.An accessory apartment in compliance with§135-19 may be considered an Inclusionary Unit if it meets all requirements of this§135-46.I. (d) Eligible Households.Eligible purchaser occupants or tenant occupants of an Inclusionary Unit shall be subject to maximum household income and asset limits established for that unit,based on the Area Median Income(AMT)as annually determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,assuming one more person in the household than the number of bedrooms in the unit.Eligible Households shall have incomes no greater than 120%of the AMI. (e) Sales and Rental Pricing. Sales prices and rental rates of inclusionary Units shall comply with the requirements of this§135-46.1,shall be consistent with applicable subsidy programs or with inclusionary administrative guidelines which may be adopted from time to time by the Planning Board,and shall meet the following standards: [1] Maximum Housing Cost.The maximum housing cost to an Eligible Household shall be 30%of the household income.For the purpose of determining the sales pricing or rental rate of an Inclusionary Unit,the household income used shall be at least 10% of the AMT lower than the maximum household income established for that Inclusionary Unit. [2] Ownership housing costs including mortgage principal and interest(assuming a 5% down payment),private mortgage insurance,real estate taxes,condominium or homeowners association fees,property insurance,and parking shall not exceed the maximum housing cost. [3] The cost of any pending or anticipated special assessments based on deeded obligations such as those of a condominium or homeowners association shall be deducted from the allowable sales price of the Inclusionary Unit calculated per subparagraphs[1]and[2]immediately preceding. [4] Rental housing costs including rent,heat,utilities,and parking shall not exceed the maximum housing cost. (4) Inclusionary Credits. (a) Net Units Added.The"Net Units Added"by a development is the difference between the total number of dwelling units existing before development and the total number of dwelling units that will exist after development,not including accessory apartments in either case.In the case of residential developments under§135-48,the applicant may substitute the"maximum number of dwellings"as calculated under§135-48.D(3)Step One in place of the total number of dwelling units that will exist after development.