[Added 3-27-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007;
amended 4-12-2011 by L.L. No. 3-2011; 8-9-2011 by L.L. No. 7-2011]
The Town Board of the Town of Ossining acknowledges
the high cost of housing compared to average earnings in the Ccounty,
and this trend has grown more noticeable as land and housing values
have increased in recent years. Maintaining and ensuring a balanced
mix of housing types and sizes that are affordable to a range of incomes
is essential to ensuring the long-term health of the community. Such
balanced housing stock enables a variety of residents to live and
work in the Town, maintain family ties, and participate in community
services, such as emergency services. Balanced housing is also essential
to attracting and maintaining an adequate workforce, a healthy business
environment, and a balanced tax base that supports local services
and the quality of life. It is therefore important to maintain a mix
of housing choices and to encourage and/or require the construction
of below-market-rate (BMR) units in future development.
Within all residential developments of 10 or more units created
by subdivision or site plan approval, no fewer than 10% of the total
number of units shall be created as BMR units. In residential developments
of five to nine units, at least one BMR unit shall be created.
A.
To achieve the purposes above, the approval authority shall grant
a residential density bonus for multiple, row or attached dwellings
constructed or rehabilitated in the MF District, with 1/2 of said
density bonus consisting of below-market-rate units as defined and
regulated in this article. The maximum permitted density bonus shall
be in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Size of Property
(acres)
|
Maximum Permitted Density Bonus
|
|---|---|
|
10 or more
|
20%
|
|
More than 5 but fewer than 10
|
30%
|
|
Fewer than or equal to 5
|
40%
|
B.
To achieve the purposes above, the approval authority shall grant
a residential density bonus for multiple, row or attached dwellings
constructed or rehabilitated in the GB District, with 1/2 of said
density bonus consisting of below-market-rate units as defined and
regulated in this article. The maximum permitted density bonus shall
be in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Size of Property
(acres)
|
Maximum Permitted Density Bonus
|
|---|---|
|
10 or more
|
20%
|
|
More than 5 but fewer than 10
|
30%
|
|
More than 2 but fewer than 5
|
40%
|
|
Fewer than 2
|
100%
|
C.
To achieve the purposes above, for dwelling units constructed or rehabilitated in the One-Family Residence Districts, the approval authority shall grant a residential density bonus, with 1/2 of said density bonus consisting of below-market-rate units as defined and regulated in this article. The maximum permitted density bonus shall be in accordance with the schedule in § 200-34A above. To assist in achieving the density permitted, the applicant may apply to the Planning Board for a cluster development pursuant to § 200-31 of this chapter.
A.
Finishes, amenities, size, distribution and mix. To the maximum extent
possible, the BMR units shall have the same exterior finishes, siting
and exterior design as the market-rate units within the development,
and said BMR units shall have access to the same amenities as the
market-rate units. The BMR units shall be no less than 80% of the
size of said market-rate units and shall be reasonably distributed
throughout the project. Further, the BMR units shall be provided in
a mix of unit types in the same proportion as all other units in the
development, unless a different proportion is approved by the Planning
Board as being better related to the housing needs, current or projected,
of the Town of Ossining.
B.
C.
Occupancy standards. The minimum and maximum occupancy of a BMR unit
shall be as follows:
|
Number of Bedrooms
|
Minimum Number of Persons
|
Maximum Number of Persons
|
|---|---|---|
|
Studio/efficiency
|
1
|
2
|
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
|
3
|
3
|
6
|
|
4
|
4
|
8
|
D.
BMR-unit-eligible household. Households must meet the criteria established in § 200-53A, under "BMR-unit-eligible household."
E.
Maximum rent and sales price. The maximum monthly rent for a BMR
unit and the maximum gross sales price for a BMR unit shall be established
in accordance with United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
guidelines, as published in the current edition of the Westchester
County Area Median Income (AMI) Sales and Rent Limits, available from
the County of Westchester.
F.
Time period of affordability. Units designated as BMR units must
remain affordable for a minimum of 50 years from the date of the initial
certificate of occupancy for rental properties and from the date of
the original sale for ownership units.
G.
Affirmative marketing. The BMR units created under the provisions
of this article shall be sold or rented, and resold or re-rented,
during the required period of affordability to only qualifying income-eligible
households. Such income-eligible households shall be solicited in
accordance with the requirements, policies and protocols established
in the Westchester County Fair and Affordable Housing Affirmative
Marketing Plan so as to ensure outreach to racially and ethnically
diverse households.
H.
Property restriction. A property containing any BMR units must be restricted using a mechanism such as a declaration of restrictive covenants in recordable form acceptable to the Town Attorney, which mechanism shall ensure that the BMR unit shall remain subject to affordable regulations of this article for the minimum fifty-year period of affordability. Among other provisions, the covenants shall require that the unit be the primary residence of the resident household selected to occupy the unit. Upon approval, such declaration shall be recorded against the property containing the BMR unit prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the development. The following statement shall be included in the covenants, deed, certificate of occupancy and/or rental agreement, as appropriate, for each BMR dwelling unit: "This is a below-market-rate unit as defined in § 200-53A of the Code of the Town of Ossining, New York, and is subject to all restrictions and limitations as set forth therein."
I.
Resale requirements.
(1)
(1) In the case of owner-occupied BMR units, the title to said property
shall be restricted so that, in the event of any resale by the home
buyer or any successor, the resale price shall not exceed the then-maximum
sales price for said unit, as determined in this article, or the sum
of:
(a)
The net purchase price (i.e., gross sales prices minus subsidies)
paid for the unit by the selling owner, increased by the percentage
increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers in the New York-Northern New Jersey Area, as
published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (the "index")
on any date between the month that was two months earlier than the
date on which the seller acquired the unit and the month that is two
months earlier than the month in which the seller contracts to sell
the unit. If the Bureau stops publishing this index and fails to designate
a successor index, the Town of Ossining will designate a substitute
index; and
(b)
The cost of major capital improvements made by the seller of
the unit while said seller owned the unit, as evidenced by paid receipts
depreciated on a straight-line basis over a fifteen-year period from
the date of completion, and such approval shall be requested for said
major capital improvement no later than the time the seller of the
unit desires to include it in the resale price.
(2)
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the resale price
exceed an amount affordable to a household at 80% of the AMI at the
time of the resale.
J.
Lease renewal requirements.
(1)
Applicants for rental BMR units shall, if eligible and if selected
for occupancy, sign leases for a term of no more than two years. As
long as a household remains eligible and has complied with the terms
of the lease, said household shall be offered renewal leases for a
term of no more than two years each.
(2)
Renewal of a lease shall be subject to the conditions of federal,
state or county provisions that may be imposed by the terms of the
original development funding agreements for the development or to
the provisions of other applicable local law.
(3)
If no such provisions are applicable and if a household's annual
gross income should subsequently exceed the maximum then allowable
as defined in this article, then said household may complete its current
lease term and shall be offered a market-rate rental unit, if available,
in the development at the termination of such lease term. If no such
dwelling unit shall be available at said time, or if the household
does not choose to occupy a market-rate rental unit, said household
shall be offered the opportunity to pay the greater of the rent amount
payable under the provisions of this article or 30% of the household's
monthly adjusted income, provided that the increased rent may not
exceed the market-rate rent in the development for units with the
same number of bedrooms, for a term of not more than one year.
K.
Administration. The Town Board shall be responsible for administering
these regulations and may designate a board, commission or other organization
to monitor compliance.
