Density Bonus Law: qualifications for incentives or concessions: student housing for lower income students: moderate-income persons and families: local government constraints.    SB-1085  Died (Inactive) 11.30.2020

Density bonus qualifications for incentives or concessions: student housing for lower income students: moderate-income persons and families: local government constraints. (Skinner)

Currently, a project needs to have at least 5 homes before it can use the Density Bonus. SB1085 eliminates this requirement, allowing small buildings such as duplexes get an extra unit in exchange for some affordable housing. It also creates more options for moderate income housing (where rents are affordable to people making 80–120% of area median income) and student housing to use the Density Bonus.

This bill would require a unit designated to satisfy the inclusionary zoning requirements of a city or county to be included in the total number of units on which a density bonus and the number of incentives or concessions are based. This bill would require a city or county to grant a density bonus and certain incentives or concessions if the developer agrees to construct a housing development that will contain a specified percentage of units for households of low or moderate incomes and for which the rent is 30% below the market rate for that city or county. The bill would require a city or county to grant one incentive or concession for a project that will contain a specified percentage of units for lower income students in a student housing development. The bill would make various changes to the above-referenced formula, including, among others, increasing the percentage density bonus to 40% for housing developments that have 11% of its units for very low-income households.

SATT NOTE:  Currently, developers are rewarded a 35% increase in apartment building size — a “Density Bonus” — if 40% of the units in the building are affordable to moderate-income households. SB 1085 slashes to just 20% the required moderate income units, allowing huge buildings but CUTTING IN HALF the legislature’s commitment to affordable housing