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1 AN ACT in relation to 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
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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.
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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, fire, or
22 plumbing code requirements or those requirements that are
23 critical to the protection or preservation of the
24 environment.
25 Section 20. Determination of exempt local governments.
26 (a) Beginning January 1, 2006, the Illinois Housing
27 Development Authority shall determine which local governments
28 are exempt and not exempt from the operation of this Act
29 based on an identification of the total number of year-round
30 housing units in the most recent decennial census for each
31 local government within the State and by an inventory of
32 for-sale and rental affordable housing units, as defined in
33 this Act, for each local government from the decennial census
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1 and other relevant sources.
2 (b) The Illinois Housing Development Authority shall
3 make this determination by:
4 (i) totaling the number of for-sale housing units
5 in each local government that are affordable to
6 households with a gross household income that is less
7 than 80% of the median household income within the county
8 or primary metropolitan statistical area;
9 (ii) totaling the number of rental units in each
10 local government that are affordable to households with a
11 gross household income that is less than 60% of the
12 median household income within the county or primary
13 metropolitan statistical area;
14 (iii) adding the number of for-sale and rental
15 units for each local government from items (i) and (ii);
16 and
17 (iv) dividing the sum of (iii) above by the total
18 number of year-round housing units in the local
19 government as contained in the latest decennial census
20 and multiplying the result by 100 to determine the
21 percentage of affordable housing units within the
22 jurisdiction of the local government.
23 (c) Beginning January 1, 2006, the Illinois Housing
24 Development Authority shall publish on an annual basis a list
25 of exempt and non-exempt local governments and the data that
26 it used to calculate its determination. The data shall be
27 shown for each local government in the State and for the
28 State as a whole.
29 (d) A local government or developer of affordable
30 housing may appeal the determination of the Illinois Housing
31 Development Authority as to whether the local government is
32 exempt or non-exempt under this Act in connection with an
33 appeal under Section 30 of this Act.
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1 Section 25. Affordable housing plan.
2 (a) Prior to July 1, 2004, all non-exempt local
3 governments must approve an affordable housing plan.
4 (b) For the purposes of this Act, the affordable housing
5 plan shall consist of at least the following:
6 (i) a statement of the total number of affordable
7 housing units that are necessary to exempt the local
8 government from the operation of this Act as defined in
9 Section 15 and Section 20;
10 (ii) an identification of lands within the
11 jurisdiction that are most appropriate for the
12 construction of affordable housing and of existing
13 structures most appropriate for conversion to, or
14 rehabilitation for, affordable housing, including a
15 consideration of lands and structures of developers who
16 have expressed a commitment to provide affordable housing
17 and lands and structures that are publicly or
18 semi-publicly owned;
19 (iii) incentives that local governments may provide
20 for the purpose of attracting affordable housing to their
21 jurisdiction; and
22 (iv) a goal of a minimum of 15% of all new
23 development or redevelopment within the local government
24 that would be defined as affordable housing in this Act;
25 or a minimum of a 3 percentage point increase in the
26 overall percentage of affordable housing within its
27 jurisdiction, as defined in Section 20 of this Act; or a
28 minimum of a total of 10% of affordable housing within
29 its jurisdiction.
30 (c) Within 60 days after the adoption of an affordable
31 housing plan or revisions to its affordable housing plan, the
32 local government must submit a copy of that plan to the
33 Illinois Housing Development Authority.
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1 Section 30. Appeal to State Housing Appeals Board.
2 (a) Beginning January 1, 2006, an affordable housing
3 developer whose application is either denied or approved with
4 conditions that in his or her judgment render the provision
5 of affordable housing infeasible may, within 45 days after
6 the decision, submit to the State Housing Appeals Board
7 information regarding why the developer believes he or she
8 was unfairly denied or conditions were placed upon the
9 tentative approval of the development unless the local
10 government that rendered the decision is exempt under Section
11 15 or Section 20 of this Act. The Board shall maintain all
12 information forwarded to them by developers and shall compile
13 and make available an annual report summarizing the
14 information thus received.
15 (b) Beginning January 1, 2009, an affordable housing
16 developer whose application is either denied or approved with
17 conditions that in his or her judgment render the provision
18 of affordable housing infeasible may, within 45 days after
19 the decision, appeal to the State Housing Appeals Board
20 challenging that decision unless the municipality or county
21 that rendered the decision is exempt under Section 15 of this
22 Act. The developer must submit information regarding why the
23 developer believes he or she was unfairly denied or
24 unreasonable conditions were placed upon the tentative
25 approval of the development.
26 (c) Beginning January 1, 2009, the Board shall render a
27 decision on the appeal within 120 days after the appeal is
28 filed. In its determination of an appeal, the Board shall
29 conduct a de novo review of the matter. In rendering its
30 decision, the Board shall consider the facts and whether the
31 developer was treated in a manner that places an undue burden
32 on the development due to the fact that the development
33 contains affordable housing as defined in this Act. The Board
34 shall further consider any action taken by the unit of local
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1 government in regards to granting waivers or variances that
2 would have the effect of creating or prohibiting the economic
3 viability of the development. In any proceeding before the
4 Board, the developer bears the burden of demonstrating that
5 he or she has been unfairly denied or unreasonable conditions
6 have been placed upon the tentative approval for the
7 application for an affordable housing development.
8 (d) The Board shall dismiss any appeal if:
9 (i) the local government has adopted an affordable
10 housing plan as defined in Section 25 of this Act and
11 submitted that plan to the Illinois Housing Development
12 Authority within the time frame required by this Act; and
13 (ii) the local government has implemented its
14 affordable housing plan and has met its goal as
15 established in its affordable housing plan as defined in
16 Section 25 of this Act.
17 (e) The Board shall dismiss any appeal if the reason for
18 denying the application or placing conditions upon the
19 approval is a non-appealable local government requirement
20 under Section 15 of this Act.
21 (f) The Board may affirm, reverse, or modify the
22 conditions of, or add conditions to, a decision made by the
23 approving authority. The decision of the Board constitutes an
24 order directed to the approving authority and is binding on
25 the local government.
26 (g) The appellate court has the exclusive jurisdiction
27 to review decisions of the Board.
28 Section 40. Nonresidential development as part of an
29 affordable housing development.
30 (a) An affordable housing developer who applies to
31 develop property that contains nonresidential uses in a
32 nonresidential zoning district must designate either at least
33 50% of the area or at least 50% of the square footage of the
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1 development for residential use. Unless adjacent to a
2 residential development, the nonresidential zoning district
3 shall not include property zoned industrial. The applicant
4 bears the burden of proof of demonstrating that the purposes
5 of a nonresidential zoning district will not be impaired by
6 the construction of housing in the zoning district and that
7 the public health and safety of the residents of the
8 affordable housing will not be adversely affected by
9 nonresidential uses either in existence or permitted in that
10 zoning district. The development should be completed
11 simultaneously to the extent possible and shall be unified in
12 design.
13 (b) For purposes of subsection (a), the square footage
14 of the residential portion of the development shall be
15 measured by the interior floor area of dwelling units,
16 excluding that portion that is unheated. Square footage of
17 the nonresidential portion shall be calculated according to
18 the gross leasable area.
19 Section 50. Housing Appeals Board.
20 (a) Prior to July 1, 2006, a Housing Appeals Board shall
21 be created consisting of 7 members appointed by the Governor
22 as follows:
23 (1) a retired circuit judge or retired appellate
24 judge, who shall act as chairperson;
25 (2) a zoning board of appeals member;
26 (3) a planning board member;
27 (4) a mayor or municipal council or board member;
28 (5) a county board member;
29 (6) an affordable housing developer; and
30 (7) an affordable housing advocate.
31 In addition, the Chairman of the Illinois Housing
32 Development Authority, ex officio, shall serve as a
33 non-voting member. No more than 4 of the appointed members
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1 may be from the same political party. Appointments under
2 items (2), (3), and (4) shall be from local governments that
3 are not exempt under this Act.
4 (b) Initial terms of 4 members designated by the
5 Governor shall be for 2 years. Initial terms of 3 members
6 designated by the Governor shall be for one year. Thereafter,
7 members shall be appointed for terms of 2 years. A member
8 shall receive no compensation for his or her services, but
9 shall be reimbursed by the State for all reasonable expenses
10 actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his
11 or her official duties. The board shall hear all petitions
12 for review filed under this Act and shall conduct all
13 hearings in accordance with the rules and regulations
14 established by the chairperson. The Illinois Housing
15 Development Authority shall provide space and clerical and
16 other assistance that the Board may require.
17 (c) The Illinois Housing Development Authority may adopt
18 such other rules and regulations as it deems necessary and
19 appropriate to carry out the Board's responsibilities under
20 this Act and to provide direction to local governments and
21 affordable housing developers.