By Lauren De Young | Arizona Republic (abridged)
Tempe is proposing what some called a “creative” approach to increase the affordable housing stock and speed up approvals by skipping public hearings for applicants who qualify.
The affordable housing bonus program would allow developers to build more units city-wide − through allowing more density, increasing height limits or reducing parking requirements − in exchange for a percentage of those units being affordable. Those additions would typically be approved through a public process, ultimately landing in the hands of the City Council.
Developers and affordable housing advocates alike applauded Tempe’s proposal, saying that it’s a step in the right direction.
“We’re in such a deficit right now. We’re tens of thousands of homes short of keeping up with just current demand,” said Austin VanDerHeyden, the government relations manager at Dominium, an affordable housing developer. “That might be able to actually make an infeasible project feasible now.”
But residents weren’t persuaded the incentive was a good thing. In a public survey, about 70% of the 66 verified respondents said they support affordable housing in Tempe but 40% said they do not support the program.
The proposal isn’t a done deal. It has to be presented to and approved by the City Council, and residents will be able to have their say about where in the city the program should affect.
What is Tempe proposing?
In exchange for a certain number of affordable housing units, the city is offering a handful of incentives, like more density or height, and would approve them administratively if the project meets the criteria.
On properties designated for commercial or industrial use or multi-family developments, the program would “encourage” developers to add income-restricted units through:
- Reducing parking requirements for the project,
- Exceeding height limits of the underlying zoning; or,
- Exceeding density limits of the underlying zoning.
The developer would then set aside a portion of the additional units provided because of the extra space. For example, if the underlying zoning only allows for 25 units but the bonus results in 45 units, then some of those extra 20 units would be affordable.
The city requires the units to be affordable for at least 30 years.
The voluntary program would also be restricted to areas where density projections outpace the density allowed by the underlying zoning. It would not apply to areas zoned for single-family developments or properties designated as historic.
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