[Added 5-18-88 by Ord. No. P-6]
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AFFORDABLE - That a household in the appropriate income category, if a homeowner, need spend no more than twenty-eight percent (28%) of gross income toward annual payments for mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, insurance and homeowners' association fees, if any, and if a renter, need spend no more than thirty percent (30%) of gross income for rent, including utilities.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING - Low-income and moderate-income homing.
AVERAGE UNIT - Typical unit as measured by its value on the market.
BOARD - The Planning Board of the City of Hoboken.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OR CDA - The Community Development Agency of the City of Hoboken.
CORPORATION - The Nonprofit Affordable Housing Corporation created pursuant to this Article.
COUNCIL ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR COAH - The Council on Affordable Housing of the State of New Jersey established by the Fair Housing Act, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-301 et seq.
DEVELOPER - Includes the developer, owner or sponsor of a project and their agents, successors and assigns.
EFFICIENCY UNIT - A dwelling unit in which the same room serves as both the only bedroom and only living room.
INDIGENOUS NEED - Affordable housing units that are necessary to meet the needs of the population of the City of Hoboken
LOW-INCOME HOUSING - Housing affordable to a household earning fifty percent (50%) or less of the median income for the Jersey City, New Jersey, PMSA (Hudson County), as adjusted for household size and promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, and updated from time to time.
MIDDLE-INCOME HOUSING - Housing affordable to a household earning one hundred fifty percent (150%) or less of the median income for the Jersey City. New Jersey, PMSA (Hudson County), as adjusted for household size and as promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. and updated from time to time
MODERATE-INCOME HOUSING - Housing affordable to a household earning between fifty percent (50%) and eighty percent (80%) of the median income for Hudson County, as adjusted for household size.
NONPROFIT CORPORATION - A nonprofit corporation organized under Title 15A of the New Jersey statutes and dedicated to the development of low- , moderate- and/or middle-income housing.
OVERCROWDED HOUSING - Housing occupied by more than one (1) person per room, or housing which is shared by two (2) or more separate independent households, where each household contains more than one (1) member.
PROJECT OR DEVELOPMENT - The entire project or development located on contiguous or adjacent sites, or continuing over one (1) or more streets, ways or easements, owned, developed or sponsored by the same or affiliated entities, designed as part of the same group of structures and/ or funded from the same sources.
REDEVELOPMENT AREAS - Those within the City of Hoboken which have been designated as such as a result of the procedures and actions taken pursuant to the Redevelopment Laws of the State of New Jersey. Such laws include the Blighted Areas Law, N.J.S.A 40:55-21.1 et seq.; the Local Housing Authorities Law, N.J.S.A. 55:14A-1 et seq.; and the Redevelopment Agencies Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55C-1 et seq.
REDEVELOPMENT PLANS - Those plans developed pursuant to the Redevelopment Laws of the State of New Jersey and described specifically in the Redevelopment Agencies Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55C-5, 55C-17 and 55C-32, and the Loral Housing Authorities Law, N.J.S.A. 55:14A40 and 14A51.
ROOM - Includes bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and other rooms, but shall not include bathrooms, hallways and foyers.
SUBSTANDARD HOUSING - Includes housing lacking complete and adequately functioning plumbing, heating and kitchen facilities; or such deficiencies of walls, windows or roofs, as to potentially impair the health or safety of the occupants.
SUBSTANTIAL REHABILITATION - Any rehabilitation of a vacant structure, or any rehabilitation which has resulted in the building becoming vacant or which required the vacating of occupied structures prior to completion of rehabilitation work.
SUPERINTENDENT - A person who is responsible for the daily maintenance of a project.
TRUST FUND - The Affordable Housing Trust Fund established by the City of Hoboken to receive cash contributions for affordable housing projects.
UNIT - An average unit of all units within a given project when calculating obligations or exceptions pursuant to the standards of this Article.
UTILITIES - Electrical and gas services.
WATERFRONT DISTRICT - Any district or subdistrict so designated by the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Hoboken.
A. All development of residential property in the City of Hoboken, taking place either through the construction of new structures on vacant land or through the substantial rehabilitation of existing structures, except as herein provided below, shall include low and moderate income housing in the proportions specified below and consistent with the standards and conditions of this Article.
B. The following shall be exempt from the provisions of this Article:
(1) The first ten (10) units of substantial rehabilitation projects.
(2) Any project which is to be undertaken by a nonprofit corporation for the purpose of developing, through new construction or substantial rehabilitation, residential property in which all of the units in the project are for middle- and/or moderate-income families, but only upon application to and a written finding by the Board that the project is providing an affordable housing benefit in the spirit of and comparable to the benefit provided through this Article.
C. Each development subject to this Article shall contain the following percentage of units to be provided for affordable housing.
(1) Where all affordable units provided pursuant to this Article are located on site, ten percent (10%) of the total number of units.
(2) Where some or all affordable units provided pursuant to this Article are located off site as permitted by § 196-71 below, one (1) off-site unit must be provided in lieu of each on-site unit required by Subsection C(1) hereof, except for projects located in the Waterfront District In the Waterfront District, one and five-tenths (1.5) off-site units must be provided in lieu of each on-site unit required by Subsection C(1) hereof.
(3) No less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the units provided will be affordable to low-income households.
(4) Pursuant to § 196-73 below, the city may enter into an agreement with a developer to allow the developer to make a voluntary cash contribution in lieu of providing the affordable units required by this subsection.
(5) In all calculations to determine a developer's responsibility under the provisions of this Article, any unit that might be reserved for the superintendent of the project shall not be credited toward the fulfillment of the affordable housing obligation.
D. Plan of compliance.
(1) Each development subject to this Article shall prepare and submit to the Board a plan of compliance with the terms and conditions hereof, which plan shall include:
(a) A description of the development, which may be given by reference to other documents submitted to the Board.
(b) A statement of the number of proposed residential units in the development
(c) A statement setting forth the number of affordable units required to be Provided, specifying the number of low-income and moderate-income units, and the number of efficiency one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom (or larger) units to be provided in each category.
(d) A statement certifying that the developer will prepare and submit in a timely fashion a marketing plan conforming to the provisions of this Article.
(e) A statement setting forth the anticipated purchase prices of the affordable housing units to be provided, if condominiums, or the anticipated rental price schedule, if rentals.
(f) Executed option agreements between the developer (or other appropriate entity) and the Corporation as provided in § 196-70D(4)
(g) A sworn affidavit by the developer that the project not part of any larger development and has not been artificially subdivided, separated or developed apart from that larger development through the manipulation of the design or implementation schedule in order to evade the provisions of this Article.
(2) No preliminary site plan approval shall be granted until and unless the plan has been approved by the Board.
(3) With respect to developments, if any, which are subject to this Article but do not require preliminary site plan approval, a plan of compliance, as set forth herein, shall be submitted to the Board, which submission shall include, in addition to the above, a general description of the proposed development, including the number and size of the units to be built. In such cases; no construction permit shall be issued in connection with the subject development until and unless the plan of compliance has been approved by the Board.
(4) It is the intent of this Article to prevent evasion of its requirements by the artificial subdivision, separation, construction or rehabilitation of a project into smaller developments through the manipulation of the design or implementation schedule. The Board, therefore, shall review each project to determine whether the project has been artificially subdivided, separated, constructed or rehabilitated through the manipulation of the design or implementation schedule in order to evade the provisions of this Article. If the Board so finds, it shall disapprove the plan.
(5) The Board shall withhold approval of any plan of compliance for any unit, building, project or development which is developed contiguous to any other unit, building, project or development which received site plan approval at any time eighteen (18) months prior to the submission of the plan of compliance, unless the Board finds that the developer of the project has not artificially subdivided, separated, constructed or rehabilitated through the manipulation of the design or implementation schedule.
Affordable housing units provided under this Article shall comply with the standards of this section.
A. Affordability. The sale price or rent level of all affordable housing units shall be set so that all units in each income category shall be affordable to a household earning eighty percent (80%) of the ceiling income for that category, as adjusted for household size. The intent of this provision is to set the price or rent level and not to restrict the opportunity of anyone within the given income category to apply for a unit. Where utilities are not included in the contract rent, the contract rent charged shall be adjusted so that the sum of the contract rent and the realistically estimated utilities payments shall not exceed this level.
B. Bedroom mix.
(1) Affordable housing units, by number of bedrooms in each development subject to this Article, shall be distributed such that at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the total units provided in each income category shall be units of two (2) or more bedrooms. When four (4) or more units are provided. at least fifteen percent (15%) of the total units provided shall be units of three (3) or more bedrooms, of which fifteen percent (15%) shall be considered as part of the seventy-five percent (75%) No more than ten percent (10%) of the total affordable units provided shall be efficiency units.
(2) A developer may apply to the Board for relief from this requirement where the physical constraints of the site make strict compliance with this requirement inappropriate or unfeasible. The Board is authorized to adjust this requirement only to the minimum extent necessary to render the project feasible. Under no circumstances shall the greater cost of providing a large unit as opposed to a smaller unit, in itself, be considered grounds for any modification of this requirement
C. Continued occupancy of affordable housing units.
(1) All affordable housing units provided under this Article shall be subject to covenants or other legally binding occupancy restrictions enforceable by the City of Hoboken. as follows:
(a) Occupancy restrictions shall ensure that the units will remain affordable to and occupied by households of an affordable income category for a period of no less than forty (40) years and, in the discretion of the Board, any such longer period as the Board may find to be legally enforceable and not to materially affect the economic feasibility of the development.
(b) Occupancy restrictions on owner-occupied units shall further provide that the Nonprofit Housing Corporation designated by the city shall have the exclusive right to purchase the unit or to refer prospective buyers to the unit upon resale for a period not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days.
(c) No occupancy restriction shall be effective until it has been approved by the Board after review by the City Attorney of the City of Hoboken, who shall provide a written opinion as to the validity, enforceability and proper form of the restriction.
(d) Occupancy restrictions on owner-occupied units shall include a formula for equity appreciation limiting percentage appreciation to seventy-five percent (75%) of the percentage increase in median household income within the Jersey City PMSA (Hudson County), on the basis of a generally accepted index or statistic published by the state or federal government designated by the CDA, from the time of purchase to the time of resale, with adjustments for improvements made by the seller, and recoupment of reasonable legal and closing costs.
(e) Occupancy restrictions on owner-occupied units shall require that the owner execute a power of attorney to the Corporation permitting the Corporation to take whatever legal action may be necessary to prevent foreclosure on the unit or any consequence which could result in the extinguishing of the occupancy restrictions on said unit
(f) Applicable regulations, bylaws, and other governing documents of condominium, homeowner or other similar associations, including affordable units, shall provide for participation in the decision-making processes by the occupants, as well as the owners, of the subject units.
(2) It shall be the responsibility of the CDA to formulate occupancy standards which comply with the provisions of this subsection.
D. Marketing of affordable housing units. Marketing of affordable housing units provided under this Article shall be undertaken subject to the following provisions:
(1) Marketing shall take place in accordance with the provisions of a marketing plan, which shall be prepared by the developer, as provided herein.
(a) The marketing plan shall include:
[1] A description of planned advertising efforts, including the media, to be used and a proposed copy, as well as mechanicals, if available.
[2] A statement setting forth proposed community outreach efforts.
[3] A description of intake procedures, including forms.
[4] Affirmative measures consistent with Executive Order 11246 (affirmative action policy statement adopted by the City of Hoboken).
[5] Procedures to ensure that each eligible household in the region shall have equal access to the application process and equal opportunity to compete for the available units.
[6] Such further information as may be required by the Corporation
(b) The Marketing Plan shall be submitted to the CDA no later than sixty (60) days prior to the date on which the developer seeks to market the first affordable unit
(c) The CDA shall have thirty (30) days from the receipt of the marketing plan to approve the plan, with such modifications as it deems necessary and appropriate. Any plan which has not been acted upon within thirty (30) days after receipt shall be deemed approved.
(d) The CDA, in consultation with the Housing Authority, shall maintain a referral list of persons and families eligible for affordable housing under the definitions set forth in this Article which a developer may use to meet the affordable housing obligation. A developer shall be under no obligation to accept referrals from the CDA list
(2) Occupancy priority.
(a) Occupants shall be selected for the affordable units to be provided pursuant to this Article and consistent with the rules of COAH, according to the following order of priority.
[1] Households of persons who live in Hoboken
[2] Households of persons who have lived in Hoboken within the past three(3) years of the effective date of this Article and who establish that they left the city for reasons related to displacement, housing conditions or housing costs in the city.
[3] Households of persons who work in Hoboken.
[4] All other households.
(b) Within each subgroup above, households which meet one (1) or more of the following criteria shall have priority
[1] Homelessness.
[2] Present occupancy in substandard housing.
[3] Present occupancy in overcrowded housing.
(c) Each financially eligible household in the region shall have equal seem to the application process and an equal opportunity to compete for the available units-, and the selection process shall be held in an open, public and fair manner. without favoritism or bias. For housing Provided under this Article, the city shall seek a residency Preference from the appropriate agency of the State of New Jersey which would limit the above-stated requirements to the city's indigenous need. The CDA shall undertake such studies as would permit seeking that preference and shall Promulgate regulations for the selection Process within ninety (90) days of the effective date hereof to effectuate the requirements and policies of this subsection,
(3) Senior citizen occupancy.
(a) The Board may designate certain affordable housing units Provided under this Article to be reserved for senior citizen occupancy, where it finds that
[1] There is a documented need for senior citizen housing in the city-, and
[2] The affordable units in a Particular development are especially suited for senior citizen housing by virtue of physical character and location.
(b) The Board may designate for senior citizen occupancy up to twenty-five Percent (25%) of the affordable units provided under this Article in any one year
(c) No developer may impose any minimum age requirement as a condition of occupancy of an affordable housing unit provided under this Article, except where the unit has been designated for senior citizens by the Board under the provisions of this subsection.
(4) The Corporation shall be deemed to have an option to Purchase any affordable housing unit provided under this Article at the time the unit is initially offered for sale. The Corporation must exercise this option by placing ten Percent (10%) of the projected purchase price in escrow no later than thirty (30) days prior to the date on which the developer will begin marketing the unit, as set forth in the marketing plan approved by the Corporation.
(5) The developer shall maintain records of all purchasers and tenants of affordable units developed under this Article, verifying conformance with the tenant selection priorities set forth in Subsection D(2) above, and shall make such records available to the CDA upon demand.
