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For More Information, Please Contact the Whitefish Planning Department: [PHONE REDACTED] I 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE WHITEFISH LEGACY HOMES PROGRAM SUMMARY SHEET – UPDATED 10-1-21 Purpose: Facilitate the creation of permanently affordable workforce housing in the City of Whitefish Why: 2016 Whitefish Housing Needs Assessment, adopted by the Whitefish City Council, shows 980 affordable units needed by 2020 (580 rental/400 ownership) of which 62% should be provided at an affordable rate. The 2017 Strategic Housing Plan, adopted by the City Council, identified Inclusionary Zoning as one tool to build affordable housing. What is the Whitefish Legacy Homes Program? The Legacy Homes Program is a voluntary incentive-based inclusionary zoning program where a development provides 10% of the total number of units for long-term affordability within a development for people with moderate income in exchange for certain incentives. Options for providing affordable housing includes integrating housing within the development, paying a fee in lieu of housing, developing units off-site, donating land or any other acceptable options. What is AMI? AMI is the ‘Area Median Income’ established by the federal government annually. The 2021 AMI for Flathead County for a 2-person household (the average in Whitefish) is $56,800. This is also referred to as 100% AMI. What is Affordable? • Mortgage no more than 30% gross income for households making 80-120% AMI • Rental no more than 30% gross income for households making 60-80% AMI What Types of Projects Have the Option of Participating in the WF Legacy Homes Program? • Subdivisions • Residential Planned Unit Development (PUD) • Residential Conditional Use Permits (CUP) Incentives for Developers/Builders: Reduction in parking, lot sizes, lot width Increase in building height, density, lot coverage A streamlined development approval process for smaller projects ---PAGE BREAK--- For More Information, Please Contact the Whitefish Planning Department: [PHONE REDACTED] I 2 WHITEFISH LEGACY HOMES PROGRAM DETAILED OVERVIEW Purpose of Program To facilitate the creation of permanently affordable workforce housing in the City of Whitefish. 10% = the percent of new homes deed-restricted for affordability required in a project What Types of Projects Have the Option of Participating in the WF Legacy Homes Program? • Subdivisions • Residential Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) • Residential Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) Pricing Based on needs identified in the 2016 Workforce Housing Needs Assessment, residential ownership units will be targeted for 2-person households earning 80.01-120% AMI, as published annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and rental units will be affordable to households earning 80% or less AMI. The following represents rentals and home pricing based on April 2021 AMI. These numbers will change annually based on updated AMI information from U.S. Department of Commerce: AMI Category 1 – Rental Units Category 2 – Ownership Units 60-80% $959 to $1,278/month: 2-bedroom Average 70% $1,118/month 2-bedroom 80.1-120% $179,014 to $226,521: 2-bedroom Average 100% $223,767 2-bedroom Characteristics of Deed Restricted Units • On-site and interspersed with market rate units with exemptions, as appropriate • Same type of units as rest of development (if a mix, then proportional to rest of development) • Owner/renter mix matches rest of development • The bedroom mix for the deed restricted units will align with the bedroom mix of the market units provided it is responsive to the needs identified in the Workforce Housing Needs Assessment • Phasing of the deed-restricted units will match phasing of the rest of the development ---PAGE BREAK--- For More Information, Please Contact the Whitefish Planning Department: [PHONE REDACTED] I 3 The sizes of the deed restricted units may vary in a development, but must meet these requirements: Rental Minimum SF Average SF Studio 350 450 1 Bedroom 550 650 2 Bedrooms 725 825 3 Bedrooms 900 1000 Ownership Minimum SF Average SF Studio 400 500 1 Bedroom 700 1,000 2 Bedrooms 800 1,150 3 Bedrooms 1,100 1,300 Deed-restricted units will be architecturally compatible with surrounding development; exterior finishes will be compatible and consistent with the materials and finishes used on market rate units. Adequate storage space must be provided. Compliance A Housing Mitigation Plan will be submitted as part of the development permit application; it will detail how the proposed development will meet or exceed the WHP requirements and its contents will become conditions of the development permit approval. The proposal should clearly demonstrate how it meets or exceeds the requirements of the WHP and helps the City achieve its housing goals as established in the Strategic Workforce Housing Plan. Alternatives may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Options to Provide Legacy Homes There are several options to provide Legacy Homes including: • On-Site Housing is the preferred method to integrate affordable housing throughout town • Fee In Lieu of Housing can be paid for all or a portion of the affordable housing • Off-Site Housing can be considered in situations where this is preferable • Land In Lieu may be considered provided the value of the land is commensurate in value. Considerations may include access to infrastructure and proximity to services. ---PAGE BREAK--- For More Information, Please Contact the Whitefish Planning Department: [PHONE REDACTED] I 4 Incentives for Meeting and Exceeding the Requirements As an offset to providing deed-restricted housing as part of a market-rate development, the LHP offers a shopping list of incentives to effectively reduce certain development standards. A project meeting the requirements could make use of the incentives below. Incentive categories include: • Reduce parking requirements by 20% • Increase building heights by 5-feet (no more than 3 stories) • Increase density by 20% • Increase percent maximum lot coverage by 10% • Reduce minimum lot size by 20% • Reduce minimum lot width by 10% Additionally, an Administrative Conditional Use Permit is the land use permit process for small projects, as recommended in the Strategic Housing Plan. Along with the Administrative CUPs, additional review criteria for multi-family and mixed-use projects are required. These review criteria include building orientation, parking lot design, grading/tree retention, open space and neighborhood scale.