The bill amends Section 45-24-46.1 of the General Laws regarding zoning ordinances to enhance the requirements for inclusionary zoning, effective January 1, 2025. It mandates that any zoning ordinance requiring affordable housing as part of a development must ensure that such housing is comparable in size and quality to market-rate housing and constitutes at least 15% of the total units. Additionally, if a development triggers a requirement for affordable housing units, those units must be created, and payment of a fee in lieu of construction is permissible only for fractions of units.

The bill removes the option for municipalities to accept fees in lieu of construction or provision of affordable housing as a standard practice, emphasizing that affordable housing must be built on-site or through alternative methods. It specifies that the average cost of developing a single unit of affordable housing will be determined annually based on the average, per-unit development cost of affordable homes financed by Rhode Island Housing over the previous three years.

The bill also outlines that the per-unit fee for affordable housing will be calculated based on the difference between the maximum affordable sales price for a family of four earning eighty percent of the area median income and the average cost of developing a single unit of affordable housing. Furthermore, it establishes that the fraction of an affordable unit required will be multiplied by the per-unit fee for the development to determine the fee for fractions of units.

The bill does not include provisions for a density bonus or additional zoning incentives, nor does it establish annual reporting requirements for municipalities or the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (RIHMFC) regarding the use of funds collected from fees in lieu.

Statutes affected:
717: 45-24-46.1