REGIONAL PLANNING ATTAINABLE HOUSING INCENTIVE PROGRAM
This bill authorizes the chief legislative body of a municipality to create a voluntary attainable housing incentive program ("program") by ordinance, for the purpose of authorizing certain incentives to be provided to property owners who seek to build attainable housing.
This bill requires an ordinance creating a program enacted by the chief legislative body of a municipality to contain, at a minimum, the following:
(1) A definition of attainable housing for the purposes of the program;
(2) The types of facilities, buildings, and structures eligible for the program;
(3) The geographic areas of the municipality where facilities, buildings, and structures eligible for the program may be constructed or rented;
(4) Any special exceptions or conditional uses included in the zoning ordinances of the municipality that apply to attainable housing projects;
(5) Any other municipal incentives available to property owners who are approved for participation in the program; and
(6) The process that a property owner must follow to provide notice of interest for the voluntary program, including the convening of a pre­application conference, and the process for submitting a completed application.
NOTICE OF INTEREST
This bill requires the program to require a property owner to provide written notice of interest for consideration under the program. However, this bill prohibits a municipality from compelling any property owner to participate in the program.
This bill requires a potential applicant to provide notice of interest for consideration under a program to the regional planning commission staff. Upon receipt of a potential applicant's written notice of interest by the regional planning commission staff, a pre-application conference must be held between the regional planning commission staff and the potential applicant before a complete application for housing incentives is filed. The purpose of the pre-application conference is to determine whether a potential project satisfies all of the requirements set out in the ordinance created under this bill.
PRE-APPLICATION CONFERENCE
Upon the conclusion of the pre-application conference, this bill requires the regional planning commission staff to make one of the following determinations:
(1) That the proposed project satisfies the requirements to receive housing incentives as set out in the ordinance established under this bill, and thereafter prepare a conference summary document that includes at a minimum (i) the parameters of the project; (ii) the incentives being offered; (iii) a finding that the potential project conforms to the ordinance and state law; and (iv) a recommendation to the regional planning commission; or
(2) That the proposed project does not conform to the ordinance established under this bill and state law or that the property owner is no longer interested in participation in the voluntary program. When the proposed project is determined to not meet the requirements of the ordinance established under this bill, the property owner may either request another meeting within 60 days of the pre-application conference or move forward with the proposed project without the requested incentives.
This bill provides that any finding referenced in (1) above by regional planning commission staff is not binding and does not create any vested property rights for the property owner.
APPLICATION
Upon receipt of the pre-application conference summary document, this bill authorizes the potential applicant to submit a complete application to the regional planning commission for participation in the program. Such application must include a copy of the pre-application conference summary document and an attestation that the applicant is willingly participating in a voluntary program and will construct and complete the project timely within the manner outlined and reviewed in the pre-application conference. The applicant must submit a completed application to the regional planning commission within 120 days of receiving the pre-application conference summary document for the completed application to be considered.
This bill requires the regional planning commission to make the final decision on whether to approve the completed application at the next public meeting held after the completed application is submitted. The regional planning commission must review the completed application to determine if it is within the parameters of the pre­application conference summary document. If the completed application is determined to be within the parameters of the pre-application conference summary document, the completed application must not be denied based on any provisions set out in the document. The commission may deny the application based upon any legal issue subsequently identified during the review of the completed application.
This bill requires all facilities, buildings, and structures constructed under a program to be deed-restricted to ensure that the attainable housing continues in perpetuity.
MUNICIPAL PLANNING ATTAINABLE HOUSING INCENTIVE PROGRAM
This bill provides the same attainable housing incentive, as mentioned above, for the purposes of municipal planning.
RENT CONTROL
Present law prohibits a local government unit, or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof, from enacting, maintaining, or enforcing any ordinance, resolution, regulation, rule, or other requirement of any type that (i) requires the direct or indirect allocation of existing or newly constructed private residential or commercial rental units to be sold or rented at below market rates; (ii) conditions any zoning change, variance, building permit, development entitlements through amendment to the zoning map, or any change in land use restrictions or requirements, on the allocation of existing or newly constructed private residential or commercial rental units to be sold or rented at below market rates; or (iii) requires a person to waive the person's constitutionally protected rights related to real property in order that the local government unit can increase the number of existing or newly constructed private residential or commercial rental units that would be available for purchase or lease at below market rates within the jurisdiction of the local government unit.
However, present law provides that the above present law does not prohibit a local government unit from creating or implementing a purely voluntary incentive-based program designed to increase the construction or rehabilitation of workforce or affordable private residential or commercial rental units so long as no power or authority granted to the local government unit to regulate zoning or land use planning is used to incentivize or leverage a person to develop, build, sell, or rent housing at below market value.
This bill provides that the above provision does not preempt a voluntary attainable housing incentive program created under this bill that authorizes a municipality to provide incentives to property owners through zoning or land use planning to develop, build, and sell or rent attainable housing or housing at below market value.
ON MARCH 18, 2024, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2496, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 makes the following changes:
(1) Clarifies that the housing, facilities, and housing projects referenced in the bill are multi-family housing, facilities, and housing projects; and
(2) Requires property owners to submit a completed application to either the regional planning commission or the municipal planning commission of a local government, whichever is applicable, in order to be considered for the voluntary program.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 66-35-102(b)(2), 66-35-102
Amended with SA0620 -- 03/18/2024: 66-35-102(b)(2), 66-35-102