Increasing Light-Touch Density Housing Act
| Model Bill Info | |
|---|---|
| Bill Title | Increasing Light-Touch Density Housing Act |
| Date Introduced | November 29, 2023 |
| Type | Model Policy |
| Status | Draft |
| Task Forces | Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development |
Increasing Light-Touch Density Housing Act
The State or [Insert] finds that:
(a) ensuring access to an adequate supply of housing is a matter of statewide concern,
(b) increasing housing options that are more affordable to various income levels is critical to providing an adequate supply of housing,
(c) there is continued need for the development of housing at all income levels, including light touch density housing that will provide a wider variety of housing options and configurations to allow residents of [insert jurisdiction] to live near where they work,
(d) ministerial approval of light touch density housing will unleash thousands of smaller, incremental investments, thereby adding supply that is critically needed,
(e) light touch density housing is more affordable by design for residents of [insert jurisdiction] due to reduced construction and infrastructure costs, lower land requirements, more efficient household energy usage, and savings in transportation costs, and
(f) light touch density housing is more beneficial for the residents of the State of [insert name] and its local agencies due to reduced infrastructure costs, more efficient household energy usage, savings in transportation costs, health benefits, and enhanced tax revenues.
ACT TEXT
SECTION 1: DEFINITIONS:
(a) Accessory dwelling unit” means a separate dwelling unit, that (A) is located on the same lot as a principal dwelling unit of greater square footage, has cooking facilities, and (C) complies with or is otherwise exempt from any applicable building code, fire code and health and safety regulations.
(b) “Amenity points of interest” means amenities such as restaurants/bars, coffee shops, supermarkets/grocery stores, hardware stores, and/or pharmacies/drugstores.
(c) “Building coverage ratio” means the ratio of the building footprint area divided by the total area of the
(d) “Cluster of six or more amenity points of interest” means at least 6 amenities important to quality of life such as restaurants/bars, coffee shops, supermarkets/grocery stores, hardware stores, pharmacies/drugstores, schools, parks, etc.
(e) “Cottage housing” means detached dwelling units arranged on two or more sides of a landscaped central area.
(f) “Courtyard apartments” means attached dwelling units arranged on two or more sides of a landscaped central
(g) “Floor-area ratio” means the ratio of the total closed, conditioned floor area of the building divided by the total area of the parcel.
(h) “Light Touch Density Housing” or “LTD” means that it is inclusive of buildings that are compatible in scale, form, and character with single-family houses and contain two or more attached, detached, stacked, or clustered homes, two, three, or four family houses, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, sevenplexes, eightplexes, townhouses, courtyard apartments, cottage housing, accessory dwelling units, single-family attached homes on smaller lots and single-family detached homes on smaller lots.
(i) “Local agency” means a city, county, or city and county with zoning authority [stipulate any special home rule or Dillon Rule provisions].
(j) “Objective zoning standards,” “objective subdivision standards,” and “objective health or safety standards” mean standards that do not require or allow personal or subjective judgment by a public official, are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official prior to submittal, do not discourage the development of light touch density housing through unreasonable costs, fees, delays, or other requirements or actions which individually, or cumulatively, make impracticable the permitting, siting, or construction of all allowed light touch density housing types or the ownership of a light touch density housing unit, shall not require through development regulations any standards for light touch density housing that are more restrictive than those required for detached single-family residences, shall, to the maximum extent possible, be written both in language and substance, that is accessible and understandable to someone without a planning, development, or legal background, and such standards shall apply to light touch density housing the same development permit, environmental review, and available expedited processes that apply to detached single-family residences.
(k) “Single-family attached homes on smaller lots” means single-family homes on lots of between 1200 – 2500 square feet.
(l) “Single-family detached homes on smaller lots” means single-family homes on lots of between 1800 – 5000 square feet.
(m) “Ten minute walking isochrones” means catchment areas of equal time, which are calculated for each point of interest within a cluster of amenity points of interest, are evaluated and processed such that each property (every point) within a walkable oriented development zone is within a 10-minute walk of a cluster of [insert a number from 6 – 10] or more amenity points of interest, and each isochrone is based on ground conditions, not point-to-point.
(n) “Townhouses” means dwelling units constructed in a row of two or more attached units where each dwelling unit shares at least one common wall with an adjacent unit and is accessed by a separate outdoor entrance.
(o) “Walkable oriented development zone” or “WOD” means an area where the parcels are within ten minute walking isochrones of a cluster of 6 or more amenity points of interest and recognizing that there are multiple combinations of such clusters of amenity points of interest, a walkable oriented development zone may consist of just one such cluster or the combination of two, three, or a larger number of clusters of amenity points of interest.
SECTION 2.
(a) Authorization of light touch density housing containing no more than [insert a number] residential units on all lots within any zone in which housing is permitted without discretionary review or hearing, if the parcel subject to the proposed light touch density housing is located within a city, or, for unincorporated areas, a legal parcel wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the United States Census Bureau, unless zoning permits higher densities or intensities.
(b) Authorization of light touch density housing containing no more than [insert a number] residential units on all parcels within a one-half mile radius of a rail or trolley transit stop or a bus transfer station, within a one-quarter mile radius of a stop on a bus corridor with regular service, or a within any walkable oriented development zone without discretionary review or hearing, unless zoning permits higher densities or intensities.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any local law and except as provided in paragraph (2), a local agency may impose objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective health or safety standards that do not conflict with this section.
(2) The local agency shall not impose objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, objective health or safety standards, or impose other requirements on proposed light touch density housing that would have the effect of:
(i) setting a minimum or maximum unit size requirement.
(ii) setting a minimum lot size requirement of greater than 1200 square feet or setting any maximum lot size requirement.
(iii) setting a maximum floor-area ratio of less than 80%.
(iv) setting a maximum building coverage ratio of less than 50%.
(v) physically precluding the construction of the stipulated number of a parcel due to a parcel having a flag lot configuration.
(vi) in the case of (a) above, imposing a height limitation that would physically preclude any of the stipulated units from being at least 3 stories in height or in the case of (b) above, imposing a height limitation that would physically preclude any of the stipulated number of units from being at least 3 stories in height.
(vii) imposing fee requirements,
(viii) imposing owner occupancy standards or income limitation.
(d) Notwithstanding subparagraph (c),
(1) no setback shall be required for an existing structure or a structure constructed on the same parcel and to the same dimensions as an existing structure.
(2) in all other circumstances not described in clause (i), a local agency may require any proposed light touch density housing covered by (a) of this section to have a front and rear setback of up to ten feet and side setbacks of five feet.
(3) in all other circumstances not described in clause (i), a local agency may require any proposed light touch density housing covered by (b) of this section to have a front and rear setback of up to five feet and side setbacks of zero feet.
(e) In addition to any conditions established in accordance with subdivision (c), a local agency may require the following condition when considering an application for residential units as provided for in this section:
(1) Off-street parking of up to one space per unit, except that a local agency shall not impose parking requirements if the parcel is located within a one-half mile radius of a rail or trolley transit stop or a bus transfer station, within a one-quarter mile radius of a stop on a bus corridor with regular service or within a walkable oriented development zone.
(f) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), an application shall not be rejected solely because it proposes adjacent or connected structures provided that the structures meet building code safety standards and are sufficient to allow separate conveyance.
(g) Once a determination is made with respect to eligibility for an increase in density due a parcel being within a walkable oriented development zone, such determination shall not be affected by any change, which would no longer qualify the parcel as being within a walkable oriented development zone.
(h) A local agency may adopt an ordinance to implement the provisions of this section.
