017 of 2012 - Policy Statements for SLC Community Housing Plan R 12-1
T 11-5
RESOLUTION NO. _17_ OF 2012
APPROVING NEW POLICY STATEMENTS FOR
SALT LAKE CITY'S COMMUNITY HOUSING PLAN
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to adopt new housing policy statements to
more accurately reflect current housing issues in the City that will provide a framework
for the implementation strategies for the development of a new Salt Lake City
Community Housing Plan; and
WHEREAS, a new Community Housing Plan will help guide the City's efforts to
develop new housing opportunities while preserving the City's existing housing stock;
and
WHEREAS, new policies will address issues relating to the types of housing the
City would like to develop and preserve; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and the City Council expect the new housing policies to
be considered whenever the City engages in City and Redevelopment Agency housing
funding assistance, zoning and land use planning, master planning of neighborhoods,
and the creation of economic development incentives.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah:
To hereby approve the attached policies for the development of a new Salt Lake
City Community Housing Plan and authorize its submission to the State of Utah
Department of Community and Economic Development as required by State House Bill
295.
Passed by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, this 24th day of
April , 2012.
SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL51/ • y a, Approved as to Form
1r;` ; Salt Lake City's Attorney's Office
. Date: 7/3/f2
ATTEST:
(.±:E
CO DER
April 25,2012 Clean Version
Salt Lake City's Comprehensive Housing Policy
Introduction
As the largest city in Utah and the economic hub of the state, Salt Lake City faces significant
housing and population issues. Precipitous increases in land values over the last decade,
volatile financial and lending conditions, and escalating construction costs are some of the
factors that create barriers to the development of affordable housing. At the same time, a
renewed interest in walkable neighborhood commercial centers, increased residential
development downtown, and an emphasis on dense, transit-oriented residential projects
throughout Salt Lake City offer opportunities for policymakers to capitalize upon as they seek
to provide a range of housing choices to meet the desires and needs of residents.
Demographics in the United States are rapidly changing, and Salt Lake City is no exception.
Populations are aging, minority communities are growing, and there are more single-parent
households and households without children. These seismic shifts require changes in Salt
Lake City's housing policies to effectively address today's realities.
Purpose
By establishing the Salt Lake City Housing Policy, the Mayor and City Council seek to:
• Foster and celebrate the urban residential tradition;
• Respect the character and charm of predominantly residential districts, including those
with historic character and qualities, while also providing opportunities for the provision
of local goods and services easily accessed by neighborhoods;
• Promote a diverse and balanced community by ensuring that a wide range of housing
types and choices exist for all income levels, age groups, and types of households;
• Develop new housing opportunities throughout the City;
• Ensure that affordable housing is available in all neighborhoods and not concentrated
in a few areas of the City;
• Emphasize the value of transit-oriented development, transit accessibility and
proximity to services;
• Recognize that residents, business owners, and local government all have a role to
play in creating and sustaining healthy neighborhoods;
• Create an appropriate balance of rental and ownership opportunities in neighborhoods
without jeopardizing an adequate supply of affordable housing; and
• Strongly incentivize or require the use of green building techniques and sustainability
practices in public and private housing developments.
The Mayor and City Council expect this Housing Policy to be considered whenever the City
Administration engages in the following activities:
• City and Redevelopment Agency funding assistance
• Zoning and land use planning
• Master planning of neighborhoods
• The creation of economic development incentives
1
April 25,2012 Clean Version
The Housing Policy is a combination of 13 Policy Statements that are detailed below.
Policy Statements
1. New Development
New housing development in Salt Lake City should meet the following criteria:
• Be consistent with requirements of the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair
Housing Amendments Act (FHAA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the
International Building Code.
• Encourage for sale and rental mixed-use and mixed-income projects in areas with
established transportation, public infrastructure, and related public services.
Encourage mixed-use projects to include some affordable housing units.
• Encourage single-family infill housing, in single-family neighborhoods, to attract
middle-income families where appropriate:
• Require architectural designs that are contextually compatible with the surrounding
structures and overall fabric of the neighborhood. These designs should:
a. Preserve and incorporate open space, even minimal amounts.
b. Interface well with public spaces.
c. Incorporate energy efficient technologies and design.
d. Create quality living environments.
• Provide for realistic parking needs in the least intrusive manner possible in single
family neighborhoods.
• Provide aesthetically pleasing and attractive public spaces, such as designated
common areas, community centers, community parks, trail networks, bikeways,
resident gathering places, and resident/community gardens.
Action items:
a. Ensure better compatibility with existing neighborhoods for new infill development.
b. Review the residential and mixed-use zoning regulations for redundancy and
consistency to ensure they accurately reflect this policy.
c. Revise the permitted and conditional use tables to reflect a stronger emphasis on
mixed-use development and to limit or prohibit uses that are incompatible with the
neighborhood.
d. Consider developing design standards for buildings in residential and mixed-use
zones.
e. Establish, strengthen and enforce City ordinances mitigating the loss of affordable
housing due to development of higher end housing and other facilities.
2. Affordable Housing
Provide affordable housing and homeownership opportunities for residents who make 80% or
less of the area median income in Salt Lake City. The City should strive to ensure that
affordable housing is available for purchase in Salt Lake City.
2
April 25,2012 Clean Version
Provide affordable rental housing in Salt Lake City for residents who make 80% or less of the
area median income. The City should strive to ensure that affordable rental housing is
available in Salt Lake City.
A primary purpose of Salt Lake City's Housing Policy is to foster a diverse and balanced
community with housing that offers a wide range of choices for all income levels. Accordingly,
affordable housing should be available in all neighborhoods and not concentrated in a few
areas of the City. Encouraging a variety of low, medium and high density housing
developments for all income levels will help to enhance, maintain and sustain livable, viable
neighborhoods.
The Council and Mayor recognize that there is a segment of the City's population whose
income level and other circumstances may make it difficult to qualify for established housing
programs. The City should address housing for this population.
The City, through the Redevelopment Agency (RDA), the Housing and Neighborhood
Development division, the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City and successful housing
development nonprofit organizations should provide examples of how affordable housing can
be built or rehabilitated.
Action items:
a. Analyze the impacts of fees and current zoning on affordable housing.
b. Develop an incentive program for housing developers to provide a percentage of
affordable housing as part of their overall development.
c. Preserve and expand, as appropriate, the amount of subsidized and Section 8
housing in the City.
d. Continue to provide funding for homeownership and affordable rental housing
projects with federal funds and housing trust funds.
e. Investigate inclusionary zoning practices which encourage development of
affordable housing.
3. Housing Stock Preservation and Rehabilitation
The City should support the preservation, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of existing
housing stock to the most practical degree possible.
Action items:
a. Adequately fund the City's apartment inspection program to promote housing
safety and quality.
b. Adequately fund programs that assist home and apartment owners in rehabilitating
and maintaining housing units.
c. Support reinvestment in existing urban and inner suburban areas.
4. Transit-Oriented Development
3
April 25,2012 Clean Version
The City should support transit-oriented development as well as adequate, reliable public
transportation so that residents may easily access employment, goods and services, and
housing.
The City should support housing densities, mixed-use and mixed-income projects, parking
policies, and pedestrian-oriented urban designs that encourage walking and the use of
alternative and public transportation.
Action Items:
a. Review the residential and mixed-use zoning regulations for redundancy and
consistency to ensure they accurately reflect this policy.
b. Continue to review the permitted and conditional use tables to reflect a stronger
emphasis on mixed-use and mixed-income development on an on-going basis.
5. Zoning
The City should evolve its zoning regulations to effectively address the City's changing
housing needs.
While the City supports mixed-use development, it also recognizes that there are some zones
that are not conducive to residential development.
Action items:
a. Allow for higher densities and building height, in the form of density bonuses, in
affordable multi-family, mixed-income and mixed-use housing developments if the
developer incorporates features to minimize potential negative impacts such as buffer
landscaping, usable open space, on-site amenities, support services, preservation of
existing structures, and underground vehicle parking.
b. Provide opportunities for the development of newly adopted residential densities.
c. Allow neighborhood anchor areas or commercial uses that enhance the function of
residential neighborhoods and/or are compatible with residential activity.
d. Allow the flexible application of zoning standards to encourage innovation and creative
problem solving in new developments.
e. Research and adopt an ordinance to allow the Director of Community and Economic
Development or the Planning Director the authority to administratively modify zoning
requirements up to 10% when specific criteria have been met.
f. Research inclusionary zoning options that encourage and enhance mixed-use and
mixed-income development and rehabilitation.
6. Permitting
The City should review and evaluate the impacts of the building permitting process on
proposed residential development.
Action items:
a. Provide expedited plan review for projects designed as sustainable, high performance
buildings, including designs that impact neighborhoods in a positive manner and
meets the Mayor's Executive Order, Expedited Plan Review for New Construction and
4
April 25,2012 Clean Version
Major Renovation Projects that Meet Certain Sustainable Building Criteria, dated
August 22, 2008.
b. Complete the City's One Stop Shop initiative, which will streamline the permitting
process for development and provide seamless customer service at the City and
County Building for development related customers. The goal remains co-location of
staff responsible for core plan review, thus creating a true One-Stop-Shop for
development-related customers. To accomplish this level of customer service, a
representative from each of the six groups conducting plan review must be
represented in Room 215 at the City and County Building. Space issues and staffing
levels must be resolved to realize this goal. Electronic plan review and digitized
submittals/records will aid toward this accomplishment.
7. Downtown Housing
Permanent residences in downtown Salt Lake City are a critical part of creating a vibrant,
safe, and sustainable Capital City. The urban core should be considered a neighborhood for
purposes of housing planning, and the City should expect housing to be available to all
income levels downtown.
Action Items:
a. Conduct an inventory and zoning review of land within the Downtown that could be
used for housing sites, and study the feasibility of developing the sites for housing
uses.
b. Explore options for protecting multi-family housing units east of 200 East between
South Temple and 400 South and encourage infill development housing east of 200
East.
c. Permit and encourage retail support services that promote increased residential
population and support downtown workers.
d. Continue pursuit of official City commitment to provide more single room only (SRO)
housing to complete spectrum of housing needs.
8. Homeless, Transitional and Special Needs
The provision of temporary and permanent housing options for those who have no other
option is a fundamental responsibility of government in modern day society. The City will
work with Salt Lake County, the State of Utah, and community partners to assist in providing
temporary and permanent housing options to city residents.
Action Items:
a. Collaborate with the providers of homeless services, neighborhood residents and
business owners to create an environment to ensure that a mix of income populations
can live, work, flourish together while still providing services to those in need.
b. Utilize the efforts of the "Long Range Planning for Sheltering Needs of Homeless
Persons Committee" in implementing the Countywide ten-year plan to end chronic
homelessness.
c. Continue to support the development of scattered site affordable housing projects with
appropriate case management as needed.
d. Include temporary dwellings, excluding tents, in the definition of transitional housing.
5
April 25,2012 Clean Version
9. Historic Preservation
The City should preserve valued historic structures designated as significant to the cultural or
architectural heritage of the City based on an up-to-date historic resource survey.
Action Items:
a. Complete a City-wide historic resource survey.
b. Develop a Preservation Plan.
c. Reevaluate infill ordinances and revise them accordingly.
10. Funding Mechanisms
Housing development is funded through a combination of private and public funds. The City
should continue to use best practices to efficiently fund the development of a variety of
housing.
Action items:
a. Increase the housing stock through non-profit and/or for profit partnerships.
b. Maintain the Salt Lake City Community Housing Plan that outlines annual sources and
uses of funds for housing and housing programs.
c. Maintain public reviews and input relating to use of City housing monies through the
City's Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board, Redevelopment Advisory Committee and
the Redevelopment Agency Board.
d. Establish a permanent funding source for the Housing Trust Fund. Examine options
for increasing City resources available to assist in affordable housing development.
e. Evaluate opportunities to efficiently deliver housing services among service providers.
f. Fund projects that create quality living environments.
11. Marketing and Education on Housing in Salt Lake City
Residents, developers, government, and social service providers all play a role in educating
the public (and each other) about the availability of housing types and the gaps in the housing
spectrum. The City can take the lead to ensure that accurate information is conveyed to all
stakeholders.
Action Items:
a. Develop educational programs for developers, community councils, and the public to
dispel myths and stereotypes about high density and affordable housing. Topics to be
covered in these programs include: density, accessibility and visitability design
concepts; affordable housing; and home buyer issues for developers.
b. Develop public/private partnerships to market housing and educate the public on
housing issues.
c. Invest in marketing programs to highlight Salt Lake City's housing strengths and
opportunities.
d. Utilize market research for the development of aggressive public marketing campaigns
to entice area residents to live in Salt Lake City; and to provide guidance for the City,
6
April 25,2012 Clean Version
the Redevelopment Agency and the development community in their efforts to develop
housing within the city.
e. Prepare educational information to distribute to the public regarding when a building
permit is required.
f. Continue the development advisory forum that brings together all stakeholders in the
development process, including applicants, Housing, Planning, Building, Fire,
Engineering, Public Utilities and Transportation Divisions.
1. Review new/proposed programs and processes.
2. Offer presentations from specific City department/divisions that may affect the
industry and stakeholders.
3. Provide training in current best practices.
4. Review changes and additions to city processes that regulate and control
development of the built environment.
5. Include question and answer dialogues.
12. Growth Targets
Salt Lake City's goals for growth are predicated upon the orderly development of additional
housing. Accordingly, the City's housing policies must be consistent with overall growth
goals.
Action items:
a. Develop and maintain a citywide plan for attracting population growth in Salt Lake City.
b. Set and achieve 5-, 10-, and 20-year growth targets that will help maintain the City's
status as Utah's largest city. The City should use all available tools to achieve these
growth targets including zoning, permitting, marketing, fees and incentives.
c. Set growth targets for different housing types.
13. City Funded Projects
The preservation and creation of affordable housing are high priorities. The City will continue
to provide financial assistance to projects that meet the goals of the Housing Policy.
Requests for City funding will be evaluated based on their consistency with this Housing
Policy.
7