22.52.030 General provisions | Monroe Municipal Code

22.52.030 General provisions.

For the purposes of review and approval of affordable housing units in residential developments, affordable housing shall meet all of the following applicable requirements, in addition to any other requirements imposed by Chapter 84.14 RCW and this chapter:

A. Income Restrictions. Income limits referenced by this chapter shall be determined by using the median family income for the Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area, as most recently published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under Section 8(f)(3) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended. The following income categories and limits are established by Table 22.52.030(A), Affordable Housing Income Limits, as pursuant to HUD guidelines and Chapter 84.14 RCW:

Table 22.52.030(A). Affordable Housing Income Limits
Category	Income Limit
Very Low Income	50% of median income and below
Low Income	50% to 80% of median income
Moderate Income	80% to 95% of median income

B. Requirements for Affordable Units. All developments that include affordable housing, as defined by Chapter 22.12 MMC, shall comply with the following:

1. The maximum housing costs for rented units including basic utilities shall not exceed thirty percent of the income limit for the affordable housing unit;

2. The maximum sales price for any affordable housing unit shall not exceed eighty percent of the average median sales price for a comparable home, in a market rate housing development, within southeast Snohomish County, as documented in the most current Northwest Multiple Listing Services Report;

3. Affordable housing units shall be owned and/or managed by a public or private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, county, state, or federal agency with an established history of developing and managing quality affordable housing;

4. Affordable housing units shall comply with applicable design standards for the underlying zoning district; and

5. All affordable units developed under this chapter shall remain affordable for a period of not less than fifty years, or the minimum period required under applicable state law.

C. Affordable Units in Market Rate Developments. All market rate developments that include affordable housing, as defined by Chapter 22.12 MMC, shall comply with the following:

1. Affordable units within market rate developments shall be constructed concurrently with market rate units;

2. The affordable housing units shall generally be intermingled with the market rate dwelling units in the development;

3. The interiors and exteriors of the affordable housing units shall be consistent with and comparable in quality to the market rate dwelling units in the development;

4. The affordable housing units shall consist of a mix of the unit types (by number of bedrooms) and shall be provided in a range of sizes that are generally proportionate to the mix of market rate units in the overall development;

5. The tenure (owner- or renter-occupied) of the affordable housing units shall be the same as the tenure of the market rate dwelling units in the development;

6. The affordable housing units shall be available for occupancy in a time frame comparable to the availability of the market rate dwelling units in the development; and

7. Developers shall build affordable units on the same site as the market rate dwelling units.

D. Developments Exclusively Providing Affordable Housing. In the case of developments constructed solely to provide affordable housing, whether owner-occupied or rental, the development shall provide housing units consistent with similar market rate units in the city. (Ord. 005/2019 § 10 (Exh. B))