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AN ACT relating to affordable housing developed on property owned by religious 1
institutions. 2
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 3
ď˘SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 100 IS CREATED TO 4
READ AS FOLLOWS: 5
(1) For purposes of this section unless context otherwise requires: 6
(a) "Affordable housing development" means a proposed or existing structure, 7
or group of structures, in which all single-family or multifamily residential 8
dwelling units within the development are set aside for or are occupied by 9
low-income households at a rent amount that does not exceed thirty percent 10
(30%) of the income limit for the low-income housing unit; 11
(b) "Low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated 12
persons living together whose adjusted income is less than eighty percent 13
(80%) of the median family income, adjusted for household size, for the 14
area where the affordable housing development is located as set out by the 15
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; 16
(c) "Religious developer" means a religious institution or any property 17
developer working contractually on behalf of a religious institution, but 18
shall not include any developer that owes outstanding amounts to the local 19
government as the result of fines resulting from ordinance violations, has 20
an active lien placed by the local government on property owned by the 21
institution, or is actively committing any ordinance violation; and 22
(d) "Religious institution" means a bona fide church, religious denomination, 23
or religious organization, determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be 24
tax exempt pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 25
(2) In an area that has adopted zoning regulations, an affordable housing 26
development that is developed by a religious developer shall be permitted in all 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 359
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zones that allow for residential use and shall be subject only to a ministerial 1
review by a planning unit for compliance with this subsection and subsection (3) 2
of this section, if the following conditions are met: 3
(a) The development is located on property owned by a religious institution 4
beginning from a date at least two (2) years prior to the time of application 5
to the planning unit, and then throughout the duration of the obligation in 6
paragraph (c) of this subsection; 7
(b) The development exclusively contains affordable housing units for low-8
income households. This requirement shall not apply to dwellings 9
associated with the primary use of the religious institution; 10
(c) The obligation to provide dwelling units meeting the requirements of this 11
section shall last for a period of ten (10) years from the date of the 12
certificate of occupancy or, if a certificate of occupancy is not required, 13
from the date of the final building permit inspection. This obligation shall 14
be recorded in a legally binding agreement or deed restriction, and a report 15
shall be submitted annually to the certifying planning unit that the 16
requirements of this section are met for the property; 17
(d) The development contains twenty-five (25) or fewer units; 18
(e) The development would not lead to more than twenty-five (25) affordable 19
housing units being located on that parcel, any contiguous parcel owned by 20
the religious institution, or cumulatively on parcels owned by the religious 21
institution within one-half (1/2) mile of the development; and 22
(f) The religious developer has obtained all other permits, including building 23
permits, as required by law. 24
(3) (a) If the zoning regulations adopted in the jurisdiction where an affordable 25
housing development established pursuant to this section include design 26
requirements such as size, width, height, and location of structures for 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 359
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residential developments, the affordable housing development shall comply 1
with those design requirements. 2
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, the religious developer 3
may apply for a variance from one (1) or more of those design requirements 4
from the planning unit. The planning unit shall be empowered to hear and 5
finally decide an application consistent with KRS 100.241 and 100.243. 6
(4) If an affordable housing development established pursuant to this section no 7
longer meets the requirements in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the 8
property owner shall seek all approvals for the development from the planning 9
unit that would be required for a developer that did not utilize the provisions of 10
this section. 11
(5) A religious institution may propose an affordable housing development that does 12
not meet the requirements in subsection (2)(e) of this section, but otherwise meets 13
the requirements in subsections (2) and (3) of this section. An affordable housing 14
development proposed under this subsection shall require a public meeting, with 15
final approval by the planning commission. 16
(6) The Kentucky Housing Corporation may provide technical and advisory 17
resources to a religious developer to assist with the development and management 18
of an affordable housing development under this section. 19