Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1500
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì847062$Î847062                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/16/2015           .                                
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       Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and
       Economic Development (Clemens) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 90 and 91
    4  insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 420.57, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         420.57 Affordable Housing; the Florida Keys.—
    8         (1) The requirements herein provide incentives and
    9  authorize a process for leveraging resources to provide
   10  affordable rental and home ownership opportunities for essential
   11  services personnel in the Florida Keys who are affected by the
   12  area’s uniquely high housing costs.
   13         (2) For purposes of this section, the term:
   14         (a) “Essential services personnel” means persons in need of
   15  affordable housing who are employed in occupations or
   16  professions in which they are considered essential services
   17  personnel, including, but not limited to, teachers and
   18  educators, other school district, community college and
   19  university employees, police and fire personnel, health care
   20  personnel, skilled building trades personnel, and other public
   21  or private job categories and who derive at least 70 percent of
   22  their income from employment in the Florida Keys area of
   23  critical state concern.
   24         (b) “Innovative project” means those projects that
   25  incorporate one or more of the following design features: green
   26  building principles, alternative energy and water sources,
   27  storm-resistant construction, or other elements that reduce the
   28  long-term costs relating to maintenance, utilities, and
   29  insurance. The term applies to new construction or
   30  rehabilitation of an existing structure.
   31         (c) “Project” means, for purposes of an application, the
   32  construction or rehabilitation of workforce housing by a
   33  qualified developer which includes a single site or scattered
   34  sites within the Florida Keys area of critical state concern. A
   35  scattered site is a project developed on noncontiguous parcels
   36  or parcels divided by a street or easement in which the
   37  qualified developer has a leasehold interest or demonstrates
   38  ownership or control of all of the parcels. The sites could be
   39  located in different parts of the county, regardless of the
   40  number of building permits required.
   41         (d) “Public-private partnership” means a partnership that
   42  includes substantial involvement of at least one county, one
   43  municipality, or one public sector entity, such as a school
   44  district or other unit of local government, in which a project
   45  is to be located, and at least one private sector for-profit or
   46  not-for-profit business or charitable organization, including a
   47  joint venture or other business entity.
   48         (e) “Qualified developer” means a private person or entity
   49  that undertakes a development activity and demonstrates it has
   50  adequate financial resources to provide the necessary guarantees
   51  for the underwriting of the project for which it makes
   52  application. The term does not include a governmental agency
   53  that undertakes a development project.
   54         (f) “Workforce housing” means multifamily or single-family
   55  rental housing affordable to natural persons or families whose
   56  total annual household income for rental units does not exceed
   57  120 percent of the annual area median income (AMI) for Monroe
   58  County, as determined by the United States Department of Housing
   59  and Urban Development (HUD), and for home ownership, 160 percent
   60  of the annual AMI for Monroe County as determined by HUD.
   61         (3) The Florida Housing Finance Corporation, hereinafter
   62  referred to as the “corporation,” may provide loans to a
   63  qualified developer for construction or rehabilitation of
   64  workforce housing in the Florida Keys area of critical state
   65  concern. Any eligible project shall qualify for a low-interest
   66  loan of up to 50 percent of the total project cost, including
   67  land, based on a minimum loan amount of $1 million. This funding
   68  is intended to be used with other public and private sector
   69  resources.
   70         (4) The corporation shall establish a loan application
   71  process by rule which includes selection criteria, an expedited
   72  application review process, and a funding process, and shall
   73  select the credit underwriter for each project.
   74         (a) The selection criteria and application review process
   75  must include a procedure for curing errors in the loan
   76  applications which do not make a substantial change to the
   77  proposed project.
   78         (b) The staff of the corporation shall make recommendations
   79  concerning program participation and funding to the
   80  corporation’s board of directors and may accept any application
   81  that meets all threshold requirements. Applications shall be
   82  limited to one submission per project.
   83         (c) The corporation board of directors shall approve or
   84  reject loan applications, determine the tentative loan amount
   85  available to each applicant, and rank all approved applications.
   86         (d) The corporation board of directors shall decide which
   87  approved applicants will become program participants and
   88  determine the maximum loan amount for each project. Awards may
   89  be made to one or more applicants. The board of directors
   90  annually shall fund at least one eligible project, consistent
   91  with this program’s goals.
   92         (e) Requests for proposals or applications shall be made by
   93  the corporation no less than annually and shall begin as soon as
   94  possible after the beginning of the new fiscal year. Applicants
   95  shall be given no more than a 2-month response time. The
   96  corporation shall conclude its evaluation and award or approve
   97  an application no later than 9 months after the start of the
   98  state’s fiscal year. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the
   99  corporation may expedite the time frames associated with a
  100  review process, provided the expedited review allows for
  101  responses to requests for proposal, sufficient project
  102  evaluation, and award of a project.
  103         (5) Priority consideration for funding will be provided for
  104  projects that:
  105         (a) Set aside the highest percent of units for workforce
  106  housing.
  107         (b) Require the least amount of program funding compared to
  108  the overall housing cost of the project.
  109         (c) Are consistent with the workforce housing objectives
  110  and strategies set forth in the local comprehensive plan or land
  111  development regulations.
  112         (d) Are innovative projects.
  113         (6) The processing of approvals of development orders or
  114  development permits, as defined in s. 163.3164, for workforce
  115  housing projects under this program shall be expedited.
  116         (7) The corporation shall award loans with interest rates
  117  set at 1 to 3 percent, which shall be made forgivable when long
  118  term affordability is provided and guaranteed and when at least
  119  80 percent of the units are set aside for workforce housing for
  120  essential services personnel. Projects shall be deed restricted
  121  for 99 years to remain compliant with the definition of
  122  affordable housing in the Monroe County, Florida Land
  123  Development Code, section 101-1.
  124         (8) All eligible applications must demonstrate the
  125  following:
  126         (a) For workforce housing units offered for sale to
  127  essential services personnel, the sale or resale will be limited
  128  for a detached unit, townhouse, or condominium unit to not more
  129  than 3.75 times the AMI for studio or one bedroom units; not
  130  more than 4.25 times AMI for two bedroom units; and not more
  131  than 4.75 times AMI for three or more bedroom units, and require
  132  that all eligible purchasers occupy the homes as their primary
  133  residence. Such residences may not be used for tourist housing
  134  or vacation rentals.
  135         (b) For rental units of workforce housing serving essential
  136  services personnel, the monthly rent will be limited to not more
  137  than 30 percent of the amount that represents 120 percent of the
  138  monthly AMI for Monroe County. Such residences may not be used
  139  for tourist housing or vacation rentals.
  140         (c) The applicant is a public-private partnership as
  141  established in an contract, partnership agreement, memorandum of
  142  understanding, or other written instrument signed by all the
  143  project partners.
  144         (d) Any combination of grants, donations of land, or
  145  contributions from the public-private partnership or other
  146  sources must total at least 10 percent of the project
  147  development cost. Such grants, donations of land, or
  148  contributions must be evidenced by a letter of commitment,
  149  agreement, contract, deed, memorandum of understanding, or other
  150  written instrument at the time of application.
  151         (e) The applicant must have title to or site control of the
  152  land and evidence of required infrastructure.
  153         (f) The applicant must have adequate financial resources to
  154  provide the necessary guarantees for the underwriting of a
  155  project.
  156         (9) Eligible projects that may be otherwise subject to a
  157  local rate of growth ordinance are exempt from such ordinances.
  158  Eligible projects may also include manufactured housing
  159  constructed after June 1994 and installed in accordance with
  160  mobile home installation standards of the Department of Highway
  161  Safety and Motor Vehicles.
  162         (10) The corporation may adopt only those rules as
  163  necessary to implement this section and ensure proper
  164  administration of the program, consistent with the requirements
  165  of s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54. The corporation may use a
  166  maximum of 2 percent of the annual program appropriation for
  167  administration and compliance monitoring.
  168  
  169  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  170  And the title is amended as follows:
  171         Delete line 2
  172  and insert:
  173         An act relating to housing assistance; creating s.
  174         420.57, F.S.; providing legislative intent; defining
  175         terms; authorizing the Florida Housing Finance
  176         Corporation to provide loans to a qualified developer
  177         for construction or rehabilitation of workforce
  178         housing in the Florida Keys area of critical state
  179         concern, subject to certain requirements; requiring
  180         the corporation to establish a loan application
  181         process by rule; requiring the corporation to select
  182         the credit underwriter for each project; specifying
  183         criteria for projects that will be provided priority
  184         consideration for funding; requiring that the
  185         processing of approvals of development orders or
  186         development permits for workforce housing projects be
  187         expedited; requiring the corporation to award loans
  188         with interest rates set at a specified range;
  189         requiring projects to be deed restricted for a
  190         specified period of time; specifying requirements for
  191         eligible applications; exempting eligible projects
  192         from local rate of growth ordinances; authorizing
  193         eligible projects to include manufactured housing
  194         subject to certain requirements; authorizing the
  195         corporation to adopt rules subject to certain
  196         requirements and restrictions; authorizing the
  197         corporation to use a certain percent of the annual
  198         program appropriation for administration and
  199         compliance monitoring; amending