12.07.030 General affordable housing requirements.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all affordable housing units required by, or allowed through, any chapter of the Bothell Municipal Code, except as otherwise provided by this code.
A. Threshold for Compliance.
1. For Affordable Housing Overlays: All developments creating five or more new dwelling units shall provide for affordable dwelling units within the development or provide other methods of creating affordable housing as provided in BMC 12.07.050. Adjacent developments by the same developer will be considered as a single development for the purpose of applying the threshold for compliance.
2. For Affordable Housing Incentives: All developments using voluntary incentives shall make all of the dwelling units within the development affordable.
B. Duration of Affordability. Affordable units that are provided under this section shall remain as affordable housing for a minimum of 50 years from the date of initial occupancy for owner-occupied affordable units and for the life of the project for renter-occupied affordable units. At the sole discretion of the director, the city may approve a shorter affordability time period for owner-occupied affordable housing, not to be less than 30 years, in order to meet federal financial underwriting guidelines.
C. Designation of Affordable Units and Standards for Affordable Units in Developments with a Mix of Affordable and Market-Rate Units. Prior to the issuance of any permit(s), the city shall review and approve the selection of affordable units, consistent with the following standards:
1. The affordable units shall generally be interspersed with all other dwelling units in the development.
2. The tenure (ownership or rental) of the affordable units shall be the same as the tenure of the rest of the dwelling units in the development.
3. The affordable units shall consist of a mix of number of bedrooms that is generally proportionate to the bedroom mix of units in the overall development.
4. The size (heated floor area) of the affordable housing units, if smaller than the other units in the development having the same number of bedrooms, must be approved by the director. In general, the affordable housing units may be as small as 500 square feet for a studio unit, 600 square feet for a one-bedroom unit, 800 square feet for a two-bedroom unit, 1,000 square feet for a three-bedroom unit, or 1,200 square feet for a four-bedroom unit, or 10 percent smaller than the market-rate units with the same number of bedrooms, whichever is less. However, the director has the discretion not to approve proposals for smaller units based on the criterion that rooms within the units provide adequate space for their intended use.
5. The exteriors of the affordable units shall be compatible with and comparable in quality and durability to the rest of the dwelling units in the development and shall comply with any design standards for the underlying zoning district. The interior finish, durability and quality of construction of the affordable units shall, at a minimum, be comparable to new entry level rental or ownership housing in the city.
D. Availability in Developments with a Mix of Affordable and Market-Rate Units. The affordable units shall be available for occupancy in a time frame comparable to the availability of the rest of the dwelling units in the development. (Ord. 2325 § 3, 2020; Ord. 2255 § 1, 2018).