GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2019

SESSION LAW 2019-144

SENATE BILL 316

AN ACT to direct certain municipalities to report to the general assembly on local government funding, subsidies, and activities related to affordable housing.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Every municipality in this State with a population of at least 90,000, according to the July 1, 2016, Standard Population Estimates published by the Office of State Budget and Management, shall prepare a report on the amount of affordable housing units currently in use in the municipality that are subsidized by local government revenue or tax credits, or that have local government oversight. Affordable housing is defined as housing affordable for a household with income of up to eighty percent (80%) of area median income (AMI), and moderate income housing is defined as housing affordable for a household with income that is greater than eighty percent (80%), but not more than one hundred twenty percent (120%) AMI. In addition, the report shall detail the strategies the municipalities are employing to limit the cost of privately developed housing, and shall, at a minimum, include the extent to which municipalities are engaged in the following activities:

(1)        Rezoning for densities necessary to assure the production of moderate income housing.

(2)        Facilitating the rehabilitation or expansion of infrastructure that will encourage the construction of moderate income housing.

(3)        Encouraging the rehabilitation of existing uninhabitable housing stock into moderate income housing.

(4)        Considering general fund subsidies to waive construction‑related fees that are otherwise generally imposed by the city.

(5)        Creating or allowing for, and reducing regulations related to, accessory dwelling units in residential zones.

(6)        Allowing for housing in commercial and mixed‑use zones.

(7)        Encouraging higher density or moderate income residential development near major transit investment corridors.

(8)        Eliminating or reducing parking requirements for residential development where a resident is less likely to rely on the resident's own vehicle, such as residential development near major transit investment corridors or senior living facilities.

(9)        Allowing for single‑room occupancy developments.

(10)      Preserving existing moderate income housing.

(11)      Considering utilization of State or federal funds or tax incentives to promote the construction of moderate income housing.

(12)      Considering utilization of programs offered by the Housing Finance Agency within that agency's funding capacity.

SECTION 1.(b)  The report detailed in subsection (a) of this section shall be submitted on or before October 1, 2019, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government and the Fiscal Research Division.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 10^th day of July, 2019.

                                                                    s/  Ralph E. Hise

                                                                         Presiding Officer of the Senate

                                                                    s/  Tim Moore

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

                                                                    s/  Roy Cooper

                                                                         Governor

Approved 1:44 p.m. this 19^th day of July, 2019