Commission reviews draft RMC 7-7: 10% community-housing requirement, fee-in-lieu and compliance examples

Staff presented a working draft of RMC 7-7 (affordable housing regulations and related guidelines) and walked commissioners through how the rules would apply in practical examples. "So the requirement is 10% of units or lots must be dedicated as community housing, which includes a deed restriction on those units or lots," the presenter said.

The presentation included compliance options: standard compliance (providing deed-restricted units), fee-in-lieu (computed using the developer's estimate of the cost of a comparable unit — the transcript cites a fee-in-lieu set at 60% of that comparable-unit cost in one example), and alternative compliance such as transferring buildable lots to the town for off-site development or proposing on-site amenities in exchange for fractional requirements. Staff illustrated the math with townhome, condominium and 12/13/20-unit examples and said the draft is intentionally flexible so town council can evaluate community-housing plans case by case.

Staff also described next steps: additional public outreach in January, refinement based on the housing needs assessment, and the typical ordinance process (text amendment, first and second readings at town council with public hearing).