§ 139-2. Affordable Housing Incentive Programs.

(a)

Purpose and intent. The intent of this section is to set forth a program to help incentivize affordable housing development within Monroe County.

(b)

Program 1: Transfer of ROGO Exemptions from Mobile Home Parks.  

(1)

Purpose and intent.

The intent of this program is to establish an appropriate incentive for mobile home park owners to maintain mobile home park sites, mobile home developments in URM and URM-L districts, and contiguous parcels under common ownership containing mobile homes where any of the foregoing is presently serving as a primary source of affordable housing in Monroe County (any of the foregoing being an "eligible sender site") by providing an alternative development strategy to straightforward market-rate redevelopment. This program is intended to allow the transfer of market rate ROGO exemptions associated with lawfully established dwelling units now existing at an eligible sender site to be transferred to another site or sites in exchange for maintaining an equal or greater number of deed-restricted affordable dwelling units within Monroe County. This program seeks to address the housing needs of the Florida Keys as a regional obligation.

This program provides an eligible sender site owner the opportunity to transfer market rate ROGO exemptions currently associated with existing and lawfully established dwelling units from eligible sender sites to receiver site(s) within Monroe County, provided that it involves the pooling of affordable dwelling unit rights for redevelopment at donated, purchased or otherwise appropriately deed-restricted sites, and transfer of ROGO exemptions or allocations for the purpose of implementing and facilitating one or more affordable housing projects. The provisions of this section shall control over all contrary provisions of this Land Development Code related to the transferability of ROGO exemptions.

(2)

Procedure.

a.

This transfer shall require an approved development agreement.

b.

Minor conditional use approval is required to complete the transfer.

c.

A development agreement shall not be required for an eligible sender site containing ten or fewer mobile homes. For the purposes of this exception, property owners shall not be permitted to subdivide by deed, split ownership or otherwise divide larger contiguous parcels containing more than ten mobile homes to create parcels containing fewer than ten mobile homes.

(3)

Development agreement requirements.

a.

Sender site restrictions:

1.

ROGO exemptions transferred under this program may be transferred on a 1 for 1 basis where the ROGO exemptions are to be transferred to single-family residential lots or parcels within the same ROGO planning subarea. However, where transfers are to be made to commercial or recreational working waterfronts (as defined by Florida Statutes), or to multi-family projects in non-IS districts, the transfers shall result in no fewer than two deed-restricted affordable or workforce housing units remaining on an eligible sender site(s) for each market rate ROGO exemption transferred. This section expresses the county's preference for transfer of ROGO exemptions to single-family lots/parcels. The following examples are set forth only to show some potential transfer scenarios. A given potential scenario may depend upon availability of affordable ROGO allocations provided by the county.

Example 1: Transfer on a 1 for 1 basis.

Existing 100-unit mobile home park. A development agreement with the county may, if approved, allow the owner to transfer up to 100 ROGO-exemptions to single-family lots/parcels as long as an equivalent number of deed-restricted affordable dwelling units remain or are created on one or more created on one or more eligible sender site(s).

Example 2: Transfer on a 1 for 2 basis.

The same existing 100-unit mobile home park. A development agreement with the county may, if approved, allow the owner to transfer up to 50 ROGO-exemptions to commercial or recreational working waterfront or multi-family projects in non-IS districts, as long as at least twice as many deed-restricted affordable dwelling units remain or are created on one or more eligible sender site(s).

Example 3: Transfer on both 1 for 1 and 1 for 2 basis.

The same existing 100-unit mobile home park. A development agreement with the county may, if approved, allow the owner to transfer up to 25 ROGO exemptions to a commercial or recreational working waterfront Mixed Use parcel, and 50 ROGO-exemptions to single-family lots/parcels, as long as 100 deed-restricted affordable dwelling units remain or are created on one or more eligible sender site(s).

2.

The eligible sender site property(ies) shall be donated or sold to Monroe County, or otherwise appropriately deed-restricted for long-term affordability. Prior to acceptance of a donated or purchased parcel, all units to be maintained on site shall pass a life safety inspection conducted in a manner prescribed by the Monroe County Building Department. Monroe County may then lease the sender site property to a party who will serve as lessee and sub-lessor of the eligible sender site(s).

3.

The number of transferred ROGO exemptions shall not exceed the number of restricted affordable dwelling units maintained at the eligible sender sites.

4.

The resulting development or redevelopment of affordable housing pursuant to the governing development agreement will be targeted to serve as closely as possible the following household income categories: 25 percent very low income households, 25 percent low income households, 25 percent median income households, and 25 percent moderate income households (or as otherwise approved by the BOCC).

5.

Lot rents and/or sales prices for resulting deed-restricted dwelling units shall be established in accordance with restrictions outlined in Florida Statutes and/or the Monroe County Code.

6.

All units designated by the applicable development agreement to remain as deed restricted affordable housing at the donated, purchased or appropriately deed-restricted site(s) shall comply with hurricane standards established by the Florida Building Code and habitability standards established under the Florida Landlord and Tenant Act. Compliance shall be accomplished in a manner and within a timeframe set forth in the development agreement or, if applicable, in the relevant minor conditional use.

7.

A development agreement proposed under this program shall not utilize more than 50 percent of the existing affordable housing allocations then available to Monroe County, unless otherwise approved by the BOCC.

8.

All of the redeveloped or preserved affordable housing units, whether redeveloped or retained at the original sender site(s), or at alternate or additional locations, shall remain in the same planning sub-district as the original sender site(s).

(4)

Minor conditional use requirements.

a.

Receiver site criteria:

1.

The receiver site shall be located in a Tier III designated area.

2.

The receiver site shall not be located in a velocity (V) zone.

3.

A property owner cannot receive a certificate of occupancy for any unit constructed as a result of a transferred ROGO-exemption until all corresponding eligible sender site units are completed and deed-restricted as affordable dwelling units.

4.

All or any portion of the redeveloped or preserved affordable housing units may be redeveloped or retained at one or more alternate or additional locations donated or sold to Monroe County, identified in the Development Agreement and otherwise compliant with the remainder of this section, including but not limited to the requirements set forth in subsection (b)(3)a.2.

5.

Transferred ROGO-exemptions shall remain in the same ROGO planning subarea.

(5)

Nothing herein shall preclude the county's replacement of sender site dwelling units with affordable allocations and recovery and transfer of market-rate ROGO-exemptions from the sender sites for use in administrative relief programs or other like purposes.

( Ord. No. 006-2016 , § 1(Exh. 1), 4-13-2016)