4-1-210 WAIVED FEES:
A. GENERAL:
The Renton City Council shall, upon stating an equitable or legal reason for waiver, have the authority to waive any and all fees authorized under this Chapter of Title 4. (Ord. 5153, 9-26-2005)
B. OWNER-OCCUPIED HOUSING INCENTIVE:
1. Purpose: To encourage owner-occupied housing in the CD, RM-U, and RM-T zones of the Urban Center Comprehensive Plan designation and the CV, RM-F, and R-14 zones within the Center Village Comprehensive Plan designation, certain development and mitigation fees for “For Sale” housing may be waived for eligible projects, subject to City Council approval.
2. Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for waived fees, projects must meet the following criteria:
a. The project is new construction; and
b. All of the housing units will be platted or condominium “For Sale” housing; and
c. The project will be a minimum of ten (10) units if in the RM-T zone of the Urban Center Comprehensive Plan designation or the RM-F zone or R-14 zone within the Center Village Comprehensive Plan designation; or
d. The project will be a minimum of thirty (30) units if in the CD zone or RM-U zone of the Urban Center Comprehensive Plan designation or the CV zone within the Center Village Comprehensive Plan designation.
3. Applicable Fees: Fees which may be waived are:
a. Building permit fees;
b. Building permit plan review fees;
c. Water, surface water, and wastewater system development charges;
d. Public Works plan review and inspection fees; and
e. Fire, transportation, and parks impact mitigation fees.
4. Application Process: Persons who intend to apply for the owner-occupied housing incentive fee waivers must disclose their intent to apply for waived fees prior to or by the administrative site plan review period. The application for waived fees must be made to the Planning Director (or any other City office, department or agency that shall succeed to its functions with respect to this Section, or his or her authorized designee) at the time of the land use application, unless otherwise approved by City Council.
5. Restrictive Covenant: All residential units which obtain a successful fee waiver must contain a restrictive covenant indicating that the units will be platted or will be restricted to condominium housing. After review and approval of the waiver by the City Council and the review and approval of the restrictive covenant by the Planning Director or his/her designee, the restrictive covenant must be executed and recorded at the applicant’s expense prior to the issuance of the building permit for the project, unless otherwise approved by City Council. Failure to timely execute and record the covenant will result in the applicant being responsible for any and all applicable fees and interest accrued as a result of the delay.
6. Cancellation of Covenant: After the application has been approved and/or the restrictive covenant is recorded, if the type of housing to be offered is altered from owner-occupied “For Sale” new housing, all applicable fees must be paid with interest.
7. Effective Date and Sunset: These fee waivers are effective for building permits issued after August 13, 2001, and will sunset on December 31, 2012, unless extended by City Council action. (Ord. 4913, 8-27-2001; Amd. Ord. 5095, 9-13-2004; Ord. 5153, 9-26-2005; Ord. 5309, 10-8-2007; Ord. 5524, 2-1-2010)
C.. RENTAL HOUSING INCENTIVE:
1. Purpose: To encourage new rental housing in the CV, RM-F, and R-14 zones within the Center Village Comprehensive Plan designation, certain development and mitigation fees for rental housing may be waived for eligible projects, subject to City Council approval.
2. Definitions: In construing the provisions of this Subsection, the following definitions shall be applied:
a. “Affordable housing” means residential housing that is rented by a low-income household whose monthly housing costs, including rent and utilities other than telephone, do not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the household’s monthly income.
b. “Household” means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together.
c. “Low-income household” means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is at or below sixty percent (60%) of the median income.
d. “Median income” means the median family income adjusted for family size for King County, as reported by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In the event that HUD no longer publishes median income figures for King County, the City may use or determine such other method as it may choose to determine the King County median income, adjusted for household size.
e. “Multi-family housing” means one or more new buildings designed for rental housing, each with four (4) or more dwelling units.
f. “Rental housing” means multi-family housing that provides rental accommodation on a nontransient basis. This definition includes rental accommodation that is leased for a period of at least one month but excludes, for example, hotels and motels that predominantly offer rental accommodation on a daily or weekly basis.
3. Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for waived fees, projects must meet the following criteria:
a. The multi-family housing project is new construction rental housing; and
b. The project will be a minimum of eight (8) units if in the RM-F zone or R-14 zone within the Center Village Comprehensive Plan designation; or
c. The project will be a minimum of thirty (30) units if in the CV zone within the Center Village Comprehensive Plan designation.
4. Fees:
a. Fees which may be waived:
i. Building permit fees;
ii. Building permit plan review fees;
iii. Water, surface water, and wastewater system development charges;
iv. Public Works plan review and inspection fees; and
v. Fire, transportation, and parks impact mitigation fees.
b. Portion of fees which may be waived:
i. One hundred percent (100%) of the above fees may be waived for eligible rental housing projects with at least fifty percent (50%) of the units set aside as affordable housing; or
ii. Fifty percent (50%) of the above fees may be waived for eligible market-rate rental housing projects.
5. Application Process: Persons who intend to apply for the rental housing incentive fee waivers must disclose their intent to apply for waived fees prior to or by the administrative site plan review period. The application for waived fees must be made to the Planning Director (or any other City office, department or agency that shall succeed to its functions with respect to this Section, or his or her authorized designee) at the time of the land use application, unless otherwise approved by City Council.
6. Restrictive Covenant: All projects which obtain a fee waiver as affordable housing under subsection C4bi of this Section must contain a restrictive covenant indicating that at least fifty percent (50%) of the units will be set aside and rented as affordable housing. After review and approval of the waiver by the City Council and the review and approval of the restrictive covenant by the Planning Director or his or her designee, the restrictive covenant must be executed and recorded at the applicant’s expense prior to the issuance of the building permit for the project, unless otherwise approved by City Council. Failure to timely execute and record the covenant will result in the applicant being responsible for any and all applicable fees and interest accrued as a result of the delay.
7. Cancellation or Modification: If the project fails to meet the requirements of this subsection C, all applicable fees must be paid with interest. After the application has been approved and/or the restrictive covenant is recorded, the project may not be modified to owner-occupied “For Sale” housing without the advance approval of the City Council.
8. Effective Date and Sunset: These fee waivers are effective for building permits issued after the effective date of this amendment, and will sunset on December 31, 2012, unless extended by City Council action. (Ord. 5617, 8-1-2011)