HomeMy WebLinkAbout4157AN ORDINANCE of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, amending section
3.25.040 of the Kent City Code relating to the
project eligibility requirements of Chapter 3.25
entitled, "Multifamily Dwelling Tax Exemptions."
RECITALS
A. The city of Kent's Multi -family Tax Exemption (METE) program
is an incentive to encourage development of downtown housing.
B. The METE program allows owners of qualified downtown
multifamily projects to avoid paying some of the increased property taxes
resulting from their development project.
C. The general goal of this incentive program is to stimulate new
construction of multifamily housing in downtown Kent.
D. The program is made possible by an allowance in Chapter
84.14 RCW
and was first adopted by Kent in 1998, and renewed in 2014.
E. The state enabling legislation allows cities to establish criteria
to determine what projects qualify for the incentive.
1 Amend KCC 3.25.040
Project Eligibility for Mu/tifamily
Dwelling Tax Exemptions
F. Most development projects are able to apply for subsidies that
are made available by governmental and other agencies to promote a
range of goals, typically related to housing affordability or energy
efficiencies.
G. Through the MFTE, the City incentivizes development by
forgoing tax revenue for a period of time; however, members of the City
Council have expressed interest in adding a provision that would prevent
this incentive from being used in combination with other governmental
incentive programs.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
ORDINANCE
SECTION 1. -Amendment. Section 3.25.040 of the Kent City
Code, entitled "
Project eligibility," and related to multifamily dwelling tax
exemptions, is amended as follows.
Sec. 3.25.040. Project eligibility. A proposed project must
meet the following requirements for consideration for a property tax
exemption:
A. Location. The project must be located within the designated
residential targeted area as defined in KCC 3.25.020, f`n"
. If I I any portion of a legally -
created lot is within the residential targeted area, then the entire lot shall
be deemed to lie within the residential targeted area.
2 Amend KCC 3.25.040
Project Eligibility for Multifamily
Dwelling Tax Exemptions
B. Tenant displacement. Prior to approval of an application under NUC
3.25.060, the applicant shall provide the administrator with documentation
satisfactory to the administrator of the following.
1. All tenants of residential rental structures on the project site
have been notified per state statute of the termination of their tenancy,
2. The applicant's efforts to refer tenants to similar, alternative
housing resources; and
3. Any other actions the applicant has taken to minimize the
hardship on tenants whose tenancies will be terminated by the proposed
rp oject.
C. Size. The project must include at least thirty f3-9�—units of new
multifamily housing within a multi -story development. At least fifty {5
percent of the space within the proposed project shall be intended for
permanent residential occupancy.
D. Proposed completion date, New construction of multifamily housing
must be completed within three fB-j-years from the date of approval of the
application.
E. Compliance with guidelines and standards. The project must be
designed to comply with the city's comprehensive plan, building, fire,
housing, and zoning codes, downtown design review guidelines,
multifamily design review, mixed use design review if applicable, and any
other applicable regulations. The project must be LEED° certifiable as
confirmed by a LEED® certified independent third party reviewer or must
3 Amend KCC 3.25.040
Project Eligibility for Multifamily
Dwelling Tax Exemptions
be Built GreentM certified, and must also comply with any other standards
and guidelines adopted by the city council for the residential targeted area.
F. Parking. All required residential parking shall be located in
structured parking garages, under buildings, or underground.
G. Class A pedestrian street. For buildings adjacent to a class A
pedestrian street, as established pursuant to the city of Kent downtown
design guidelines, the first floor of the building facing the street shall
consist of residential units, _commercial uses,
residential amenity
usesor anombination thereof.
H. Mixed use development. The project shall be a mixed use project,
unless the mixed use component is waived by the administrator.
i. The purpose of the mixed use requirement is to implement
the intent of the land use district, maximize the efficient use of land,
support transit use, and encourage the development of well-balanced,
attractive, convenient, and vibrant urban residential neighborhoods. The
additional use excludes any accessory functions related to the residential
use. Unless otherwise modified or waived in writing by the administrator,
the nonresidential mixed use shall occupy at a minimum the ground floor
along the street frontage with a depth of at least thirty {30 fleet for any
building in the project. The administrator may not modify or waive the
mixed use requirement, as provided in subsection (H)(2) of this section, in
the DC zoning district, which is governed by KCC 15.04.030(4) and (5).
2. The administrator may waive the mixed use requirement for
the purposes of this chapter, if the applicant can demonstrate that mixed
fact
use development is impractical or infeasible due to the following ors:
q. Amend KCC 3.25.040
Project Eligibility for Multifamily
Dwelling Tax Exemptions
lot(s)I
a. Size or other physical characteristic of the project's
b. Project site is not conducive to commercial use;
c. Classification of streets) abutting the project; or
d. Other similar type of circumstance that makes mixed
use impractical for the project.
SECTION 2. -Severability. If any one or more section, subsection,
or sentence of this ordinance is held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this
ordinance and the same shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 3. - Corrections b Cit Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon
approval of the city attorney, the city clerk and the code reviser are
authorized to make necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the
correction of clerical errors; ordinance, section, or subsection numbering;
or references to other local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, or
regulations.
SECTION 4. -Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and
be in force thirty (30) days from and after its passage, as provided by law.
5 Amend KCC 3.25.040
Project Eligibility for Multifamily
Dwelling 1ax Exemptions
ATTEST:
NALD F.
APPROVED
OfZEl CITY C
TO FORM:
UZ
COOKE, MAYOR
UR FITZPATRICK, ACTING CITY ATTORNEY
PASSED: day of
APPROVED: day of ' , 2015.
t
PUBLISHED: day of
2015.
I hereby certify that this is a true copy of Ordinance No.
passed by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, and approved
by the Mayor of the City of Kent as hereon,indicited.
P:\Civil\Ordinance\3.25,040 Mul[Ifamlly Taz Protect Ellgibllity.do<%
NALD F.
ERK
6 Amend KCC 3.25.040
Project Eligibi/ity for Multifami/y
Dwe///ng Tax Exemptions