“A bill to provide grants to units of general local government related to pre-reviewed designs for mixed-income housing, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings on the U.S. housing supply crisis, including an estimated shortage of 4,870,000 units as of 2023; cost burdens affecting 24% of homeowner households and 50% of renter households in 2023; regulatory burdens hindering housing production; and the benefits of pre-reviewed designs (i.e., pattern books of locality-approved construction plans) for streamlining permitting, expanding development opportunities, ensuring quality design features, and balancing local architecture with rapid construction.
This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) "affordable housing" as housing with monthly costs not exceeding 30% of household income for households earning no more than 80% of area median income; (2) "covered structure" as a low- or mid-rise building with no more than 25 dwelling units (e.g., accessory dwelling units, infill development, duplexes, townhouses); (3) "eligible entity" as a unit of general local government or Indian tribe (as defined in 42 U.S.C. 5302(a)), or a municipal membership organization; (4) "high opportunity area," as defined in 12 C.F.R. §1282.1 or successor regulation; (5) "infill development" as residential development on small parcels in established areas using existing infrastructure; (6) "mixed-income housing" as developments promoting varying affordability levels; (7) "pre-reviewed design" as a locality-approved construction plan meeting local building and zoning standards; (8) "rural area" as any area other than a city or town with a population greater than 50,000; and (9) "Secretary" as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
This section authorizes the Secretary to award grants to eligible entities to establish and pre-review designs of covered structures for mixed-income housing in the entity's jurisdiction. In selecting grantees, the Secretary must consider the entity's affordable housing needs, presence of high-opportunity areas, coordination with state agencies and transportation authorities, and efforts to reduce land-use, permitting, or procedural barriers to housing development, with at least 10% of funds reserved for rural areas. Grantees must report on program impacts, designs established, permits issued, and housing units produced; the Secretary must encourage public website postings of designs and disseminate best practices. The section authorizes $15 million for each of FY2027 through FY2031, of which up to 10% may fund technical assistance, and requires repayment of unused funds if designs are not approved within five years unless the period is extended.