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Innovative affordable home ownership projects are subject to the following eligibility requirements:

A. Project Applicant.

1. The organization or applicant can demonstrate experience in the creation and retention of owner-occupied, resale-restricted affordable, income-qualified homeownership.

2. Notwithstanding the requirement in subsection (A)(1) of this section, an organization or applicant that can demonstrate experience in providing market rate housing and a mission statement of its intent to use that experience toward achieving the goal of providing affordable housing shall be deemed to have met this requirement.

3. The organization can demonstrate the ability to employ restrictive resale covenants, or other acceptable mechanisms, to retain the affordable low-income units to income-qualified buyers as defined by BMC 20.29.020.

4. The organization can demonstrate an ability and commitment to submit reports to the city documenting compliance with the requirements pursuant to BMC 20.29.050.

B. Single-Family Homeownership. The project must create no less than 51 percent of the dwelling units as affordable low-income single-family residences that are individually owned by their occupants. It must have controls in place, subject to approval by the planning director or his/her designee, to ensure that the residences remain owner-occupied.

C. Guarantee of Affordability. The project must have controls in place, subject to approval by the planning director or his/her designee, to ensure that the required affordable owner-occupied units remain affordable for 50 years from final plat approval, and in accordance with the definition of affordable homeownership in BMC 20.29.020. The controls shall include:

1. Agreements or covenants restricting resale to qualified low-income households through the affordability period which can be enforced by the city; or

2. Other methods approved by the planning director, or his/her designee, to ensure that the project’s low-income single-family residences remain affordable in accordance with this chapter.

D. Project Location. Affordable dwelling units developed under this chapter must be located:

1. In a residential single-family or multifamily zone within the city of Bellingham, except within the Lake Whatcom watershed; or

2. Within an urban village residential transition zone.

E. Design Review. Projects developed under this chapter must comply with the following design standards to protect, maintain, or enhance neighborhood character and compatibility. This is intended to be accomplished with site and building designs that improve the streetscape public realm and sense of security by providing greater opportunity for more eyes on the street and social interaction, and minimizing the presence of garages. Where these standards conflict with other provisions in BMC Title 20, these standards shall apply. Modifications to these standards may be considered through subsection (F) of this section, provided the alternative designs proposed are consistent with the purpose of this section.

1. Emphasize single-story massing elements on front facades by incorporating porches, stoops, balconies, bays and trim work to provide greater visual interest from the fronting street, lane or pedestrian corridor.

2. Employ a change of materials, colors or textures on front facades of individual homes to provide further articulation and additional variety and character.

3. Apply trim details used on the front facade in a consistent manner to all elevations of a building.

4. Each dwelling shall have a covered front porch or stoop with main entry facing a street, lane, or pedestrian corridor.

5. Front porches and stoops shall have no dimension less than five feet and shall occupy no less than 30 percent of the front facade of a building. The longest dimension of a porch or stoop shall be parallel to the fronting street, lane, or pedestrian corridor.

6. Each residence shall include a front swing door (no slider) access to the corresponding front porch or stoop.

7. A walkway shall be provided from the front porch or stoop to the abutting public street, lane or pedestrian corridor.

8. Minimize the impact of the garage on the streetscape or lane by the following:

a. Set garages back at least four feet from the front face of the building (excluding front porches and stoops).

b. Restrict garage width to no more than 40 percent of the front facade of a building.

9. Fencing located between the primary building and the street, lane or pedestrian corridor is limited to 42 inches in height and may be no more than 60 percent opaque. Chain-link or cyclone fencing is not allowed adjacent to a street, lane, or pedestrian corridor.

10. Landscaping.

a. Use planting materials and landscape structures such as trellises, raised beds and fencing adjacent to streets, lanes and pedestrian corridors to unify the overall site design and enhance the public realm.

b. Landscape beds shall include trees and a mix of small, medium and large plantings for a “layered” appearance, except where landscaping standards require a hedge, or an alternative design is approved by the planning and community development director.

F. Request for Regulatory Modification. Project applicants may request modification of city regulatory requirements listed below; provided, that the project complies with applicable Washington State laws. Requests for modification must be accompanied by detailed supporting documentation regarding the appropriateness of, and the need for, the modification. Project applicants must meet all other applicable development regulations in the Bellingham Municipal Code pertaining to single-family detached or attached houses. Requests for regulatory modification must accompany the preliminary plat, short plat, binding site plan, or lot line adjustment application and must be noted on submitted site plans.

1. Minimum Density. Increased density of up to 50 percent over the otherwise maximum density allowed in the applicable residential zone may be granted to a project;

2. Other modifications:

a. Minimum lot size;

b. Minimum street frontage;

c. Minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks;

d. Minimum parking requirements;

e. Maximum lot coverage;

f. Minimum usable open space;

g. Other regulations to allow demonstration of innovative approaches to affordable homeownership, energy conservation, low-impact development, and stormwater management.

G. Recommendation for Regulatory Modification. The planning and community development director, or his/her designee, may issue a recommendation to the hearing examiner for modification of regulatory requirements listed in subsection (F) of this section for projects applying under this chapter if the planning director, or his/her designee, determines that approvals of requested regulatory modifications are necessary to facilitate the construction of as many affordable homes as allowable.

H. Request for Exemption from Impact Fees and Stormwater Fee. Project applicant may request an exemption from impact fees for the affordable low-income units as allowed under applicable sections of the Bellingham Municipal Code. [Ord. 2021-10-044 § 8; Ord. 2020-03-005 § 1].