Excerpt from November 9, 2007 Town of Chapel Hill Draft Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance

3.10.5 Affordable Housing Performance Agreements

(a)        For purposes of this Section, an Affordable Housing Performance Agreement ("Agreement") is an executed contract between the Town and an Applicant that formally sets forth development approval and requirements to achieve Affordable Housing in accordance with this ordinance.  An Agreement may include any Development Agreement (G.S. § 160A-400.20 et seq), or Site Specific Development Plan or Phased Development Plan (G.S. § 160A 385.1), in which the Applicant lawfully agrees to provide improvements that mitigate the impacts of the Proposed Development.

(b)        An Affordable Housing Performance Agreement is required where:

(1)        The applicant uses a by right floor area or density bonus pursuant to § 3.10.2; or

(2)       The applicant uses additional incentives subject to § 3.10.8; or

(3)       Any of the Affordable Dwelling Units are rental units.

(c)       The applicant or owner must execute an Affordable Housing Performance Agreement prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit for any development subject to this Section.

(d)        An Affordable Housing Performance Agreement must include:

(1)        the specific requirements and restrictions regarding Affordable Dwelling Units by the Town and the subject development; and

(2)       the commitments and obligations of the Town and the applicant; and

(3)       an inclusionary housing plan (see § 3.10.6 below); and

(4)       if applicable, the agreements and decisions regarding the applicability of any one or more of the alternatives to providing on-site affordable housing units (see § 3.10.3).

(e)        The applicant or owner shall execute any and all documents deemed necessary by the Town, including, without limitation, restrictive covenants and other related instruments, to ensure the permanent affordability (see § 3.10.13) of the affordable housing units or lots in accordance with this Section.

(f)       The agreement and all documents described above shall be recorded in the Orange or Durham County Registry of Deeds as appropriate.

3.10.6             Inclusionary Housing Plan

(a)        Applicability

Applications that are subject to this Section shall include an Inclusionary Housing Plan as described below.  An Inclusionary Housing Plan describes how the Application complies with each of the applicable requirements of this Section.

(b)        Approval

(1)       The Inclusionary Housing Plan shall be approved along with the Application by the Town body that originally approved the Application.

(2)       The Inclusionary Housing Plan shall be incorporated into the Affordable Housing Performance Agreement (see § 3.10.5).

(3)       Minor modifications to the plan are subject to approval by the Town Manager.  Major modifications are subject to approval by the Town body that originally approved the Application and will be considered promptly upon petition from the applicant.  Items that are considered major and minor shall be designated in the Inclusionary Housing Plan.   Items that are not designated as minor modifications will be considered major modifications.

(b)        Contents.

The application shall include at least the following 

(1)        General information about the nature and scope of the covered development.

(2)       For Applicants that request an alternative to on-site provision of affordable housing:

A.        elevations and orthographic photographic simulations or scaled drawings that illustrate the project's appearance if it included on-site Affordable Dwelling Units; and

B.        evidence that the proposed alternative will further affordable housing opportunities in the Town to an equivalent or greater extent than compliance with the otherwise applicable on-site requirements of this Section.

(3)        The total number of market rate units and Affordable Dwelling Units in the development.

(4)        The number of bedrooms and bathrooms in each Affordable Dwelling Unit.

(5)        The approximate square footage of each Affordable Dwelling Unit.

(6)       The approximate location within any multifamily residential structure, or any subdivision of land, of each Affordable Dwelling Unit.

(7)       The pricing for each Affordable Dwelling Unit. The pricing of each unit or lot shall be determined at time of approval. At time of sale this price may be adjusted if there has been a change in the median income or a change in the formulas used in this ordinance.

(8)       The order of completion of market rate and Affordable Dwelling Units.

(9)       Documentation and plans regarding the exterior appearance, materials and finishes of the development for each of the Affordable Dwelling Units, unless it is stated that market rate units and Affordable Dwelling Units shall have identical exterior finishes.

(10)     Any and all other information that the Town Manager may require that are needed to demonstrate compliance with this Ordinance