S.Amdt. 4334

SA 4334. Mr. SCHATZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 6644, a bill to increase the supply of housing in
America, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCENTIVES IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT
GRANTS.

Section 5309 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) Pro-housing policy.--The term `pro-housing policy'--
``(A) means any State or local action that will remove
regulatory barriers to the construction or preservation of
housing units, including affordable housing units; and
``(B) shall include any State or local action that--
``(i) reduces or eliminates parking minimums;
``(ii) establishes a by-right approval process for multi-
family housing under which land use development approval is
limited to determining that the development meets objective
zoning and design standards that--

``(I) involve no subjective judgment by a public official;
``(II) are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external
and uniform benchmark or criterion available to both the land
use developer and the public official prior to submission;
and
``(III) include only such standards as are published and
adopted by ordinance or resolution by a jurisdiction before
submission of a development application;

``(iii) reduces or eliminates minimum lot sizes;
``(iv) commits substantial publicly-held real property to
the development or preservation of housing that includes a
substantial number of dwelling units affordable to low-income
households; or
``(v) eliminates or raises residential property height
limits or increases the number of dwelling units permitted to
be constructed under a by-right approval process; and
``(vi) carries out other policies as determined by the
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.'';
(2) in subsection (g)(2), by adding at the end the
following:
``(D) Eligibility for adjustment of rating for project
justification criteria for pro-housing policies.--In
evaluating and rating a project as a whole for project
justification under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may
increase by 1 point on the 5-point scale (high, medium-high,
medium, medium-low, or low) the rating of a project if the
applicant submits documented evidence of pro-housing policies
for areas located within walking distance of, and accessible
to, transit facilities along the project route.
``(E) Consultation.--In awarding the increased rating
described in subparagraph (D), the Secretary shall consult
with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to
develop the methodology to evaluate, as feasible, the extent
to which the pro-housing policies documented by the applicant
will result, through new production and preservation, in an
amount of housing units, including housing units affordable
below the area median income, that is appropriate to expected
housing demand in the project area over the life of the
project.''; and
(3) in subsection (o)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) information concerning projects for which the
applicant submitted pro-housing policies under subsection
(g)(2)(D) and received an adjustment of rating for project
justification, including the pro-housing policies submitted
and the amount of housing units expected through new
production and preservation, including affordable housing, as
a result of the expected results of the policies, as measured
under subsection (g)(2)(E).''.
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