Bill
HB 6176
Mandates municipal inclusionary zoning that reserves 15% of units as affordable for 30 years, with a 1:1 density bonus; off-site/fee-in-lieu options drop the bonus.
Note on source materials
- The provided materials included text from two different legislative documents (a Michigan criminal-procedure amendment and a Rhode Island zoning bill, LC002686). This summary treats the Rhode Island inclusionary-zoning text (LC002686 / HB 6176 title) as the subject of HB 6176 and highlights relevant provisions. Where the bill text contains inconsistent dates or cross-references, those inconsistencies are noted below.
Purpose and intent
- To require/authorize municipal inclusionary zoning that ensures a portion of units in certain developments are affordable housing, establish how affordability is preserved and funded, set density bonuses and zoning incentives, and create rules for fee‑in‑lieu payments and their administration.
Key provisions
- Affordable-unit requirement: If a zoning ordinance requires inclusionary housing, affordable units must be at least 15% of total units proposed and remain affordable for at least 30 years, enforced by land lease and/or deed restriction (municipality and State may enforce).
- Trigger threshold: Municipalities that impose inclusionary requirements must specify a threshold; the minimum triggering threshold may not be higher than 10 dwelling units.
- Density bonus: For covered projects, municipalities must allow one additional market-rate unit for each required affordable unit (i.e., 1:1 bonus). Minimum lot-area-per-unit requirements must be reduced as needed to accommodate bonus density. Local regulations must provide reasonable dimensional relief to apply the bonus. Tiverton is explicitly allowed to determine its density bonuses based on its underlying zoning.
- Alternatives to on-site units: Municipalities may allow off-site construction/rehab, land donation, or payment of a fee‑in‑lieu. However, projects using fee‑in‑lieu, off-site construction/rehab, or land donation are not eligible for the density bonus.
- Fee‑in‑lieu rules:
- Applications intending to use fee‑in‑lieu must be reviewed by the planning board (not eligible for administrative review under the Land Development and Subdivision Review Enabling Act).
- Fee amount (single-family / condo): the difference between (a) the maximum affordable sales price for a family of four at 80% of area median income (HUD) and (b) the average cost of developing an affordable unit as determined annually by Rhode Island Housing & Mortgage Finance Corporation (RIHMFC) based on the prior three years’ developments (excluding preservation financing).
- Minimum per-unit fee cannot be less than $40,000.
- Fee use and administration: Municipalities must deposit fees into restricted accounts for creating affordable housing serving households at or below 80% AMI; a local affordable housing board must oversee funds and allocate them within three years (municipality must include allocation process in its comprehensive plan and by ordinance).
- If funds are not allocated within three years (including funds held as of July 1, 2024), the municipality must transfer unallocated amounts to RIHMFC for affordable housing in that community.
- Reporting: Municipalities and RIHMFC must report annually (first report — as written — due December 31, 2024) to the General Assembly and housing authorities on fees collected, allocations, projects funded, dollar amounts, and units created.
Who is affected
- Municipal governments and local planning boards (must adopt/implement ordinances, manage restricted accounts, and report).
- Developers and builders (must meet inclusionary requirements or pay fees; using fee‑in‑lieu limits access to density bonuses).
- Low- and moderate-income households (units reserved for households at or below 80% AMI).
- RIHMFC (receives transferred funds not allocated by municipalities; provides data for fee calculations and reporting).
Timing and procedural status
- Introduced April 4, 2025; referred to House Municipal Government & Housing (Tiverton).
- Committee action: 06/04/2025 — committee recommended measure be held for further study.
- Effective date language in the text is inconsistent: Section header includes “[Effective January 1, 2025.]”, Section 2 says the act takes effect upon passage, and reporting/transfer provisions reference dates in 2024. These timing inconsistencies appear clerical and would need clarification if enacted.
Potential impacts (practical effects)
- Increases production or funding of affordable units in municipalities that adopt inclusionary zoning.
- Provides predictable density incentives for developers in exchange for affordable units, but removes bonus eligibility when fee‑in‑lieu or off-site options are used — potentially encouraging on-site affordable production.
- Establishes funding safeguards (restricted accounts, local oversight, deadline for allocation) and a backstop (transfer to RIHMFC) to prevent long-term municipal withholding of funds.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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