AN ACT relating to housing.

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AN ACT relating to housing. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 100 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) As used in this section: 5
(a) "Affordable housing" means a residential dwelling unit reserved for a 6
household whose income does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the 7
median income for the area as set out by the United States Department of 8
Housing and Urban Development; 9
(b) "Homeless shelter" means a facility used primarily to provide temporary 10
shelter, including day shelters, overnight shelters, or temporary cooling or 11
warming shelters, for the homeless, and which may provide: 12
1. Overnight sleeping accommodations; 13
2. Meals; and 14
3. Ancillary social, educational, or health services; 15
(c) "Religious developer" means a religious institution or any property 16
developer working on behalf of a religious institution; and 17
(d) "Religious institution" means a bona fide church, religious denomination, 18
or religious organization, determined by the Inter nal Revenue Service to be 19
tax exempt pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 20
(2) Affordable housing developed by a religious developer shall be considered a 21
permitted use and shall not be subject to permitting, review, or other regulati on 22
under this chapter, except for ministerial review by a planning unit for 23
compliance with the following requirements: 24
(a) The development is located on property owned by the religious institution; 25
(b) The property where the development is to be located w as purchased by the 26
religious institution prior to January 1, 2026, and owned by the religious 27
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institution throughout the duration of the obligation in paragraph (g) of this 1
subsection; 2
(c) The development exclusively contains affordable housing; 3
(d) The property where the development is to be located: 4
1. Is on a parcel in a commercial or business zone; 5
2. Is on a parcel in a residential zone that is adjacent to a road classified 6
as part of the state primary road system pursuant to KRS 177.020 and 7
is adjacent to a parcel in a commercial, business, or industrial zone; 8
or 9
3. Contains a structure that was used as a school prior to the effective 10
date of this Act and the development is for the conversion of that 11
structure into affordable housing; 12
(e) The development contains twenty-four (24) or fewer units; 13
(f) The development would not lead to more than twenty -four (24) affordable 14
housing units being located on that parcel, any contiguous parcel owned by 15
the religious institution, or cumulatively on parcels owned by the religious 16
institution within one-half (1/2) mile of the development; 17
(g) The obligation that units developed pursuant to this section are affordable 18
in accordance with paragraph (c) of this subsection shall: 19
1. Remain in place for a period of fifte en (15) years from the date of the 20
certificate of occupancy or, if a certificate of occupancy is not 21
required, from the date of the final building permit inspection; and 22
2. Be recorded in a legally binding agreement or deed restriction. 23
The religious deve loper shall submit an annual report to the certifying 24
planning unit that the requirements of this paragraph are met for the 25
property; and 26
(h) The religious developer has obtained all other permits, including building 27
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permits, as required by law. 1
(3) If a d evelopment established pursuant to this section no longer meets the 2
requirements in subsection (2) of this section, the property owner shall seek all 3
approvals for the development from the planning unit that would be required for 4
a developer that did not qualify for ministerial review under this section. 5
(4) The Kentucky Housing Corporation may provide technical and advisory 6
resources to a religious developer to assist with the development and management 7
of an affordable housing development under this section. 8
(5) A religious institution that seeks to privately operate a homeless shelter designed 9
to provide temporary living accommodations or a temporary cooling or warming 10
center during extreme weather events shall be considered a permitted use in all 11
commercial, business, or industrial zones if the religious institution has obtained 12
all other permits required by law. 13