Ordinance No. 2023-27 Fee Waivers and Subsidies for Affordable Housing (Approved 101023)ORDINANCE NO. 2023–27
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Bainbridge Island, Washington, adding a new
Section 13.16.042 to the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code to authorize waivers
of water and sewer connection and participation fees and subsidies for water,
sewer, and stormwater infrastructure for certain affordable housing projects where
grant funds are received to reimburse the City or the affordable housing developer
from state, federal, or local grant programs.
WHEREAS, the Housing Element of the Bainbridge Island Comprehensive Plan
recognizes the need for affordable housing and establishes policies to encourage the availability
of affordable housing to all economic segments of the City’s population; and
WHEREAS, one way of encouraging the availability of affordable housing is by waiving
or subsidizing fees and costs that would otherwise be incurred in the development of affordable
housing projects; and
WHEREAS, under RCW 35.92.380 the City of Bainbridge Island is authorized to waive,
reduce, or delay water and sewer system connection and development charges for affordable
housing; and
WHEREAS, grant funding is or may become available from state, federal, or local grant
programs to reimburse the City for any waived water and sewer connection and participation fees
and to subsidize the construction of onsite and offsite water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure
connecting affordable housing projects to utility infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, one program that is currently available is the Connecting Housing to
Infrastructure Program (CHIP), which was created by the Washington State Legislature in 2021
to fund utility improvements for certain affordable housing projects; and
WHEREAS, the CHIP program was funded again in the 2023 legislative session with
$55.5 million budgeted for grants through the next fiscal biennium from July 1, 2023 through
June 30, 2025; and
WHEREAS, CHIP can pay for (a) onsite water, sewer, and stormwater improvements
for the affordable housing development, (b) offsite water, sewer, and stormwater improvements
in the right-of-way connecting to the affordable housing development, and (c) system
development charges for the affordable housing project; and
WHEREAS, the City of Bainbridge Island has imposed a sales and use tax for affordable
housing, which is a prerequisite for eligibility to participate in the CHIP program; and
WHEREAS, the Bainbridge Island City Council desires to enact appropriate legislation
to allow the waiver of water and sewer connection and system participation fee and to provide
for the subsidy of water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure costs for affordable housing
projects in Bainbridge Island, but only where grant funding is received to repay the City for such
waivers and to subsidize such costs, from the CHIP program or another state, federal, or local
grant program.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE
ISLAND, WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Affordable Housing – Fee Waivers and Subsidies. A new Section
13.16.042 is hereby added to the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code to read as follows:
13.16.042 Fee Waivers and Subsidies for Affordable Housing.
A.The city council may waive or reduce water and sewer connection
fees and system participation fees, in whole or in part, for affordable housing
projects that meet all of the criteria for reimbursement from grant funds provided
by state, federal, or local grant programs. Any such waiver shall be expressly
contingent upon securing funding from the grant program to reimburse the city for
the full amount of the fees waived or reduced. Nothing in this section obligates
the city council to grant any waiver that is not reimbursed by a grant program.
B.The city council may also authorize the city to partner with an
eligible affordable housing developer to obtain grants from a state, federal, or
local grant program for the payment, in whole or in part, of the cost of designing,
engineering, and constructing onsite water, sewer, and stormwater improvements,
or offsite water, sewer, and stormwater improvements in the right-of-way
connecting to the affordable housing development to city utilities.
Section 2. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this ordinance be preempted by state
or federal law or regulation, such decision or preemption shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances.
Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force five (5)
days from its passage and publication as required by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 10th day of October, 2023.
APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 10th day of October, 2023.
Brenda Fantroy-Johnson, Mayor
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED:
Christine Brown, MMC, City Clerk
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: September 22, 2023
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: October 10, 2023
PUBLISHED: October 20, 2023
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 25, 2023
ORDINANCE NO. 2023-27