HOUSING FREEDOM ZONE



House Bill 4507

Sponsor: Rep. Jack Minore


House Bill 4494

Sponsor: Rep. William Byl


Committee: Local Government

and Urban Policy


Complete to 5-12-99



A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4507 AS INTRODUCED 4-20-99 AND HOUSE BILL 4494 AS INTRODUCED 4-15-99

House Bill 4507 would create the "Housing Freedom Zone Act" to allow a city with a population of at least 25,000 persons to establish a housing freedom zone within that city. House Bill 4494 would amend the State Construction Code Act (MCL 125.1508a) to specify that the act and the code would not apply to residential housing constructed in a housing freedom zone, if the Department of Consumer and Industry Services had approved a building code for the housing freedom zone as provided under House Bill 4507.


A more detailed description of House Bill 4507 follows.


Zone Criteria. After notice and a public hearing pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, the legislative body of a city could, by resolution, designate an area within that city as a proposed housing freedom zone if all of the following criteria were satisfied:

--the resolution provided that the city was creating the zone to address the problem of urban blight, facilitate the redevelopment of vacant land and unoccupied structures, and provide affordable housing for middle and lower income families;

--the zone was a contiguous area of at least one acre;

--the zone consisted of either vacant land or unoccupied residential, commercial, or industrial structures;

--the city offered to sell certain city-owned designated property located within the zone for the property's market value; and,

--the zone was within one or more census tracts in which the medium income of the residents was less than or equal to the median income of the residents of the city. If there were no residents within the census tract in which the zone was proposed, the zone would be required to be adjacent to one or more census tracts in which the median income of the residents was less than or equal to the medium income of the residents of the city.


Zone Establishment. If the legislative body of a city designated a proposed housing freedom zone, the city would have to submit the resolution and any necessary documentation to the state treasurer for approval. A housing freedom zone would be established when the state

treasurer determined that all of the required procedures set forth in the bill had been complied with, and approved the proposed designation in writing to the legislative body of the city. If a zone were established, the city in which it was located could continue to sell certain designated property owned by the city located within the zone for the property's market value.


Building Code. The city in which a zone was located could propose to establish a building code for the zone to permit decent, safe, and sanitary residential housing to be built at a cost that made the housing affordable to families with an income below the median family income of the city. A building code would have to comply with all state and federal requirements regarding environmental protection and historic preservation. The city would have to submit the proposed code to the Department of Consumer and Industry Services for approval. The department would have to determine if the proposed building code would permit decent, safe, and sanitary residential housing to be built at a cost that would make the housing affordable to families with income below the median income of the city, and would have to determine if all state and federal requirements regarding environmental protection and historic preservation were satisfied. A building code for a zone would be effective when the department approved the proposed code in writing to the legislative body of the city.

If the department approved a building code for a zone under bill, the State Construction Code would not apply to the construction of residential housing within the zone after that building code was approved.

[Note. House Bill 4507 is identical to Senate Bill 349, and House Bill 4494 is identical to Senate Bill 350. Senate Bills 349 and 350 are currently pending before the Senate Committee on Economic Development, International Trade, and Regulatory Affairs.]

















Analyst: J. Hunault



This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.