Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB2545

HB2545 Engrossed LRB104 11927 KTG 22020 b

AN ACT concerning housing.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act is amended by changing Sections 15 and 30 as follows:

(310 ILCS 67/15)

Sec. 15. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Affordable housing" means housing that has a value or cost or rental amount that is within the means of a household that may occupy moderate-income or low-income housing. In the case of owner-occupied dwelling units, housing that is affordable means housing in which mortgage, amortization, taxes, insurance, and condominium or association fees, if any, constitute no more than 30% of the gross annual household income for a household of the size that may occupy the unit. In the case of dwelling units for rent, housing that is affordable means housing for which the rent and utilities constitute no more than 30% of the gross annual household income for a household of the size that may occupy the unit. In the case of dwelling units for rent, the costs of any required parking, maintenance, or landlord-imposed fees are to be included in the calculation of affordable housing if available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

"Affordable housing developer" means a nonprofit entity, limited equity cooperative or public agency, or private individual, firm, corporation, or other entity seeking to build an affordable housing development.

"Affordable housing development" means (i) any housing that is subsidized by the federal or State government or (ii) any housing in which at least 20% of the dwelling units are subject to covenants or restrictions that require that the dwelling units be sold or rented at prices that preserve them as affordable housing for a period of at least 15 years, in the case of owner-occupied housing, and at least 30 years, in the case of rental housing.

"Approving authority" means the governing body of the county or municipality.

"Area median household income" means the median household income adjusted for family size for applicable income limit areas as determined annually by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.

"Community-integrated living arrangement" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 3 of the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensure and Certification Act.

"Community land trust" means a private, not-for-profit corporation organized exclusively for charitable, cultural, and other purposes and created to acquire and own land for the benefit of the local government, including the creation and preservation of affordable housing.

"Development" means any building, construction, renovation, or excavation or any material change in any structure or land, or change in the use of such structure or land, that results in a net increase in the number of dwelling units in a structure or on a parcel of land by more than one dwelling unit.

"Exempt local government" means any local government in which at least 10% of its total year-round housing units are affordable, as determined by the Illinois Housing Development Authority in accordance with Section 20, or any municipality with a population under 1,000.

"Household" means the person or persons occupying a dwelling unit.

"Housing organization" means a trade or industry group engaged in the construction or management of housing units, or a nonprofit organization whose mission includes providing or advocating for increased access to housing for low or moderate-income households.

"Housing trust fund" means a separate fund, either within a local government or between local governments pursuant to intergovernmental agreement, established solely for the purposes authorized in subsection (d) of Section 25, including, without limitation, the holding and disbursing of financial resources to address the affordable housing needs of individuals or households that may occupy low-income or moderate-income housing.

"Local government" means a county or municipality.

"Low-income housing" means housing that is affordable, according to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, for either home ownership or rental, and that is occupied, reserved, or marketed for occupancy by households with a gross household income that does not exceed 50% of the area median household income.

"Moderate-income housing" means housing that is affordable, according to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, for either home ownership or rental, and that is occupied, reserved, or marketed for occupancy by households with a gross household income that is greater than 50% but does not exceed 80% of the area median household income.

"Non-appealable local government requirements" means all essential requirements that protect the public health and safety, including any local building, electrical, fire, or plumbing code requirements or those requirements that are critical to the protection or preservation of the environment.

"Supportive housing" means permanent or transitional housing with access to the needed supportive services which enable special needs populations to live as independently as possible.

(Source: P.A. 102-175, eff. 7-29-21; 103-487, eff. 1-1-24.)

(310 ILCS 67/30)

Sec. 30. Appeal to State Housing Appeals Board.

(a) (Blank).

(b) (Blank).

(b-5) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b-6), beginning Beginning January 1, 2026, any of the following parties may file an appeal as an appellant to the State Housing Appeals Board against a non-exempt municipality if the proposed affordable housing development was denied by the municipality, or approved with conditions that in the appellant's judgment render the provision of affordable housing infeasible:

(1) the affordable housing developer of the proposed affordable housing development;

(2) a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the proposed affordable housing development; or

(3) a housing organization whose geographic focus area includes the municipality, or county if in an unincorporated area, where the proposed affordable housing development is located.

Appeals must be filed within 45 days after the decision by the municipality. The appellant must submit information regarding why the appellant believes the affordable housing development was unfairly denied or unreasonable conditions were placed upon the tentative approval of the development. In the case of local governments that are determined by the Illinois Housing Development Authority under Section 20 to be non-exempt for the first time based on the recalculation of U.S. Census Bureau data after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, no appellant may appeal to the State Housing Appeals Board until 6 months after a local government has been notified of its non-exempt status.

(b-6) Any of the following parties may file an appeal as an appellant to the State Housing Appeals Board against a municipality if the municipality denied a proposed supportive housing project, including a project to develop a permanent supportive housing apartment building or community integrated-living arrangement, for low-income persons with disabilities:

(1) the affordable housing developer of the proposed supportive housing project, permanent supportive housing building, or community integrated-living arrangement;

(2) a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the proposed supportive housing project, permanent supportive housing building, or community integrated-living arrangement;

(3) the service provider for the proposed supportive housing project, permanent supportive housing building, or community integrated-living arrangement; or

(4) the community group or supportive housing advocacy group advocating for the proposed supportive housing project, permanent supportive housing building, or community integrated-living arrangement.

Appeals must be filed within 45 days after the decision by the municipality. The municipality must respond in writing to the appeal within 60 days of its receipt. If the municipality fails to respond within that 60 day period, the Board shall automatically reverse the municipality's decision to deny the proposed supportive housing project. If the municipality responds to the appeal within the 60 day period, the municipality must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed supportive housing project would be detrimental to the fair operation and interest of the municipality or would place an unreasonable and disproportionate financial burden on the municipality or on municipal services. The Board shall reverse the municipality's decision to deny the proposed supportive housing project if the Board determines that the municipality has not met this burden.

(c) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the Board shall, whenever possible, render a decision on the appeal within 120 days after the appeal is filed. The Board may extend the time by which it will render a decision where circumstances outside the Board's control make it infeasible for the Board to render a decision within 120 days. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b-6), in In any proceeding before the Board, the appellant bears the burden of demonstrating that the proposed affordable housing development (i) has been unfairly denied or (ii) has had unreasonable conditions placed upon it by the decision of the local government.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b-6), the The Board shall dismiss any appeal if:

(i) the local government has adopted an affordable housing plan as defined in Section 25 of this Act and submitted that plan to the Illinois Housing Development Authority within the time frame required by this Act; and

(ii) the local government has implemented its affordable housing plan and has met its goal as established in its affordable housing plan as defined in Section 25 of this Act.

(e) The Board shall dismiss any appeal if the reason for denying the application or placing conditions upon the approval is a non-appealable local government requirement under Section 15 of this Act.

(f) The Board may affirm, reverse, or modify the conditions of, or add conditions to, a decision made by the approving authority. The decision of the Board constitutes an order directed to the approving authority and is binding on the local government.

(g) The appellate court has the exclusive jurisdiction to review decisions of the Board. Any appeal to the Appellate Court of a final ruling by the State Housing Appeals Board may be heard only in the Appellate Court for the District in which the local government involved in the appeal is located. The appellate court shall apply the "clearly erroneous" standard when reviewing such appeals. An appeal of a final ruling of the Board shall be filed within 35 days after the Board's decision and in all respects shall be in accordance with Section 3-113 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(Source: P.A. 103-487, eff. 1-1-24.)