The Common Council’s Laws and Rules Committee is about to take up discussion of proposed rules that would allow developers to get around affordable housing mandates in a proposed new zoning code if they meet certain criteria — and pay into a city-managed affordable housing fund.

The committee is expected to begin vetting the proposal at its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The rules, if approved, will be included in the city’s proposed new zoning code. The new “Form-Based Code” is expected to be simpler to use and lead to more predictable outcomes than current land use rules adopted in the early 1960s and almost infinitely amended since. The new code is also intended to create a more dense, urban city by eliminating single-family zoning, reducing parking requirements and adding new types of housing.

The new code also sets a mandate for developers to set aside a portion of units in some new multifamily dwellings for affordable and “workforce” housing. The rules require developers of seven-to 19- unit projects to set aside 10 percent of total units as affordable — defined as rent that does not exceed 30 percent of total income for an individual or a family making 80 percent of the Area Median Income. For 20- to 49-unit projects, developers have to set aside 10 percent of the units as affordable housing, plus another 5 percent dedicated to “workforce” housing affordable to those making 120 percent of AMI. Larger multifamily developments must provide 10 percent affordable and 10 percent workforce housing. The proposed code also includes a “density bonus” which allows developers to add one more story than would normally be permitted in a given zone if they set aside 20 percent of a project’s total units for affordable housing.

But the third draft of the code, released in November, allows developers to opt out of the affordable housing provisions under certain conditions, and with the approval of the Common Council. A proposal brought to the Council’s Laws and Rules Committee by City Director of Housing Initiatives Bartek Starodaj provides a detailed framework to guide lawmakers’ decisions on when to allow a Payment in Lieu of Affordable Housing (PILOAH) deal.

The process uses a scoring system that rates residential projects with a score of zero to three in five categories. To qualify for a PILOAH agreement, a project would need to score at least 10. Among the factors to be considered are whether the project is consistent with other development goals outlined in the city’s comprehensive plan, and whether the developers will provide public benefits like a commitment to local hiring or open space in excess of what’s mandated by the code.

The council will also take into account outreach efforts of the project’s ward’s alderman and community groups to achieve “community buy-in” for the proposal and whether there is already sufficient affordable housing in the vicinity. Finally, the council will weigh the degree to which the affordable housing mandate would produce a hardship for developers based on project size, site constraints or the availability of affordable housing subsidies.

Developers who meet the criteria would have the option of paying a per-unit fee equal to at least 150 percent of AMI for a family of four. The payment, which would have to be made prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy by the city, would go into a city-controlled affordable housing fund. The council would set a policy for the use of money generated by PILOAH fees.

The Laws and Rules Committee will begin discussion of the proposed regulations tonight. The full council must vote on the plan, and the mayor must sign it before the rules become official. The council is expected to vote on the overall rezoning plan sometime this summer.