Bill Text: IL SB1476 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the engrossed bill with the following changes: Provides that to comply with the Act's affordable housing plan requirements, no later than 4 years (rather than 36 months) after adopting or updating an affordable housing plan the local government shall submit a report to the Illinois Housing Development Authority summarizing actions taken to implement the current plan. Restores the number of members on the State Housing Appeals Board to 7 (rather than reducing the number to 5). Provides that the Board shall include a retired circuit judge, a retired appellate judge, a current or retired administrative law judge, or a practicing or retired attorney with experience in the area of land use law or related field, who shall act as chairperson (rather than a current or retired circuit judge, appellate judge, administrative law judge, or attorney with experience in the area of land use law, who shall act as chairperson). Provides that 4 (rather than 3) of the Board members shall be selected from among certain categories. Includes an affordable housing developer among the possible selected members. Provides that at least 3 (rather than one) of the appointments shall be from a local government that is non-exempt under the Act. Provides that the initial terms of 4 (rather than 3 of the) members shall be for 2 years; and the initial terms of 3 (rather than 2 of the) members shall be for one year. Permits the following persons to file an appeal to the Board if a proposed affordable housing development was denied by a municipality or approved with conditions that in the appellant's judgment render the provision of affordable housing infeasible: (i) the affordable housing developer of the proposed affordable housing development; (ii) a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the proposed affordable housing development; or (iii) 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. Makes other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-08-04 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0487 [SB1476 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1476-Chaptered.html

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Public Act 103-0487
SB1476 Enrolled LRB103 25764 KTG 52113 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, 25, 30, and 50 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, any required
parking, maintenance, landlord-imposed fees, 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 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. "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 pursuant to Section 20
of this Act; or any municipality under 1,000 population.
"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.
(Source: P.A. 102-175, eff. 7-29-21.)
(310 ILCS 67/25)
Sec. 25. Affordable housing plan.

(a) Prior to April 1, 2005, all non-exempt local
governments must approve an affordable housing plan. Any local
government that is 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 2010 shall have 18 months from the date of
notification of its non-exempt status to approve an affordable
housing plan under this Act. On and after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, an
affordable housing plan, or any revision thereof, shall not be
adopted by a non-exempt local government until notice and
opportunity for public hearing have first been afforded.
(b) For the purposes of this Act, the affordable housing
plan shall consist of at least the following:
(i) a statement of the total number of affordable
housing units that are necessary to exempt the local
government from the operation of this Act as defined in
Section 15 and Section 20;
(ii) an identification of lands within the
jurisdiction that are most appropriate for the
construction of affordable housing and of existing
structures most appropriate for conversion to, or
rehabilitation for, affordable housing, including a
consideration of affordable housing for both
owner-occupied dwelling units and dwelling units for rent,
lands and structures of developers who have expressed a

commitment to provide affordable housing, and lands and
structures that are publicly or semi-publicly owned;
(iii) incentives that local governments may provide
for the purpose of attracting affordable housing to their
jurisdiction; and
(iv) a description of any housing market conditions,
infrastructure limitations, local government ordinances,
including zoning and land use ordinances, local government
policies or practices that do not affirmatively further
fair housing as defined in the federal Fair Housing Act,
and other factors that may constrain the local
government's ability to create and preserve affordable
housing;
(v) a plan or potential strategies to eliminate or
mitigate these constraints identified in item (iv);
(vi) one or more of the following goals: (iv) a goal of
a minimum of 15% of all new development or redevelopment
within the local government that would be defined as
affordable housing in this Act; or a minimum of a 5 3
percentage point increase in the overall percentage of
affordable housing within its jurisdiction, as described
in subsection (b) of Section 20 of this Act; or a minimum
of a total of 10% affordable housing within its
jurisdiction as described in subsection (b) of Section 20
of this Act. These goals may be met, in whole or in part,
through the creation of affordable housing units under

intergovernmental agreements as described in subsection
(e) of this Section; and .
(vii) proposed timelines to commence, within the first
24 months after the date upon which the affordable housing
plan was adopted, for actions to implement the components
of the affordable housing plan.
Local governments that have previously been determined as
a non-exempt municipality and that have submitted an
affordable housing plan shall also include a summary of
actions taken to implement the previously submitted plan, as
well as a summary of progress made toward achieving the goals
of the plan.
To comply with the affordable housing plan requirements,
no later than 4 years after adopting or updating an affordable
housing plan the local government shall submit a report to the
Illinois Housing Development Authority summarizing actions
taken to implement the current plan.
(c) Within 60 days after the adoption of an affordable
housing plan or revisions to its affordable housing plan, the
local government must submit a copy of that plan to the
Illinois Housing Development Authority.
(d) In order to promote the goals of this Act and to
maximize the creation, establishment, or preservation of
affordable housing throughout the State of Illinois, a local
government, whether exempt or non-exempt under this Act, may
adopt the following measures to address the need for

affordable housing:
(1) Local governments may individually or jointly
create or participate in a housing trust fund or otherwise
provide funding or support for the purpose of supporting
affordable housing, including, without limitation, to
support the following affordable housing activities:
(A) Housing production, including, without
limitation, new construction, rehabilitation, and
adaptive re-use.
(B) Acquisition, including, without limitation,
land, single-family homes, multi-unit buildings, and
other existing structures that may be used in whole or
in part for residential use.
(C) Rental payment assistance.
(D) Home-ownership purchase assistance.
(E) Preservation of existing affordable housing.
(F) Weatherization.
(G) Emergency repairs.
(H) Housing related support services, including
homeownership education and financial counseling.
(I) Grants or loans to not-for-profit
organizations engaged in addressing the affordable
housing needs of low-income and moderate-income
households.
Local governments may authorize housing trust funds to
accept and utilize funds, property, and other resources

from all proper and lawful public and private sources so
long as those funds are used solely for addressing the
affordable housing needs of individuals or households that
may occupy low-income or moderate-income housing.
(2) A local government may create a community land
trust, which may: acquire developed or undeveloped
interests in real property and hold them for affordable
housing purposes; convey such interests under long-term
leases, including ground leases; convey such interests for
affordable housing purposes; and retain an option to
reacquire any such real property interests at a price
determined by a formula ensuring that such interests may
be utilized for affordable housing purposes.
(3) A local government may use its zoning powers to
require the creation and preservation of affordable
housing as authorized under Section 5-12001 of the
Counties Code and Section 11-13-1 of the Illinois
Municipal Code.
(4) A local government may accept donations of money
or land for the purpose of addressing the affordable
housing needs of individuals or households that may occupy
low-income or moderate-income housing. These donations may
include, without limitation, donations of money or land
from persons, as long as the donations are demonstrably
used to preserve, create, or subsidize low-income housing
or moderate-income housing within the jurisdiction.

(e) In order to encourage regional cooperation and the
maximum creation of affordable housing in areas lacking such
housing in the State of Illinois, any non-exempt local
government may enter into intergovernmental agreements under
subsection (e) of Section 25 with local governments within 10
miles of its corporate boundaries in order to create
affordable housing units to meet the goals of this Act. A
non-exempt local government may not enter into an
intergovernmental agreement, however, with any local
government that contains more than 25% affordable housing as
determined under Section 20 of this Act. All intergovernmental
agreements entered into to create affordable housing units to
meet the goals of this Act must also specify the basis for
determining how many of the affordable housing units created
will be credited to each local government participating in the
agreement for purposes of complying with this Act. All
intergovernmental agreements entered into to create affordable
housing units to meet the goals of this Act must also specify
the anticipated number of newly created affordable housing
units that are to be credited to each local government
participating in the agreement for purposes of complying with
this Act. In specifying how many affordable housing units will
be credited to each local government, the same affordable
housing unit may not be counted by more than one local
government.
(f) To enforce compliance with the provisions of this

Section, and to encourage local governments to submit their
affordable housing plans to the Illinois Housing Development
Authority in a timely manner, the Illinois Housing Development
Authority shall notify any local government and may notify the
Office of the Attorney General that the local government is in
violation of State law if the Illinois Housing Development
Authority finds that the affordable housing plan submitted is
not in substantial compliance with this Section or that the
local government failed to submit an affordable housing plan.
The Attorney General may enforce this provision of the Act by
an action for mandamus or injunction or by means of other
appropriate relief.
(g) The Illinois Housing Development Authority shall post
each affordable housing plan submitted by a local government
on the Illinois Housing Development Authority's website.
(Source: P.A. 102-175, eff. 7-29-21.)
(310 ILCS 67/30)
Sec. 30. Appeal to State Housing Appeals Board.
(a) (Blank).
(b) (Blank). Beginning January 1, 2009, an affordable
housing developer whose application is either denied or
approved with conditions that in his or her judgment render
the provision of affordable housing infeasible may, within 45
days after the decision, appeal to the State Housing Appeals
Board challenging that decision unless the municipality or

county that rendered the decision is exempt under Section 15
of this Act. The developer must submit information regarding
why the developer believes he or she 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 98th General
Assembly, no developer may appeal to the State Housing Appeals
Board until 60 months after a local government has been
notified of its non-exempt status.
(b-5) 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.
(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. In any proceeding before the
Board, the appellant affordable housing developer 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) 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. 98-287, eff. 8-9-13.)
(310 ILCS 67/50)
Sec. 50. Housing Appeals Board.
(a) On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 103rd General Assembly, the Prior to January 1, 2008, a
Housing Appeals Board consists shall be created consisting of
7 members appointed by the Governor as follows:
(1) a retired circuit judge, a or retired appellate
judge, a current or retired administrative law judge, or a
practicing or retired attorney with experience in the area
of land use law or related field, who shall act as
chairperson;
(2) 4 members selected from among the following
categories:
(A) county or municipal zoning board of appeals
members;
(B) county or municipal planning board members;
(C) a mayor or municipal council or board member;
(D) a county board member; a zoning board of
appeals member;
(3) an affordable housing developer; and a planning
board member;
(4) a mayor or municipal council or board member;

(5) a county board member;
(6) an affordable housing developer; and
(4) (7) an affordable housing advocate.
In addition, the Chairman of the Illinois Housing
Development Authority, ex officio, shall serve as a non-voting
member. At least 2 of the appointments under paragraph (2)
shall be from a local government that is non-exempt under this
Act. No more than 4 of the appointed members may be from the
same political party. Appointments under items (2), (3), and
(4) shall be from local governments that are not exempt under
this Act.
(b) Initial terms of 4 members designated by the Governor
under this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly shall
be for 2 years. Initial terms of 3 members designated by the
Governor under this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
Assembly shall be for one year. Thereafter, members shall be
appointed for terms of 2 years. After a member's term expires,
the member shall continue to serve until a successor is
appointed. There shall be no limit to the number of terms an
appointee may serve. A member shall receive no compensation
for his or her services, but shall be reimbursed by the State
for all reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred
in the performance of his or her official duties. The Board
board shall hear all petitions for review filed under this Act
and shall conduct all hearings in accordance with the rules
and regulations established by the chairperson. The Illinois

Housing Development Authority shall provide space and clerical
and other assistance that the Board may require.
(c) (Blank).
(d) To the extent possible, any vacancies in the Housing
Appeals Board shall be filled within 90 days of the vacancy.
(e) The terms of members serving before the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly expire on
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 102-175, eff. 7-29-21.)