Yes In My Backyard Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1919 To require certain grantees under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to submit a plan to track discriminatory land use policies, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 20, 2019 Mr. YOUNG introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To require certain grantees under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to submit a plan to track discriminatory land use policies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Yes In My Backyard 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this Act is to discourage the use of 7 discriminatory land use policies and remove barriers to 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1919.IS S1919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1919 IS making housing more affordable in order to further the 1 original intent of the Community Development Block 2 Grant program. 3 SEC. 3. LAND USE PLAN. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Housing and 5 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304) 6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(n) PLAN TO TRACK DISCRIMINATORY LAND USE 8 POLICIES.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to receipt in any fis- 10 cal year of a grant from the Secretary under sub- 11 section (b), (d)(1), or (d)(2)(B) of section 106, each 12 recipient shall have prepared and submitted, not less 13 frequently than once during the preceding 5-year pe- 14 riod, in accordance with this subsection and in such 15 standardized form as the Secretary shall, by regula- 16 tion, prescribe, with respect to each land use policy 17 described in paragraph (2) that is applicable to the 18 jurisdiction served by the recipient, a description 19 of— 20 ‘‘(A) whether the recipient has already 21 adopted the policy in the jurisdiction served by 22 the recipient; 23 ‘‘(B) the plan of the recipient to implement 24 the policy in that jurisdiction; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1919.IS S1919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1919 IS ‘‘(C) the reasons why the recipient has not 1 adopted the policy in that jurisdiction. 2 ‘‘(2) LAND USE POLICIES.—The policies de- 3 scribed in this paragraph are as follows: 4 ‘‘(A) Enacting high-density single-family 5 and multifamily zoning. 6 ‘‘(B) Expanding by-right multifamily zoned 7 areas. 8 ‘‘(C) Allowing duplexes, triplexes, or 9 fourplexes in areas zoned primarily for single- 10 family residential homes. 11 ‘‘(D) Allowing manufactured homes in 12 areas zoned primarily for single-family residen- 13 tial homes. 14 ‘‘(E) Allowing multifamily development in 15 retail, office, and light manufacturing zones. 16 ‘‘(F) Allowing single-room occupancy de- 17 velopment wherever multifamily housing is al- 18 lowed. 19 ‘‘(G) Reducing minimum lot size. 20 ‘‘(H) Reducing the number of buildings 21 protected by historic preservation. 22 ‘‘(I) Increasing the allowable floor area 23 ratio in multifamily housing areas. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1919.IS S1919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1919 IS ‘‘(J) Creating transit-oriented development 1 zones. 2 ‘‘(K) Streamlining or shortening permit- 3 ting processes and timelines, including through 4 one-stop and parallel-process permitting. 5 ‘‘(L) Eliminating or reducing off-street 6 parking requirements. 7 ‘‘(M) Reducing impact and utility invest- 8 ment fees. 9 ‘‘(N) Allowing prefabricated construction. 10 ‘‘(O) Reducing or eliminating minimum 11 unit square footage requirements. 12 ‘‘(P) Allowing the conversion of office units 13 to apartments. 14 ‘‘(Q) Allowing the subdivision of single- 15 family homes into duplexes. 16 ‘‘(R) Allowing accessory dwelling units, in- 17 cluding detached accessory dwelling units, on all 18 lots with single-family homes. 19 ‘‘(S) Legalizing short-term home rentals. 20 ‘‘(T) Legalizing home-based businesses. 21 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF SUBMISSION.—A submission 22 under this subsection shall not be binding with re- 23 spect to the use or distribution of amounts received 24 under section 106. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1919.IS S1919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1919 IS ‘‘(4) ACCEPTANCE OR NONACCEPTANCE OF 1 PLAN.—The acceptance or nonacceptance of any 2 plan submitted under this subsection in which the 3 information required under this subsection is pro- 4 vided is not an endorsement or approval of the plan, 5 policies, or methodologies, or lack thereof.’’. 6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements under 7 subsection (n) of section 104 of the Housing and Commu- 8 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304), as added 9 by subsection (a), shall— 10 (1) take effect on the date that is 1 year after 11 the date of enactment of this Act; and 12 (2) apply to recipients of a grant under sub- 13 section (b), (d)(1), or (d)(2)(B) of section 106 of the 14 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 15 (42 U.S.C. 5306) before, on, and after such date. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1919.IS S1919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS