Applicant selection process for ownership units

A. Wait List Procedure. 1. The developer, its partner, or its management company shall establish wait lists of interested applicants by development. 2. Prior to initiating the wait list, the developer, its partner, or its management company shall publish in at least five issues of a newspaper of general circulation within the County, a public notice that shall contain all information that is relevant to the establishment of the wait list. The public shall also be informed in a like manner, of any decision that would substantially affect the maintenance and use of the wait list. 3. Selection for purchase shall be made by a lottery administered by the developer, its partner, or its management company and overseen by the department subject to the applicant meeting the eligibility criteria established in subsection (B). B. Eligibility criteria. To be eligible for a residential workforce housing unit and be placed on the wait list for a unit, an applicant must meet the following criteria, as verified by the developer or its representative unless otherwise stated: 1. Be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident alien who is a resident of the County. 2. Be 18 years of age or older. 3. Have a gross annual family income (not to include the income of minors) that does not exceed 140 percent of the County's area median income as established by HUD, or as adjusted by the department, for Hāna, Lāna‘i, and Molokai. Initial determination for compliance with the maximum gross annual family income provision must be made by the developer or its representative for the initial sale of residential workforce housing units based on the information in the ownership application. The ownership application will be completed when a specific unit is being considered. Final determination for compliance with the maximum gross annual family income provision will be made by the prospective lender at the time the applicant's income verification data is received. 4. Have assets that do not exceed 140 percent of the County's area median income as established by HUD, or as adjusted by the department, for Hāna, Lāna‘i, and Molokai. Assets include all cash, securities, stocks, bonds, and real property, with the understanding that assets being used for the down payment or closing costs are not included in the asset calculation. Real property is valued at fair market value less liabilities on the property. The director may waive the asset limitation in this paragraph. The director must submit an annual report to the council of the waivers granted under this paragraph and the reasons for granting the waivers. 5. For three years before the submittal of the ownership application, have not had an interest of 50 percent or more in real property in fee or leasehold in the United States, where the unit or land is suitable for dwelling purposes, unless the applicant is selling an affordable unit and purchasing a different affordable unit that is more appropriate for the applicant's family size or the director approves a waiver of this requirement. 6. Pre-qualify for a loan with the applicant's choice of lender. C. Notification of change. Each applicant shall be responsible for notifying the developer, its partner, or its management company in writing of any changes in mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and/or e-mail address. If an applicant fails to properly notify the developer, its partner, or its management company of such changes and the developer, its partner, or its management company is unable to contact the applicant, the developer, its partner, or its management company shall remove the applicant's name from the wait list. D. Selection priority. 1. Residents on the wait list will receive first priority for the available units. Nonresidents on the wait list may purchase a residential workforce housing unit once the wait list has been exhausted of all residents. 2. The developer or its representative may do a mass mailing of housing applications to applicants on the project wait list. 3. The residential workforce housing units must be offered to residents in the order in which their names were drawn in the lottery, provided that there is a unit available in the income group for which they qualify. To the extent permitted by law, the resident applicants selected by lottery must be ranked by the total length of time each has been a resident of the County, and the workforce housing units must be offered in the order of the rankings. Once the wait list has been exhausted of all residents, nonresidents will be offered residential workforce housing units in the order in which their names were drawn in the lottery. 4. If units are not sold within the first 90 days after they are offered for sale, and the developer has made a good-faith effort, as determined by the director, to contact and qualify applicants on the wait list, the sale of remaining units must be conducted as follows: a. For the next 90-day period, units must be offered for sale to the next higher income preference group at the original sales price. For example, units targeted for families earning up to 120 percent of the median income may be sold to families earning up to 140 percent of the median income. All other eligibility criteria apply. b. Units must be offered to the next higher income group every 90 days until the units are sold or there are no more income groups available. c. Units must then be offered for sale to the County for 90 days. d. If the County does not provide written notification to the developer of its intent to purchase all units offered to the County within 90 days, the remaining units must then be offered to nonresidents on the wait list in the order in which their names were drawn in the lottery, for the next 90-day period, if the applicant's income is within the residential workforce housing income groups. e. Any units that remain unsold may be offered at market rate without deed restrictions. Upon the sale of the unit, the County must receive 50 percent of the difference between the original sales price of the unit and the actual market rate sales price, for deposit into the affordable housing fund. In this event, the developer will have satisfied the requirement for producing a residential workforce housing unit. 5. The developer shall submit copies of the following information to the department to verify the sale of residential workforce housing units to eligible buyers: a. Applicant's completed ownership application. b. Executed sales contract. c. Pre-qualification notice from lender. d. All signed federal and state tax returns used to determine eligibility, or any other documents used to determine eligibility by the lender. e. Escrow company's settlement statement. ( Ord. No. 5875 , § 6, 2025; Ord. No. 4782, §§ 2, 3, 2017 ; Ord. No. 4177, § 10, 2014; Ord. 3418 § 1 (part), 2006)