Build More Housing Near Transit Act

Section 5309 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following: (6) Pro-housing policy The term pro-housing policy — (A) means any adopted State or local policy that will remove regulatory barriers to the construction or preservation of housing units, including affordable housing units; and (B) shall include any adopted State or local policy that— (i) reduces or eliminates parking minimums; (ii) establishes a by-right approval process for housing under which land use development approval is limited to determining that the development meets objective zoning and design standards that— (I) involve no subjective judgment by a public official; (II) are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available to both the land use developer and the public official prior to submission; and (III) include only such standards as are published and adopted by ordinance or resolution by a jurisdiction before submission of a development application; (iii) reduces or eliminates minimum lot sizes; (iv) eliminates or raises residential property height limits or increases the number of dwelling units permitted to be constructed under a by-right approval process; or (v) carries out other policies as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.; (2) in subsection (g)(2), by adding at the end the following: (D) Eligibility for adjustment of rating for project justification criteria for pro-housing policies; considerations In evaluating and rating a project as a whole for project justification under subparagraph (A), the Secretary— (i) may increase 1 point on the 5-point scale (high, medium-high, medium, medium-low, or low) the rating of a project if the applicant submits documented evidence of pro-housing policies for areas accessible to transit facilities along the project route; and (ii) should consider whether the pro-housing policies documented by the applicant will result, through new production and preservation, in an amount of housing units, including housing units affordable below the area median income, that is appropriate to expected housing demand in the project area. (E) Consultation In developing the evaluation process that could lead to the increased rating described in subparagraph (D)(i), the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.; (3) in subsection (h)(6), by adding at the end the following: (C) Eligibility for adjustment of rating for project justification criteria for pro-housing policies; considerations In evaluating and rating the benefits of a project under subparagraph (A), the Secretary— (i) may increase the rating of a project if the applicant submits documented evidence of pro-housing policies for areas accessible to transit facilities along the project route; and (ii) should consider whether the pro-housing policies documented by the applicant will result, through new production and preservation, in an amount of housing units, including housing units affordable below the area median income, that is appropriate to expected housing demand in the project area. (D) Consultation In developing the evaluation process that could lead to the increased rating described in subparagraph (C)(i), the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.; and (4) in subsection (o)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking and at the end; (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting; and; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (D) information concerning projects for which the applicant submitted pro-housing policies under subsection (g)(2)(D) or subsection (h)(6) and received an adjustment of rating for project justification..