1.This Act may be cited as
the Jumpstarting Transit-Oriented
Development Act
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Transit has the
potential to transform communities into vibrant economic engines that will
strengthen the economic outlook for the United States.
(2)There are more
than 3,700 transit stations in the United States, and communities are building
and proposing thousands more.
(3)Transit stations
can be the focal point for significant economic development, commonly known as
transit-oriented development.
(4)Transit-oriented
development brings numerous benefits, such as increased property values,
reduced cost of living, increased business activity, and reduced traffic
congestion.
(5)Transit-oriented
development that provides residential opportunities affordable to families of
all incomes, coupled with expanded commercial and business development along a
transit corridor, will increase transit ridership, allowing transit agencies to
recover more of their costs from the farebox and rely less on taxpayer
support.
(6)Despite these
benefits, a lack of planning capacity and financing tools at the local level
are major barriers to transit-oriented development.
(7)Given the
economic potential of transit-oriented development, it is in the interest of
the Federal Government to work in partnership with States and local communities
to promote transit-oriented development.
3.Transit-oriented
developmentChapter 53 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
5341.Transit-Oriented
Development Planning Program
(a)In this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
(1)The term eligible area means the area within
one half-mile of an existing or planned major transit facility.
(2)The term eligible recipient means—
(A)a transit agency,
a unit of local government, a metropolitan planning organization, a tribal
government, and a State; and
(B)an entity
described in subparagraph (A), in partnership with a public or private agency
or organization.
(3)The term major transit facility
means—
(A)a station that is
part of a fixed-guideway public transportation system;
(B)a high-speed rail
or intercity rail station;
(C)a transit hub;
or
(D)a transit center
located in an other than urbanized area.
(4)Planned major
transit facilityThe term planned major transit
facility means a major transit facility for which—
(A)any environmental
review required under this chapter or the rules of the Department or the
Federal Transit Administration has been completed; and
(B)funding for
construction can be reasonably anticipated.
(5)The
term Program means the program established under subsection
(b).
(6)The term transit hub means a transit station or
facility connecting 3 or more local or regional transit or rail lines.
(b)The Secretary may award grants to eligible recipients
for the purpose of establishing a specific, implementable strategy for
mixed-income, mixed-use development in an eligible area.
(c)Characteristics
of the strategyA specific, implementable strategy for
mixed-income, mixed-use development established under the Program shall—
(1)specifically
identify activities that the eligible recipient determines are necessary to
create the conditions that will lead to successful transit-oriented development
in the eligible area, which may include—
(A)reducing
regulatory or procedural barriers to private investment in eligible
areas;
(B)conducting a
market assessment of opportunities for commercial, residential, and business
development;
(C)identifying
infrastructure needs in the eligible area, such as sidewalks and street
improvements;
(D)making community
engagement efforts; and
(E)any other
activity that the eligible recipient determines is consistent with this
paragraph;
(2)establish a
schedule for implementation of the activities identified under paragraph
(1);
(3)identify the
person responsible for each activity identified under paragraph (1);
(4)include a
financing plan for proposed infrastructure improvements and development
activities, including any project costs for which funding has not been
identified; and
(5)establish a
schedule for adoption of the strategy by relevant State, regional, local, or
tribal governments.
(d)In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall consider factors
such as—
(1)the extent to
which the creation of a strategy under subsection (c) would help
achieve—
(A)increased real
estate development that is accessible by pedestrians from a transit station in
the eligible area;
(B)increased transit
ridership within the eligible area;
(C)an appropriate
mix of uses for the eligible area, determined with reference to local and
regional growth and development plans;
(D)preservation of
affordable housing and the ongoing availability of housing in the eligible area
that is affordable to families with a range of incomes;
(E)increased access
to jobs and employment centers using transit; and
(F)transit, housing,
businesses, and facilities in the eligible area that are accessible to elderly
individuals, individuals with disabilities, and people of all income
ranges;
(2)the extent to
which development of a strategy under subsection (c) would be coordinated with
all relevant members of the community in which the eligible area is located,
including public-sector, real-estate, retail, housing, commercial and economic
development, non-profit, and community-based organizations or
businesses;
(3)how a strategy
under subsection (c) would be coordinated with relevant regional and local
economic development, land use, transportation, and housing plans;
(4)the location of
the eligible area, to ensure that eligible recipients selected to participate
in the Program are geographically diverse and include areas having populations
of various sizes;
(5)the capacity of
the eligible recipient and any partners of the eligible recipient to implement
a strategy under subsection (c) to maximize the likelihood of the successful
implementation of a strategy established under the Program; and
(6)the extent to
which funds awarded under the Program would be coordinated with other Federal
funding available to the applicant, as well as non-Federal revenues, to
maximize efficient use of Federal funding.
(e)Limitation on
use of fundsA recipient of funding under the Program may not use
the funding to implement a strategy established under the Program.
(f)The Secretary may reserve not more than 20 percent of the
amount of a grant under the Program until a strategy established under the
Program is adopted by all relevant State, regional, local, and tribal
governments in accordance with the schedule established under subsection
(c)(5).
(g)
(1)
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Federal share
of the cost of establishing a strategy under subsection (c) to be funded using
a grant under the Program shall be not less than 50 percent and not more than
80 percent.
(B)The Federal share of the cost of establishing a
strategy under subsection (c) to be funded using a grant under the Program to
an eligible recipient that is a tribal government shall be 100 percent.
(2)In
determining the Federal share of the cost of establishing a strategy under
subsection (c) to be funded using a grant under the Program, the Secretary
shall consider the demonstrated need of the applicant for assistance and
available resources for establishing the strategy.
(3)In-kind contributions may be used for all or part
of the non-Federal share of the cost of establishing a strategy under
subsection (c).
(h)
(1)Reports by
recipients of grantsEach recipient of a grant under the Program
shall agree to establish, in coordination with the Secretary, performance
measures, reporting requirements, and any other requirements that the Secretary
determines are necessary, that must be met at the end of each year in which the
recipient receives funds under the Program.
(2)The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report
that contains—
(A)a list of—
(i)each recipient of
a grant under this section;
(ii)the Federal
share of the cost of each strategy established using a grant under this
section;
(iii)a description
of the eligible area and the activities a grant under this section would
support; and
(iv)any eligible
recipient that applied for but did not receive a grant under this section;
and
(B)a report
describing the outcome and effectiveness of each grant made under this
section.
(i)Authorization
of appropriations
(1)There
are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out
the Program.
(2)Of
amounts authorized for the program under paragraph (1), 10 percent shall be
available to the Secretary for administration of the program and to provide
technical assistance and training for employees of eligible recipients
regarding developing a strategy under subsection (c) and implementation of
transit-oriented development.
5342.Transit-Oriented
Development Loan Program
(a)In
this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)The term eligible applicant means an
eligible recipient, as defined in section 5341.
(2)The term eligible area has the same meaning as
in section 5341.
(3)The term eligible borrower means—
(A)an eligible
recipient;
(B)a corporation,
partnership, joint venture, or trust on behalf of which an eligible applicant
submits an application under subsection (c); and
(C)any other legal
entity undertaking a project on behalf of which an eligible applicant submits
an application under subsection (c).
(4)The
term project means an infrastructure development project that is
used to support transit-oriented development in an eligible area,
including—
(A)property
enhancement, including conducting environmental remediation, park development,
and open space acquisition;
(B)improvement of
mobility and parking, including rehabilitating, or providing for additional,
streets, transit stations, structured parking, walkways, and bikeways;
(C)utility
development, including rehabilitating existing, or providing for new drinking
water, wastewater, electric, and gas utilities; and
(D)any other
activities eligible under joint development guidelines, as that term is defined
by the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.
(5)Transit-oriented
developmentThe term transit-oriented development
has the same meaning as in section 5341.
(b)Loans and loan
guaranteesThe Secretary may make or guarantee loans under this
section to eligible borrowers to carry out projects.
(c)An
eligible applicant may submit to the Secretary an application for a loan or
loan guarantee under this section—
(1)to fund a project
carried out by the eligible applicant; or
(2)on behalf of an
eligible borrower, to fund a project carried out by the eligible
borrower.
(d)
(1)The Secretary may make a loan or loan guarantee under
this section for a project—
(A)to be carried out
within an eligible area;
(B)that is part of a
community-wide development plan;
(C)that promotes
sustainable development designed to include features that reduce energy
consumption and that are environmentally responsible; and
(D)for which not
less than 15 percent of any housing units constructed or substantially
rehabilitated as part of a transit-oriented development supported by the
project are affordable over the long term to, and occupied at time of initial
occupancy by—
(i)renters having
incomes at or below 60 percent of the median income for the metropolitan
statistical area in which the area is located; or
(ii)homeowners
having incomes at or below 100 percent of the median income for the
metropolitan statistical area in which the area is located.
(2)The
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall select the
recipients of loans and loan guarantees under this section based on the extent
to which—
(A)the
transit-oriented development supported by the project would—
(i)encourage
increased use of transit in the eligible area; and
(ii)create or
preserve long-term affordable housing units—
(I)in addition to
the housing units required to be made available under paragraph (1)(C);
or
(II)that are
affordable to individuals having incomes below the incomes described in
paragraph (1)(C);
(B)the project would
facilitate and encourage additional development or redevelopment in the
eligible area;
(C)the relevant
local government has adopted policies that—
(i)promote long-term
affordable housing; and
(ii)allow
high-density, mixed-use development near transit stations;
(D)the
transit-oriented development supported by the project is part of a regional or
local comprehensive plan, including any strategy developed under section
5341;
(E)the eligible
borrower has established a reliable, dedicated revenue source to repay the
loan;
(F)the project could
not be carried out without a loan or loan guarantee under this section;
and
(G)a loan or loan
guarantee under this section would be used in conjunction with non-Federal
sources to fund the project.
(e)Eligible
sources of repaymentA loan made or guaranteed under this section
shall be repayable, in whole or in part, from dedicated revenue sources, which
may include—
(1)user fees;
(2)property tax
revenues;
(3)sales tax
revenues;
(4)other revenue
sources dedicated to the project by property owners and businesses; or
(5)a bond or other
indebtedness backed by a revenue source described in this subsection.
(f)The Secretary shall establish an interest rate for loans
made or guaranteed under this section with reference to a benchmark interest
rate (yield) on marketable Treasury securities with a maturity that is similar
to the loans made or guaranteed under this section.
(g)The maturity of a loan made or guaranteed under this
section may not exceed the lesser of—
(1)35 years;
or
(2)90 percent of the
useful life of any project to be financed by the loan, as determined by the
Secretary.
(h)Maximum loan
guarantee rate
(1)The guarantee rate on a loan guaranteed under this
section may not exceed 75 percent of the amount of the loan.
(2)Lower guarantee
rate for low-risk borrowersThe Secretary shall establish for
loans to eligible borrowers that the Secretary determines have less risk of
default a guarantee rate that is lower than the guarantee rate for loans to
other eligible borrowers.
(i)The
Secretary shall establish fees for loans made or guaranteed under this section
at a level that are sufficient to cover all or part of the costs to the Federal
Government of making or guaranteeing a loan under this section.
(j)A
loan made or guaranteed under this section may not be subordinated to the
claims of any holder of an obligation relating to the project in the event of
bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation.
(k)Commencement of
repaymentThe scheduled repayment of principal or interest on a
loan made or guaranteed under this section shall commence not later than 5
years after the date of substantial completion of the project, as determined by
the Secretary.
(l)Repayment
deferral for loans
(1)
(A)If, at any time after the date of substantial
completion of a project, the Secretary determines that dedicated revenue
sources of an eligible borrower are insufficient to make the scheduled loan
repayments of principal and interest on a loan made by the Secretary under this
section, the Secretary may, subject to criteria established by the Secretary,
allow the eligible borrower to add unpaid principal and interest to the
outstanding balance of the loan.
(B)Loan guaranteed
by SecretaryIf, at any time after the date of substantial
completion of a project, the Secretary determines that dedicated revenue
sources of an eligible borrower are insufficient to make the scheduled loan
repayments of principal and interest on a loan guaranteed by the Secretary
under this section, the Secretary may, subject to criteria established by the
Secretary—
(i)add unpaid
principal and interest to the outstanding balance of the loan; and
(ii)modify the terms
of the loan guarantee to reflect a modification made under subsection
(i).
(2)Treatment of
deferred paymentsAny payment deferred under this section
shall—
(A)continue to
accrue interest until fully repaid; and
(B)be scheduled to
be amortized over the remaining term of the loan.
(m)
(1)Reports by
recipients of grantsEach recipient of a loan or loan guarantee
under this section shall provide regular status reports to the
Secretary.
(2)The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report
that contains—
(A)a list of—
(i)each eligible
borrower that receives a loan made or guaranteed under this section;
(ii)a description of
the eligible area and the activities a loan or loan guarantee under this
section would support; and
(iii)any eligible
applicant that applied for but did not receive a loan or loan guarantee under
this section; and
(B)a report
describing the outcome and effectiveness of each loan made or guaranteed under
this section.
(n)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated for the
cost of loans and loan guarantees under this section $40,000,000 for each
fiscal
year.
.
4.Evaluation
process and program criteriaThe Secretary shall, after providing notice
and an opportunity to comment, publish policy guidance regarding the evaluation
process and criteria for the programs established under sections 5341 and 5342
of title 49, United States Code, as added by this Act.