(A)

(1) The Ohio housing finance agency shall not approve funding for any multifamily rental housing to be constructed with agency assistance or pursuant to any program the agency operates or administers unless the applicant provides notice of the proposed project as this section requires.

(2) Any notice shall be in writing and delivered by certified mail. The notice shall include the proposed project's address, the number of units in the project, a description of the project, a statement of whether the project is new construction, rehabilitation, or other, a summary of the programs that the project will utilize, and the address of the agency and the person to whom to direct comments. The notice shall inform recipients of their right to submit, within thirty days of the mailing date of the notice, comments to the agency regarding the proposed project's impact on the community and that objection to the project must be submitted in writing and signed by a majority of the voting members of the legislative body.

(3) An applicant requesting funds for a project of more than ten units shall provide the notice to all of the following:

(a) The chief executive officer and the clerk of the legislative body of any municipal corporation in which the project is proposed to be constructed or that is within one-half mile of the project's boundaries;

(b) The clerk of any township in which the project is proposed to be constructed or that is within one-half mile of the project's boundaries;

(c) The clerk of the board of county commissioners of any county in which the project is proposed to be constructed or that is within one-half mile of the project's boundaries.

(4) An applicant requesting funds for a project with ten or fewer units shall provide the notice to the chief elected official of the jurisdiction in which the project is proposed to be constructed, except that if more than one individual serves as the chief elected official, the applicant shall deliver the notice to the clerk of the legislative body of that jurisdiction.

(5) To object to a proposed project, a recipient of a notice shall do both of the following:

(a) Submit a written objection that is signed by a majority of the voting members of the legislative body in which the project is proposed to be constructed or that is within one-half mile of the project's boundaries;

(b) Send a copy of the written objection to the executive director of the agency by certified mail, return receipt requested, so that the agency receives the objection within forty-five days after the applicant mailed the notice to the recipient.

(6) The agency shall provide a written response to any objections that it receives pursuant to division (A)(5) of this section.

(7) The agency shall hold a public hearing to receive comments of residents of any political subdivision in which the multifamily rental housing is proposed to be constructed with the assistance of the agency's multifamily bond program. The applicant shall provide notice of the hearing to all persons listed in divisions (A)(3) and (4) of this section and ten days in advance of the hearing shall publish a notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the project is proposed to be constructed. The agency shall hold the public hearing in the county in which the project is proposed to be constructed.

(B) For purposes of this section, "constructed" means the creation of multifamily rental housing units through new construction or the conversion of an existing nonresidential building into multifamily rental housing units.

Effective Date: 07-01-2005.