HB 5372 Summary

• Defines "visitable housing" as one-to-four family residential construction with three features: interior doorways with 32-inch minimum unobstructed openings, an accessible means of egress, and a full or half bathroom on the first floor compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Eliminates the requirement to obtain a variation or exemption from the State Building Code when constructing visitable features in residential homes.

• Directs the Department of Economic and Community Development to establish a program encouraging visitable housing development, including providing a single point of contact for assistance, identifying financial incentives, and conducting public education.

• Requires the Department of Economic and Community Development to create an informational web page with links to visitable housing resources on its website.

• Authorizes municipalities to adopt ordinances providing property tax abatements to developers who construct visitable housing, effective for assessment years beginning October 1, 2010.