Land Use
Tools to
Promote
Inclusion
Prepared for
NHC Solutions Conference 2013
Jaimie Ross, Esq.
Affordable Housing Director, 1000 Friends of Florida
President, Florida Housing Coalition
jross@1000fof.org; ross@flhousing.org
September 17, 2013
Government’s Role in Land Use
• To promote public health, safety, and welfare
• To be a good steward of the land for current and
future generations
• To balance private property rights with public
interests
3 Tools for Creating and Preserving
Affordable Homes
• Inclusionary zoning;
• Community land trusts;
• Accessory dwelling units
Inclusionary Zoning
An optimal tool for affirmatively furthering fair housing
Mitigate effects of traditional exclusionary zoning practices
Community Land Trusts
An optimal tool for inclusionary zoning success for homeownership or
rental. CLTs can provide stewardship and administrative oversight for
inclusionary units and land banks
Accessory Dwelling Units
An optimal tool for using existing infrastructure to create highly affordable
rental homes
Inclusionary Housing
• Land use regulation that relies upon the private sector to produce affordable
housing.
• Requires that a certain percentage of new or redeveloped housing be
affordable.
• What is Affordable?
• Inclusionary Housing policy creates housing choice for low income peoplereduces segregation.
• Housing Policy is School Policy.
• Inclusionary Housing is as much about “where” affordable housing is located
as it is about producing affordable housing.
Theory Behind Mandatory
Inclusion of Affordable Housing
• Affordable Housing is necessary for a healthy economy and
sustainable community
• Government land use authority increases the value of private land
(land value recapture)
• Affordable housing is the public benefit that is provided in
exchange for development benefits such as up-zoning or form
based zoning
• Affordable Housing is a public facility- example Town of
Davidson, North Carolina
When is Inclusionary Policy the
Right Policy?
•
When real estate market is not producing
affordable housing
•
When there is a change in land use that
increases the value of the property
•
Large Scale Developments- PUDs, DRIs,
•
New Urbanism (TND) Developments
How it Works
• A threshold number of market rate units that activates the inclusionary
requirement;
• Comparable in quality and aesthetics to the market rate units, so that even
if they are smaller or of a different type (e.g. town home rather than single
family home), they will blend into the community;
• Benefits or incentives (if not tied to zoning change);
• Affordability period. One of the most critical elements in an inclusionary
housing ordinance is the term of affordability. When an affordable
product is included in an otherwise unaffordable area, appreciation inflates at
a substantially greater rate. Once a local government has adopted and
implemented an inclusionary housing ordinance, it is imperative that a long
term period of affordability accompany the development of the unit.
• Policies for administration of the program and an opportunity for the
developer to appeal the application of the ordinance to a particular project.
Montgomery County, MD
Housing Experience
 Inclusionary Housing got its most significant start in the United States with
Montgomery County’s Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit Program.
 One of the most progressive features of Montgomery County’s policy is that
they direct the Housing Opportunities Commission (pubic housing authority) to
purchase or rent one-third of the MPDUs in order to extend housing assistance
to working families far below the 65% of Area Median Income price point.
Private, for-profit homebuilders have delivered 12,500+
“MPDUs” integrated into market rate developments of
about 90,000 units.
Inclusionary Housing Policies Should
Result In:
•
•
•
•
Location of affordable housing in areas of opportunity,
Near employment;
Transportation; and
Integrated schools
Caveat: Most real property laws are State
specific
• The 2001 Florida Legislature carved out an exception to the price and rent
control statutes for land use mechanisms used to increase the supply of
affordable housing, specifically citing “inclusionary housing ordinances”.
• Section 166.0415 Affordable housing.–Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, a municipality may adopt and maintain in effect any law, ordinance,
rule, or other measure that is adopted for the purpose of increasing the
supply of affordable housing using land use mechanisms such as inclusionary
housing ordinances.
• Section 125.01055 Affordable housing.–Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a county may adopt and maintain in effect any law,
ordinance, rule, or other measure that is adopted for the purpose of
increasing the supply of affordable housing using land use mechanisms such
as inclusionary housing ordinances.
Affordable Housing
• Is a principle of New Urbanism
• Yet, with the exception of HOPE VI redevelopments, virtually
none of the more than 55 new urbanism developments in
Florida provide affordable units
• Florida is the “poster child” for the need to require that New
Urbanism communities include long term or permanent
affordable housing
Seaside, Florida –
the Original New
Urbanism Community
.
• The “employee cottages”- would become homes for
millionaires
Bradenton Village, HOPE VI
Baldwin Park, Orlando
When there is no inclusionary requirement, we find that
new urbanism developments typically fail to include homes for
low income populations.
City Place, West Palm Beach
City Place, West Palm Beach
Best Practices
•
Keep the Developer Economically Whole
•
Density by Right
•
Do not use payment in lieu as a “back- door impact fee”- and better not
to use at all
•
Partnership effort with local government
•
Flexibility
•
Long term or perpetual affordability- dovetails with Community Land
Trusts
Why Use a Community Land Trust
for Inclusionary Housing?
•
Avoid windfall to a particular family upon resale
•
Create a permanent stock of affordable housing
•
Insulate the private sector from administration of long term
controls
How Does a CLT Work?
Tax exempt nonprofit organization (CLT) deeds the improvements (the
home) to the home buyer together with a 99 year ground lease for the
land.
Two key provisions in the long term ground lease:
• resale is limited to income eligible household;
• resale price is limited to keep the house affordable to the next
buyer (fair but not a market rate return)
Key Benefits for the Homebuyer:
•
Price of the home is now affordable
•
Staying in the community without being a renter means:
 instead of rent payments, now make mortgage
payments - return of equity upon resale
 mortgage interest payments are deductible
 financial stability-able to save without fear of rent
increases or loss of housing (e.g. condo
conversions)
Key Benefits for the Public:
•
Public Investment is retained
•
Permanent stock of affordable housing is
created
Davidson, North Carolina
• New Code requires 50% open space
• 12% affordability for all new development
• Justification- 12% of all Town’s housing was
affordable at time of code change
• Public interest- to not fall below existing affordable
housing stock
The Bungalows
Davidson, NC
Bungalows: Davidson Triplex
designed to look like
single family house
Key to the Success of
Community Land Trusts is:
• Partnership and support of the local government
• Donation of land to the CLT
• A highly functioning nonprofit with the ability to provide a
pipeline of qualified homebuyers
• A fully informed and engaged community of prospective
home buyers; homebuyer counseling
• A fully informed and engaged lending community
The Florida Community Land Trust Institute worked
on legislation to address the property tax issue by
providing statutory direction to the property appraisers
to recognize the resale formula price as a land use
restriction for purposes of tax assessment. It finally
passed in the 2009 Session- new law F.S. 193.018
Connection between Form Based
Zoning and Inclusionary Housing
• Form based zoning – codifies new urbanism
• An inclusionary housing requirement needs to be included within
the form based zone if no inclusionary housing law is already
enacted
• In jurisdictions with IZ requirements, the codification of the form
based zone should address the IZ ordinance- as the developer
benefits within the form based code may need to be reconciled with
the benefits in the IZ ordinance.
Accessory Dwelling Units
• Smart growth tool to create rental homes for
extremely low income persons;
• Uses existing infrastructure;
• Within, outside, attached, detached;
• Local considerations/restrictions;
• Affordability for homeowner and renter
Land Use Mechanisms
• No single tool is the answer for all affordable housing needs• For example, Accessory Dwelling Units provide much needed rental
for extremely low income populations; community land trusts
provide homeownership for people with higher income but not
high enough for market rate housing; inclusionary housing can meet
all affordable market segments
• Gentrification without Displacement requires long term
Affordability
• Community Land Trusts are a great vehicle for managing perpetual
affordability
• To reach very low, and extremely low income populations additional
subsidy is needed. Federal funds, state funds, local funds.
National Center for Economic Justice
727 15th Street NW
Washington , D.C. 20005
Email: housinginfo@ihibalto.org
Website: www.inhousing.org
IHI is available to help local governments and developers
design inclusionary and mixed income housing programs
Jaimie Ross, Esq.
Affordable Housing Director, 1000 Friends of Florida
President, Florida Housing Coalition
Email: jross@1000fof.org; ross@flhousing.org