Inclusionary Upzoning:
Tying Growth to Affordability
July 31, 2014
Robert Hickey
National Housing Conference and
Center for Housing Policy
Presenter
Robert Hickey
Senior Research Associate
Center for Housing Policy and
National Housing Conference
Email: rhickey@nhc.org
Twitter: @housingRobert
Thank You to Our Sponsors
New Report:
Inclusionary Upzoning: Tying Growth to
Affordability
To download:
http://www.nhc.org/publications/index.html
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Context
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Rents have been rising faster than incomes
Concerns about displacement
Persistent exclusionary development patterns
Imbalanced communities; jobs/housing disconnect
Market isn’t fixing these problems on its own
• Cities and close-in urban suburbs growing
• Upzoning to meet the demand
Inclusionary Housing
• Local land use planning and zoning tools that
require or incentivize the inclusion of lowerpriced, income-targeted housing in marketrate development
• Can include policies that operate outside of
the zoning code (for example in general land
use plans, neighborhood/area plans,
executive orders)
Land Use Tool for…
• Supporting balanced communities
• Creating opportunities for affordable
workforce housing near jobs;
• Fostering and sustaining inclusive
communities
• Ensuring that limited remaining land can
accommodate a diversity of housing needs
• Addressing pressing affordability challenges
Scale of Inclusionary Housing
Number of Policies
Source: Hickey, Sturtevant and Thaden (2014).
Achieving Lasting Affordability through Inclusionary Housing.
Inclusionary Housing Expanding
• Over 500 policies to date
• 27 states and Washington, DC
• More than 3/4s of programs in NJ, CA, and
MA, but surprising numbers in other
coastal states and regions (especially
CO,NY, RI, & NC)
• No major drop off in programs during the
housing downturn
Limitations on Availability
• Legal impediments in some states
• Market barriers
• Political challenges
Is Upzoning an Opportunity?
• Could tying these zoning changes to
affordability be a helpful way to engage
private developers where political, legal, or
market barriers have historically impeded
inclusionary housing strategies?
Types of Inclusionary Upzoning
1. Incentive: Applies in Upzoned Areas
2. Incentive: Applies Wherever a Developer
Seeks Zoning Changes/Relief
3. Mandatory In Upzoned Neighborhoods
1. Incentive: Applies in Upzoned
Areas
Arlington County
• Form-based code
overlay
• Requirement tied to
scale of redevelopment
• Too early to see impact
(3 proposals submitted)
Fairfax County
• Tysons Corner Plan
• Development proposals for
nearly all available
development space
• 1,000 units under construction
• If built out: 2,500 affordable
units; $64.5 million in
commercial contributions
New York City
• Designated Areas Program
• Generally high rate of
uptake for density incentive
• Property tax exemption
• 2,888 affordable units
• Not inclusive of all
development in city
• Shifting to mandatory
Santa Monica
• Land Use and Circulation
Element (LUCE)
• By-right heights of 32-36
feet with “Tier 2” and “Tier
3” height bonuses
• Conditional use permit
and development
agreements
2. Incentive-Based: Applies
Wherever a Developer Seeks
Zoning Changes
Boston
• IDP applies to developerinitiated requests for
zoning relief
• Also when developers opt
to utilize new terms of a
comprehensive rezoning
• 1,076 affordable units
• $36.3 million in fees inlieu
3. Mandatory In Upzoned
Neighborhoods
Redmond
• Population of 56,000
• Incorporated on
neighborhood-byneighborhood basis
• 7 areas of city
• 308 affordable units
Context Affects Impact
Especially well suited to communities that
have:
• Hot housing markets (or soon to be hot)
• Low base zoning restrictions
• Residents supportive of greater
development intensity
Policy Design Affects Impact
• Broad vs. narrow geographic applicability
• Commercial as well as residential
development types
• For voluntary policies, specific-area plans
and zoning overlays allow for tailored
incentives and affordability expectations
Follow-up Research
• What share of the millions of new housing
units needed between now and 2050 will
necessitate rezoning? What share of new
commercial development?
• Which of the large cities nationwide that
are experiencing sizeable housing demand
have not yet made major changes to
increase permissible heights or densities
through their zoning code?
Follow-up Research (cont.)
• G
ƒ iven the importance of location in
inclusionary housing policies, will
inclusionary upzoning adequately distribute
affordable housing throughout a
jurisdiction, especially in areas with high
performing schools, access to jobs, and
healthy living environments?
“By 2050, the population is projected to reach about 400 million—a
28 percent increase. As a nation, we will have to build more than 30
million new housing units to accommodate this growth, and
millions more to replace older housing units that are abandoned or
torn down. We have to choose whether to build these new units in
the same fragmented, segregated patterns as in past decades, or
whether we will begin to move towards a society in which there is
less socioeconomic differentiation between communities. The
decisions we make or fail to make about metropolitan development
will go a long way to determining whether all citizens will have
access to quality housing, safe neighborhoods, economic
opportunity, and quality education for their children.”
—PAUL JARGOWSKY
Professor of Public Policy, Rutgers University, 2013
Questions and Comments