Inclusionary Zoning For The Metropolitan Area

Transcription

1 Inclusionary Zoning For The Metropolitan Area Jack Cann Senior Staff Attorney Housing Preservation Project CURA Housing Forum April 18, 2008

2 Defining Inclusionary Zoning INCLUSIONARY ZONING: Zoning policies which make provisions for inclusion of affordable housing in proposed developments. Nationally, these policies fall on a spectrum from voluntary to mandatory inclusion of affordable housing: Voluntary Policies: Cities provide incentives in the form of density bonuses, regulatory flexibility, financial assistance. Developers who accept incentives agree to affordability provisions. Middle Ground Policies: Discretionary decision inclusionary zoning: mandatory affordable housing requirement tied to discretionary land use/funding decisions (e.g., Boston) Regulatory benefit inclusionary zoning: mandatory affordable housing requirement tied to discretionary land use/funding decisions AND city commitment to sufficient regulatory flexibility. Mandatory Policies: City policies provide that building permits for all projects over a certain size must include affordable housing; incentives may or may not be included.

3 Metro Area Affordable Housing Need

4 Metro Affordable Housing (Non-)Performance

5 The Importance Of Density

6 $800,000 homes at 6.5 units/acre Lowry Hill, Minneapolis

7 Economic Effect Of Regulatory Flexibility

8 Effect if start with 40 th percentile home

9 Metropolitan Land Planning Act Minnesota Statutes COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CONTENT Subd. 2. Land use plan. (c) A land use plan shall also include a housing element containing standards, plans and programs for providing adequate housing opportunities to meet existing and projected local and regional housing needs, including but not limited to the use of official controls and land use planning to promote the availability of land for the development of low and moderate income housing. Subd. 4. Implementation program. An implementation program shall describe public programs, fiscal devices and other specific actions to be undertaken in stated sequence to implement the comprehensive plan An implementation program shall contain at least the following parts: (3) a housing implementation program, including official controls to implement the housing element of the land use plan, which will provide sufficient existing and new housing to meet the local unit's share of the metropolitan area need for low and moderate income housing.

10 Four Essential Comprehensive Plan Elements Guide sufficient developable land to higher density uses so that a reasonable portion (say, 20%-25%) of units produced could be available to meet the City s Affordable Housing Goals. Commit to sufficient additional density bonuses, regulatory flexibility, or financing assistance to permit economically feasible development of the City s Affordable Housing Goals. *** Require a commitment of affordable housing whenever there is a request for discretionary land use approvals within the guided areas. *** Commit to facilitate development of a portion of the City s Housing Goals affordable at incomes well below 60% of Median Area Income (AMI). ***These are the two key elements of the proposed regulatory flexibility inclusionary zoning.

11 Basic Elements of an Inclusionary Policy 1. Areas affected eg. Those designated as high density to permit affordable housing 2. What triggers policy? A. Request for rezoning, subdivision permit, CUP; B. for a project of units. 3. Affordability requirement: % of the Units Affordable at % median for years.

12 Model Comprehensive Plan Language Within the following areas:,, 1 the City will grant requests for rezoning, conditional use permits, or subdivision permits to applicants proposing developments of 2 or more units only to applicants who propose to include % 3 of the units available at rents or sales prices affordable to households with incomes at or below % 4 of Metropolitan Area Median Income. The applicant shall propose strategies to assure that the affordable units are sold or rented to households whose incomes at the time of sale or rental are at or below the incomes indicated above and that the units remain affordable and are sold, resold, or rented only to income eligible households for at 5 years. The City will grant a density bonus of at least % 6 and shall propose regulatory concessions which, are consistent with sound planning principles 7 and which in the judgment of City staff will be sufficient, when combined with reduced profits on the affordable units, to make the proposed affordable units economically feasible. These may include: Fast track approvals, flexibility in zoning code requirements, SAC/WAC reductions, waiver of city fees. The City will grant the request when a binding agreement has been reached on city concessions and applicant provisions for inclusion of affordable units.

13 Important Elements of an Inclusionary Policy Areas in which it will be applied; should include areas guided for higher density/affordable housing development. IZ policies generally set a minimum project size threshold ranging from... IZ policies generally range from 10%- 20%; this should reflect the city s affordable housing goal. Metropolitan Council goals are set at 60% of area median income; it is very difficult to reach below 50% without additional subsidy. Except for land trusts, the maximum permitted by Minnesota statutes is 20 years. For some reason, the standard seems to be 20% for a density bonus; but there are attractive and expensive townhouse developments at 18 units an acre while high densities in suburban land use plans are often set at 10 units and acre. There needs to be some language leading to reasonable consideration both to the city s positions re: sound planning and design and the applicant s economic concerns.

14 State Law Issues Subd. 11. Affordable housing. For the purposes of this subdivision, a "development application" means subdivision, planned unit development, site plan, or other similar type action. If a municipality, in approving a development application that provides all or a portion of the units for persons and families of low and moderate income, so proposes, the applicant may request that provisions authorized by clauses (1) to (4) will apply to housing for persons of low and moderate income, subject to agreement between the municipality and the applicant: (1) establishing sales prices or rents for housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households; (2) establishing maximum income limits for initial and subsequent purchasers or renters of the affordable units; (3) establishing means, including, but not limited to, equity sharing, or similar activities, to maintain the long-term affordability of the affordable units; and (4) establishing a land trust agreement to maintain the long-term affordability of the affordable units. Clauses (1) to (3) shall not apply for more than 20 years from the date of initial occupancy except where public financing or subsidy requires longer terms. NOTHING IN THE ABOVE PURPORTS TO CONTRADICT WELL ESTABLISHED PRINCIPAL: that cities have wide discretion to deny requests for rezoning, variances, subdivision approvals, and special use permits and to condition approval upon compliance by the applicant with the city s comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances. Freundshuh v. City of Blaine, 385 N.W.2d 6, 9-11 (Minn. App. 1986)(rezoning); Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. v. City of Afton, 323 N.W.2d 757, 763 (Minn. 1982)(special use permit); VanLandschoot v. City of Mendota Heights, 336 N.W.2d 503, , fns 6, 7 (Minn. 1983)(subdivision, variances).

15 Contact Information: Jack Cann Senior Staff Attorney Tim Thompson President, Senior Staff Attorney Housing Preservation Project 570 Asbury Street, Suite 105 Saint Paul, MN Phone Fax