[Massplanners] Inclusionary Zoning

[Darlene Wynne]

Hi Martha,
Beverly adopted an Inclusionary Ordinance in 2007 (written with the help of
Judi Barrett) and made some amendments in 2016. You can find the language
here: https://ecode360.com/29285153. While the Ordinance anticipated a
housing trust, we did not establish the Beverly Affordable Housing Trust
until 2017 when we first started to bring in money from the fee in lieu
payment. Though Beverly has a Housing Authority, there is no connection
between that organization and the Inclusionary Ordinance. I think our
Ordinance has generally worked well and created approximately 75 affordable
units.

The 2016 amendments both lowered the threshold for inclusionary housing
from 10 units to 6 units and provided more options to reach greater
affordability. For example, a developer could choose from 12% of units at
80% AMI, 8% of units at 60% AMI or a combination, where previously the only
option was 12% at 80%, because strictly 80% AMI was not reaching the
affordability we needed. We have found that most developments since the
change are opting for the 60% AMI or combination. We will be taking another
look at how we can create/require even greater affordability / more units.

There has been some recent resistance in our community to the fee in lieu
option (despite that generating $1m we have since invested in other
affordable housing projects) and the "credit unit" option whereby a
developer can take credit for units offsite or on another site. The Fee in
Lieu has not been used since we changed the calculations in 2017 (increased
cost per unit).

Thanks to Katrina for noting our efforts on our Trust.


Darlene Wynne, AICP

*City of Beverly*

*Director of Planning & Community Development*

*978-605-2341*

*dwynne at beverlyma.gov <dwynne at beverlyma.gov>*



*--*


*When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State
has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be
kept confidential. *



On Wed, Jan 12, 2022 at 9:50 AM Martha Taylor via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> Good Morning,
>
> We are considering developing an Inclusionary Zoning By-Law for Newbury
> and I am wondering if any of you have one in place that you think works
> well that you would be willing to share.  Also, have any of your
> communities adopted an Inclusionary Zoning By-Law or Ordinance without
> having a Housing Authority and Affordable Housing Trust?  We have neither.
>
> Any input on provisions of your by-law that you think work particularly
> well, or, on the flip side, any pitfalls or provisions that you think have
> turned out to be problematic, would also be very much appreciated.
>
> Thanks very much!
>
> Martha
>
>
> *Martha L. Taylor, AIA*
> Newbury Planning Director
> 12 Kent Way, Suite 101
> Byfield, MA  01922
> T  978-465-0862, ext. 312
>
>
> --
> MassPlanners mailing list
> MassPlanners at masscptc.org
> http://masscptc.org/mailman/listinfo/massplanners_masscptc.org
>
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