This article was originally written on March 12, 2023.
The first draft of the Form-Based Code now specifies the amount of inclusionary zoning in the Gateway Plan of either 3% of the total number of apartments built be for lower-income renters or 5% be for moderate-income renters. The City estimates ~500 apartments will be built over the next 20 years. This calculates to either 15 lower-income apartments or 25 moderate-income apartments. This is an unacceptably low number for true inclusionary housing.
What is Inclusionary Zoning?
Inclusionary Zoning is a planning policy that requires a specific share of new housing development be affordable to low-income or moderate-income households. Ideally the affordable housing is mixed in with all the other “market rate” homes in lots of apartment buildings, and not put in its own building. (An example of a 100% affordable housing apartment building in Arcata is the recently-built “Sorrel Place” on 7th Street between I and J Streets.)
It is generally felt that it is better for the community as a whole to have affordable housing not be isolated, and to have people of a variety of income levels living together within a building. Renters should not be seen as being lower-income just because they walk out the door of a lower-income housing project. The goals of the community are better served by putting people with a variety of incomes all in one building, under one roof.
What has the Planning Commission requested be in the Gateway Plan?
The Planning Commission has requested that inclusionary affordable housing be a part of the Gateway Plan. It should be done on a “within each building” basis, and not on a separate building basis.
What form of Inclusionary Zoning is currently in the Plan ?
In a practical sense, there is no inclusionary zoning built into the Gateway Plan. Developers are given a density bonus if they choose to supply affordable housing. It is not a requirement. And the way the Community Amenity program is set up (May 2023) for a building that is four stories or under, a developer is required to add only a very small amount community benefits — and this small amount is easily achieved by the developer in simple and low-cost ways.
In the October, 2022, Draft Gateway Plan, on page 61 is Item GA-3k. It is:
Incentivize Affordable Housing as a Community Amenity. Through the Gateway Area community benefit program, allow increased development intensity and simplified development processes for projects that provide deed‐restricted affordable units residential densities above established inclusionary zoning minimums.
All this says is that affordable housing will be “incentivized” by allowing increased density. There is already a large degree of density already built into the Plan. If a developer does not need any further density, then it is unlikely that there will be affordable housing.
Update: On June 5, 2023, the first draft of the Form-Based Code came out. This specifies inclusionary zoning that amounts to either 3% for lower-income renters or 5% for moderate-income renters.
The City’s website FAQ on the Gateway Plan says “The Gateway Area Plan may realistically result in an additional 500 new residential units (and less than 1,000 new Arcata residents) over the next 20 years.” David Loya told us at the CC/PC Joint Study Session on August 23, 2022: “And so that translates into about, again, roughly 500 units in the next 20 years in the Gateway Area is kind of what we’re anticipating.”
Doing the math: 500 units built over a 20-year period amounts to inclusionary zoning of either 15 lower-income units or 25 moderate-income units. On an average basis, about one per year — not very much at all.
Rebecca Buckley-Stein spoke to the City Council
Rebecca Buckley-Stein spoke to the City Council on March 1, 2023, during the public comment period about community engagement of the Gateway Plan. It is located at about 2 hours 14 minutes on the video of that meeting, shown below. To listen to the video, scroll down or click here.
Hi. Thank you so much for taking my comment. My name again is Rebecca Buckley-Stein and I’m the managing attorney for the Eureka office of Legal Services of Northern California.
I’m commenting tonight to encourage the City Council to direct staff to include housing affordability requirements in the Gateway Plan.
The current draft does not include any provision that would require the development of affordable housing. It does mention planning for various income levels, but does not include any affordability *requirements* in the new development.
Inclusion of affordability requirements is consistent with the City’s obligation to affirmatively further fair housing.
It will aid in ensuring that Gateway housing is available to a diverse population.
The plan does seem to mention affordability by design — because the units will be small they will somehow be inherently affordable. But that is not a generally effective method for purposes of ensuring affordable units for diverse community members.
And that doesn’t work for two reasons. One because small studio apartments are generally only appropriate for one or two individuals, not families or more than two people. And also there’s no guarantee or requirement that small units will be rented at an affordable price.
Provisions reserving a percentage of units for extremely low, very low, low, and moderate income individuals should be included in the plan. Affordability requirements are especially important for very low income and low income people because, without them, these families are likely to be completely excluded.
There are many ways in which the City can ensure Gateway includes affordable housing, and it can do so through mandatory or optional affordability requirements specific to Gateway, or through city-wide inclusionary zoning ordinances — or it can do both.
Inclusion of affordability requirements is consistent with the City’s obligation to affirmatively further fair housing because it will aid in ensuring that Gateway housing is available to a diverse population. Additionally, Arcata’s 6th cycle Housing Element says that the City will consider implementing inclusionary zoning ordinances.
Inclusionary zoning is when low or moderate income units are mandated in new housing developments, usually based on a percentage of units. Inclusionary zoning ordinances also prescribe the required level of affordability from very low income to moderate.
I comment on this item to encourage City Council to direct staff to include mandatory affordability requirements in the Gateway Plan. And in light of the massive development that the City is planning, the continued housing shortage, and being consistent with the City’s own housing element — Now is the time for the City to consider implementing inclusionary zoning city-wide.
Further reading:
Home for All program, San Mateo County. Inclusionary Zoning
Between 2010 and 2019, 102,500 new jobs were created in San Mateo County, while only 9,494 new housing units were built, a 11:1 ratio.
Wikipedia article on Inclusionary Zoning
CityLab University: Inclusionary Zoning
Inclusionary Housing Explained. 2 minute video