Getting Inclusionary Housing Right

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Cities across Santa Clara County are considering this powerful tool to build more new affordable homes without subsidy.

But done wrong it can fall short, or even stop the development of new homes in its tracks. Learn how it works, and how to get it right!

Many of our local cities are joining forces right now in a shared nexus study, the wonky and in-depth analysis that assesses the feasibility of local residential development and the potential for developers of market-rate housing to add a share of affordable homes to their buildings.

If cities require too few affordable homes or affordability that’s too shallow, they leave public benefits on the table. Too much, and developers can’t build any housing at all.

Come hear about local cities that are getting it right: successfully using inclusionary housing policies to achieve mixed-income communities, generate funding to subsidize deeper levels of affordability, and gain valuable land for affordable homes!

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July 5, 2018

Palo Alto Community Talks Housing

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One June 28th, the City of Palo Alto hosted a community conversation to give residents the opportunity to provide input on Palo Alto’s Housing Work Plan, Housing Element, and comprehensive plan housing policies. Topics included housing density and development standards, the City’s project review process, parking requirements, and mixed-use development. With the theme of increasing the affordable housing supply, City leaders are exploring and implementing a number of new policies, including the recently approved Affordable Housing Combining District, “a new zoning designation that will loosen development standards for affordable-housing projects, granting them greater density, higher heights and less stringent parking regulations.”

A stakeholder group of organizations well versed in housing issues has been assembled to provide feedback to City staff.  SV@Home is pleased to be included. Among the issues raised by the stakeholder group to date are constraints like density and parking. Several members noted the that the current zoning as written does not support the City’s stated housing goals.

After gathering community input, hosting stakeholder meetings, and conducting staff analysis, the staff is expected to come forward with a zoning ordinance that increases opportunities for housing development throughout the City. The Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) will hold a study session on August 29th where it will discuss a framework for the ordinance prior to making its final recommendations.  The Council is expected to consider the final PTC recommendation in November.