D.C. Inclusionary Zoning Tweaks Would Serve Lower Income Households

Aimee Custis reports: "On January 28, the DC Zoning Commission will look at tweaking inclusionary zoning, one of the main policy tools the District uses to generate new affordable housing units."

Custis notes that the Washington, D.C.'s existing inclusionary zoning program, adopted in 2006 and finalized in 2009, requires 8-10 percent of condos and apartments built in D.C. are affordable to people making less than 50-80 percent of the area median income (AMI). The problem in need of a solution in 2016, notes Custis, is that prices are too high for inclusionary zoning to build enough housing supply to meet all the below-market demand.

Here, Custis explains how inclusionary zoning is playing out in D.C.: "Today, 8 out of 10 DC inclusionary zoning units are produced at 80% AMI. Compared to successful programs in other cities, thats's [sic] too high. An Urban Institute report noted that other with similar programs set affordability levels for rental housing between 55 and 70% AMI."

In response, the Washington, D.C. Office of Planning has proposed a number of changes to the District's inclusionary zoning policy, including changes to the required percentage of affordable units, density bonuses, and qualifying AMI.