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Benefits of an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance well-designed ordinance can generate numerous benefits for communities seeking to increase housing affordability and develop diverse, inclusive neighborhoods. These include: More choices for lower-income households about where to live. .- Reduced opposition to affordable housing by producing affordable units within communities as they develop, not after. Support for compact infill development, reduced sprawl and achievement of local Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) targets for all income levels. Reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions by providing people at all income levels more opportunities to live closer to work and in transit -rich areas. Ensuring that the entire community benefits from a growing economy. Public and private investments help create economic growth that raises property values. Inclusionary housing helps capture some of the value created by these investments to ensure that the benefits do not accrue solely to property owners and helps buffer against displacement pressures by ensuring that lower-income residents can remain in the community. Reduced segregation and concentration of poverty. Keys to a Successful Ordinance dopting a detailed incluslonary ordinance with input from a wide range of community stakeholders is the best method for imple- menting effective and legally defensible inclusionary requirements. The ordinance's language should provide clarity and certainty for the development community, and be structured to realistically achieve its goals. It should be backed by data and research that establishes both the need for the policy and the feasibility of the requirement. The key elements of a well -crafted inclusionary ordinance include 1. State the need. Local governments have broad discretion under the police power granted by the state constitution to regulate the use of land within their borders, so long as the regulation is reasonably related to advancing the general welfare. A local inclusionary ordinance,then, should start with a statement of findings related to the need for the policy to improve the community's well-being. Most California jurisdictions have a severe shortage of housing units affordable to low- and very low-income households. The need to address that shortage provides a strong basis for inclusionary zoning, as does the need to meet the jurisdiction's share of the region's ongoing housing need at the lower-income levels (which is nearly impossible to do with subsidy alone). ISI MWja W Jurisdictions also frequently point to the need to address past patterns of racial and economic segregation in their community, ensure the preservation and development of diverse neighborhoods, meet fair -housing mandates, and make the best use of a limited supply of developable land. The ordinance should be directly tied to the findings establishing the need for the policy. For example, if the findings cite the shortage of low- and very low-income housing units in the community,then one of the policy's goals should be to ensure that those units get produced. A well -crafted ordinance will start with findings that support the policy choices reflected in the design of the ordinance. "lower-income"households refers to those making 80% or less of area median income (AMI). The term encompasses households that are "low-income" (those making 50-80% of/l/141) and "very low-income" (those making less than 50% ofAMI). G r n•`!rs' :vCti., -_ S PJI, rrI `:�C ,DR IN;__ I i0N AP`? iJed: