NPH has long supported inclusionary housing policies as an important tool for local jurisdictions to create affordable homes for working class families. Since the Palmer case, NPH and partners have been supporting Bay Area localities to continue to implement and adopt inclusionary policies on a voluntary basis for rental developments. Inclusionary policies are effective at creating housing choices in communities where no tradition of affordable housing development exists and where housing is produced without direct government funding. Most importantly, new inclusionary policies hold the potential for major regional impact.
In 2003, NPH launched a 3-year Inclusionary Housing Initiative that resulted in eleven Bay Area jurisdictions passing new or strengthened inclusionary housing policies. In addition to the advocacy efforts of the campaign, NPH collaborated with partners to produce two publications:
Affordable By Choice: Trends in California Inclusionary Housing Programs (2007) examined inclusionary policies across the state of California and looked at effectiveness, the type of homes produced, who lived in these homes, and the overall impact on the city or county.
On Common Ground: Joint Principles on Inclusionary Housing Policies (2005) is the joint policy brief issued by NPH and the Home Builders Association of Northern California with recommendations for jurisdictions interested in adopting an inclusionary policy. View Report>>
You can also download Inclusionary Housing in California: 30 Years of Innovation (2003), the original report from NPH and California Coalition for Rural Housing that inspired this work.
In this new period of austerity, with diminishing resources at the federal and state level for affordable housing, NPH is more committed than ever to support our members in advocating for the adoption of inclusionary policies in their communities. Although court decision Palmer/Sixth Street Properties L.P. v. City of Los Angeles has created confusion over the legality of this tool, the Public Interest Law Project has produced a paper for communities and advocates to address this issue and help them in formulating inclusionary policies that conform to the law. Download Inclusionary Zoning After Palmer & Patterson – Alive & Well In California here.