Rhode Islanders may have voted in favor of a $50 million dollar affordable housing bond in the Nov. 7 election, but city officials continue to seek inclusionary zoning to offset the cost of housing in Providence.
Inclusionary zoning requires developers to produce a certain number or percentage of affordable units when seeking approval for a development proposal from a municipality. In exchange for contributing to the affordable housing stock, developers receive compensation in the form of expedited permitting, relaxed parking requirements and density bonuses, which permit more units than allowed for by current zoning on a particular site.
In 2005, the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed the "Low and Moderate Income Housing Act," which stipulates that every city and town make at least 10 percent of housing affordable by 2025. In April, Mayor David Cicilline '83 unveiled a five-year housing plan for the city that focused on increasing affordable housing.
Solving the problem of affordable housingAccording to some, an inclusionary zoning ordinance would answer the affordable housing crisis.
An ordinance of this type passed Sept. 12 in South Kingston requires that 20 percent of all new subdivisions of six or more lots be affordable to people of low and moderate income.
Under that proposal, all affordable housing created through inclusionary zoning would have to remain affordable for at least 99 years. The regulations apply to houses, condominiums, senior housing complexes and other large-scale projects.
Opponents of the ordinance claim inclusionary zoning would actually diminish the city's housing market.
According to Stephen O'Rourke, executive director of the Providence Housing Authority, Providence is currently a "pretty hot (construction) market." O'Rourke, whose group works to "develop and maintain decent housing options," warned against an inclusionary zoning ordinance in Providence.
"Inclusionary zoning may drive developers elsewhere," O'Rourke said. "There is always somewhere else they can build."
The risk of a decrease in development is a common argument raised in every city that considers inclusionary zoning, according to Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal, but it has "rarely panned out."
Cicilline's creation of a working group to review the potential ordinance ultimately sparked negative feedback from inclusionary zoning supporters such as Segal and Ward 9 City Councilman Miguel Luna.
"We have been pushing for inclusionary zoning legislation for more than three years. The Mayor's office has not prioritized inclusionary zoning, despite substantial evidence that it would create new affordable housing in the city of Providence," Segal and Luna said in an Oct. 6 joint press release.
But according to Ari Matusiak '99, executive director of the affordable housing coalition HousingWorks RI, Cicilline has been a strong advocate for affordable housing.
"The mayor was a large supporter of the Vote Yes On 9 campaign and has committed his staff resources to determining how to further address the housing needs in the Capital City," Matusiak said.
Inclusionary zoning and ProvidenceThe potential inclusionary zoning ordinance would include both on-site and off-site housing options. The on-site option provides for affordable housing that is incorporated into higher-priced living, while off-site provides affordable housing in a different location.
In general, housing that costs more than 30 percent of its occupants' income is considered unaffordable. 40 percent of housing in Providence currently falls in that category, according to statistics by the Vote Yes On 9 campaign, which supported the passage of Question 9, the affordable housing bond.
"Providence is already above the state's 10 percent threshold, but we want to do (inclusionary zoning) because there's still an affordability problem and tremendous socio-economic segregation in Providence," Segal said.
During the week before Thanksgiving, members of the Students Hunger and Homelessness Action Coalition held "Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week."
Fiona Heckscher '09, president of SHHAC, is a strong supporter of on-site inclusionary zoning legislation. For her, off-site housing is "not even a possibility."
Heckscher said the lack of affordable housing in Providence is a huge problem for which an inclusionary zoning ordinance is only one potential solution. Even if 15 percent of new construction downtown were reserved for affordable housing, it "would be huge," Heckscher said.
