2017 ended without a wrap on at least one City Hall controversy: inclusionary zoning.
As discussed on Tuesday's NewsWorks Tonight broadcast,
inclusionary zoning is a policy tool used by an increasing number of
cities to spur private developers to build more affordable housing.
Under
the latest version of the proposed Philly legislation, developers
building more than nine units of housing in corners of the city zoned
for high-density development — Center City, University City and along
major arterial corridors like Broad Street — would be required to set
aside at least 10 percent of the project as affordable, or pay into the
city’s Housing Trust Fund.
To
opponents in the building and development industry, the bill is a recipe
for disaster. They say it will slow down the pace of new construction,
driving up rents further while failing to address the fundamental issue
of how to create housing that the city’s poorest residents can afford.
To the bill's sponsor Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez and
other advocates, it is a solution to creeping displacement of
working-class residents from gentrifying parts of the city — and a way
to maintain income diversity in increasingly affluent parts of the city.
But
what most everyone agrees on is the unlikelihood that the bill will
pass into law on January 25th, when the council reconvenes for the new
session.
Go to whyy.org for the other rumored outcomes.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal
No comments:
Post a Comment