Brenda's previous Inclusionary Zoning Posts

I've been blogging since last November and have written several posts on Inclusionary Zoning. I thought I'd post them all here, for ease of reference.

May 2006
Fixing IZ - Piecemeal
No Response from Smart Growth Madison
Fixing IZ by Just Saying "No"
(Still Not) Finding IZ

April 2006
Downtown Land of Luxury
MABA takes ball and goes home

March 2006
Inclusionary Alternative Proposal
David Rusk's Lessons on IZ
David Rusk's Missing Lesson
Realtors Act in Bad Faith
Gutting the IZ ordinance
IZ Twists and Spins - Equity Model
IZ - Just Twisted

February 2006
Smart Growth Madison changes their mind
Concerns with Mayor's IZ workgroup

January 2006
Promoting Fear of IZ - Repsonse to Paul Soglin
Real Estate Data - Why Judy Compton's Data is wrong
IZ report is in
Realtors need a special process

December 2005
IZ Equity Model
Incentives
Myths 1 - 5
Myths 6 - 10

The search for IZ begins...
Those who support repealing Madison's Inclusionary Zoning law claim that no one wants to purchase the affordable homes created through this program. After an initial marketing period, during which time a developer is required to make a good faith effort to sell the IZ units, the homes are bumped out of the program and may be sold at market rate. One of the flaws in the original IZ ordinance is that the marketing period often begins and ends long before the IZ homes are actually built.

We decided to see for ourselves why the IZ homes are not selling. The search really began last November with an IZ treasure hunt online. Today, we continued the quest by taking a drive to the sites of many of the IZ homes that reportedly won't sell as part of the program. Finding these homes was harder than we expected and not just because we forgot to take a map. Most of the lots that were supposed to be occupied by IZ houses contained little more than dirt and rocks and construction equipment. It's no wonder that no one has moved into these homes yet. Read on to see for yourself.

Hawk's Meadow...

The lovely homes pictured on the left are located in Hawks Meadow, a Tim McKenzie development on Midtown Road on Madison's west side. It took us quite a while to find the development because we were looking for something more than a sign. After all, these homes have been on the market for more than 8 months, so we thought there might be something more than an empty field here. Actually, we expected to find five 3-bedroom IZ homes located here selling for $193,209, an amount considered affordable for those making 80% of the area median income. We searched high and low throughout the empty field, but all we found was dirt and the sign. There were no IZ homes (or any other homes, for that matter) to be found.

McKenzie supposedly began marketing the units on August 10, 2005. The marketing period ended on April 7, 2006, meaning that these IZ homes have been lost from the program and will be sold at market rate. Of course, a prospective buyer could not see a home, as the homes do not yet exist. Not only did the marketing period begin before construction had even begun, but it ended before construction started, as well.

To include the 5 IZ homes, McKenzie received incentives from the city in the form of a density bonus that allowed the site to contain additional units above and beyond what would otherwise have been approved in the space allotted. Of course, these IZ homes will not be sold at the affordable rate promised, but McKenzie will still reap the benefits of additional profits from the extra units allowed by the density bonus. Perhaps the IZ homes would have been a bit more likely to sell if even one was available for potential buyers to see. After all, who wants to buy a 3-bedroom plot of dirt in a field in the middle of nowhere?

Blackhawk Lofts




It's spring 2006 and these units don't quite look like they are available . . . despite what the sign says . . .

These units by Urban Solutions located at 9320 Old Sauk Rd were marketed last summer starting on July 6, 2005 and then bumped out of the inclusionary zoning program on March 2, 2006. All of the units were 2 bedroom units. The 3 units at 80% were available at $154,4052 and the ones at 70% were available at $136,232.

Hilldale Row

While some IZ units have been built at Hilldale . . .

Others have not . . .


But all of them have been marketed . . . and bumped out of the Inclusionary Zoning program. Despite the fact that in one weekend, 200 people showed up to inquire about inclusionary zoning units after there was an article in the Wisconsin State Journal . . . only one of the not-so-available units have been sold.

Perhaps it is because the Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development got paid regardless of if the units sold or not.

Perhaps it is because when someone showed interest, they were referred to the City's website and told to read the ordinances . . . and then, if they asked more questions, they were referred to Atty. Ron Tractenberg, a vocal critic of the ordinance.

Well, anyways, we lost some of our most affordable inclusionary zoning units. The units were marketed starting on June 15, 2005 and ended Feb 6 2006. The 3 - 1 bedrooms were available at $110,729 and the 3 - 2 bedrooms were available at $128,814. I take it since the information about these units have disappeared from the Wisconsin Partnership website, the units will not be sold to income eligible families at the IZ price.

Cardinal Glen...
Cardinal Glen, a Veridian Development on the southwest side was not too hard to find, even without a map, as the classic Veridian green signs let us know where it was and that a model was open for our viewing pleasure. We did not have the addresses or lot numbers of the IZ homes in this particular development, so we decided to stop into the office and ask. The realtor told us only two of the units were currently available but neither has been built yet. She pointed out thelocation of the two future homes and said one would be done in August and the other in September.

One of the IZ homes will occupy the lot directly across the street from the office. Currently, the lot (pictured on the left, complete with its one bathroom) contains only a Port-A-Potty. At least potential buyers can rest assured that the unit has a bathroom. The other future IZ home will sit on a lot that is now completely vacant. Despite the fact that other homes in the development have been completed or are in various stages of development, there were no IZ homes to be found in Cardinal Glen.

According to the information provided to the city by Veridian, six 4-bedroom units in Cardinal Glen are currently being marketed for $178,368 to $201,988 for families making 70% to 80% of the area median income. However, we could not find a single one of these houses unless Veridian is now selling a 4 bedroom and 1 bath Port-A-Potty at these prices.

In exchange for building the IZ homes, Veridian received a waiver of $49,680 in park fees. That's a substantial amount of savings to the developer and lost revenue for the city. Veridian claims to have begun marketing the still non-existent IZ homes on February 24, 2006. The marketing period ends on October 22, 2006, and if the units are not sold before then, the city will have kept up its end of the bargain but will not reap the benefits of the promised affordable housing.

The realtor told us that two of the IZ homes would be complete in August and September. Will the other 4 units even be built by October? Or will the homes bump out of the IZ program without ever having truly come available? And is less than 2 months after completion of the first two IZ homes a reasonable time period to market and sell the units before bumping their prices up to market rate?

Southern Ridge...

We were looking for 5 IZ homes when we arrived at Southern Ridge, a Gorman and Company/Wasserberg development located off Midtown Road. We easily found the sign marking the development but finding the IZ homes was not so easy. We expected to see two 3-bedroom and three 4-bedroom IZ homes. We had the addresses and lot numbers, so locating the houses should be easy, but that wasn't the case. We found the lots, but there were no IZ homes to be found.

We drove around the area to five different addresses on three different streets. We even drove up into a construction site along the way (thank goodness for 4-wheel drive) which turned out to be for a different development (we were hopeful that some construction was occurring on the homes), but all we could find were vacant lots with real estate signs stuck in each one.

Marketing on these IZ homes, affordable to those making 80% of the area median income, began in July, 2005. The units were bumped from IZ as of March 25. Nearly two months later, construction has not even begun.

Ironically, the incentive the developer required to build these homes was expedited review of the development. Expedited review for what? Obviously, the developer isn't expediting the construction of the houses.

Pine Hill Farms

These beautiful mud inspired units are provided by Holley Development and located just off of Valley View Rd. These units were marketed since October 14, 2005 and they bump out of the inclusionary zoning program in about a month on June 21, 2006.

These units are all available at 80% AMI. The 3 - three bedrooms are available at $184, 687. The 3 - four bedrooms are available at $208, 385. If you are interested in one of these beautiful homes, you better act quick as they disappear on June 21, 2006. Oh wait, how can they disappear if they don't exist?


This development contains one of our favorite pictures. It's one of the more peculiar IZ units we found.