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.