Inclusionary Zoning: One Week to Go . . . A Look Back
Last October 31st, just before we could get our changes introduced to the Common Council, Jed Sanborn (along with Compton, Thomas and Skidmore, later joined by Brandon and VanRooy) introduced repeal of the City of Madison's Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. In November, the changes we (Mayor Dave, Konkel, King, Webber, Verveer, Olson, Benford, Gruber) had been working on since May 2005 were finally ready to be introduced. In December, the long awaited report on Inclusionary Zoning was done. In February, we made one change to help developers of the Pres House and reintroduced the rest of the proposed changes. In February the Mayor also started his Mayor's workgroup on Inclusionary Zoning. Meanwhile, the Housing Committee and Plan Commission continued working on various aspects of Inclusionary Zoning. Last Thursday (June 29) the Mayor's workgroup had a very sparcely attended meeting (Jed Sanborn, Golden, Palm, myself and the Mayor) and we approved the final report. (You might be wondering which alders have not yet been mentioned, those would be Bruer, Rosas, Cnare, Knox and Radomski, and while Cnare sits on the Plan Commission, the rest have hardly been heard from.)
There is much going on before the special council meeting on July 11th on Inclusionary Zoning. On Thursday, July 6th, the Plan Commission will have its final meeting and make its final proposals. On Monday, July 10th at noon, the Common Council will be having a special brown bag lunch to discuss Inclusionary Zoning and on July 11th, hopefully, we will vote on something.
Will that something be repeal? Up to this point Councilmembers have been reluctant to vote on repeal because they believed it was a political weapon to be held against supporters of Inclusionary Zoning so that we made "substantial changes". Interesting thing is, those same Councilmembers have failed to really articulate what it is that they are demanding so they won't continue pushing for repeal. The only thing that has been clear is that Councilmembers Brandon, Compton, Sanborn and Palm demanded that the off-sets (incentives) the City is providing be "100% cost-offsetting". Some stopped coming to meetings after those of us who have been working on the ordinance pointed out that as a practical matter, that was impossible. Of course, now that we've worked up a gap-analysis with the help of several in the community. . . I suspect they see the problem with demanding the off-sets be "100%". The only other thing I know they say is that there has to be "substantial changes". I have no idea if this list gets us there, but this is what we have:
1. Change the Equity Model
2. Get rid of the point system and do a "gap analysis" on every project
3. Get rid of the ability to "bump out" of the program after marketing for a period of time.
4. Allow IZ units for single family homes to be in attached housing units.
5. Allow for up to 20% of the project to be "IZ-free"
6. Allow for additional density in some neighborhoods on a case-by-case basis by allowing multi-family housing in previous commercial zones
7. Allow for a project specific off-set to be used.
8. Make the process quicker for the City to purchase the homes.
9. Change how the density bonus is measured.
10. Allow off-site units to be provided in existing housing instead of new housing.
11. Allow non-profits to be out of the program like Section 42 projects if they provide additional affordable housing.
12. Elimination of homeowner notification to the City when they make improvements or refinance.
Will this be "substantial" enough for those councilmembers, who knows?
One last outstanding question . . . where are the lobbying groups at:
Apartment Association - Came to a few meetings, but instead, they're busy appealing their lawsuit against the City.
Madison Area Builders Association - Took their Ball and went home.
REALTORS -Never really were sincere, made ridiculous demands, got their special process and at some point took their ball and went home . . . and then started running radio ads urging repeal.
Smart Growth Madison Inc. - Said they wanted to be part of the dialogue, then disappeared.
Downtown Madison Inc. - Will only show up to private meetings, but tried to be part of the dialogue.
Veridian - Were extremely helpful in technical assistance in helping us discuss the attached housing and "IZ-free" zones.
This next week promises to be interesting . . . will the council be able to get 11 votes for anything? Will the ordinance be repealed? Will the Mayor have to veto it? If we are stuck with our current ordinance, then what? No wonder they didn't want to fix the equity model . . . .
There is much going on before the special council meeting on July 11th on Inclusionary Zoning. On Thursday, July 6th, the Plan Commission will have its final meeting and make its final proposals. On Monday, July 10th at noon, the Common Council will be having a special brown bag lunch to discuss Inclusionary Zoning and on July 11th, hopefully, we will vote on something.
Will that something be repeal? Up to this point Councilmembers have been reluctant to vote on repeal because they believed it was a political weapon to be held against supporters of Inclusionary Zoning so that we made "substantial changes". Interesting thing is, those same Councilmembers have failed to really articulate what it is that they are demanding so they won't continue pushing for repeal. The only thing that has been clear is that Councilmembers Brandon, Compton, Sanborn and Palm demanded that the off-sets (incentives) the City is providing be "100% cost-offsetting". Some stopped coming to meetings after those of us who have been working on the ordinance pointed out that as a practical matter, that was impossible. Of course, now that we've worked up a gap-analysis with the help of several in the community. . . I suspect they see the problem with demanding the off-sets be "100%". The only other thing I know they say is that there has to be "substantial changes". I have no idea if this list gets us there, but this is what we have:
1. Change the Equity Model
2. Get rid of the point system and do a "gap analysis" on every project
3. Get rid of the ability to "bump out" of the program after marketing for a period of time.
4. Allow IZ units for single family homes to be in attached housing units.
5. Allow for up to 20% of the project to be "IZ-free"
6. Allow for additional density in some neighborhoods on a case-by-case basis by allowing multi-family housing in previous commercial zones
7. Allow for a project specific off-set to be used.
8. Make the process quicker for the City to purchase the homes.
9. Change how the density bonus is measured.
10. Allow off-site units to be provided in existing housing instead of new housing.
11. Allow non-profits to be out of the program like Section 42 projects if they provide additional affordable housing.
12. Elimination of homeowner notification to the City when they make improvements or refinance.
Will this be "substantial" enough for those councilmembers, who knows?
One last outstanding question . . . where are the lobbying groups at:
Apartment Association - Came to a few meetings, but instead, they're busy appealing their lawsuit against the City.
Madison Area Builders Association - Took their Ball and went home.
REALTORS -Never really were sincere, made ridiculous demands, got their special process and at some point took their ball and went home . . . and then started running radio ads urging repeal.
Smart Growth Madison Inc. - Said they wanted to be part of the dialogue, then disappeared.
Downtown Madison Inc. - Will only show up to private meetings, but tried to be part of the dialogue.
Veridian - Were extremely helpful in technical assistance in helping us discuss the attached housing and "IZ-free" zones.
This next week promises to be interesting . . . will the council be able to get 11 votes for anything? Will the ordinance be repealed? Will the Mayor have to veto it? If we are stuck with our current ordinance, then what? No wonder they didn't want to fix the equity model . . . .
posted by Brenda Konkel at 2:37 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home