Bellingham Explores Inclusionary Zoning Options

Earlier this month, the  Bellingham City Council directed Staff to review options for implementing an inclusionary zoning law.   Inclusionary zoning ordinances mandate that developers make a portion of their project affordable to low to moderate income households.  Inclusionary zoning programs often include density bonuses in an attempt to offset project costs and compensate for reduced profits.  Whether these density bonuses truly are adequate offsets is up to debate.

One reason that inclusionary zoning is  controversial is that, as a practical matter, it taxes developers to pay for what is in fact a community wide problem.  The question thus arises as to whether it is fair to make individual developers pay for an affordable housing problem that affects the city as whole.

A study undertaken by HUD, indicates that inclusionary zoning ordinances in California resulted in an increase in single family home prices and an increase in the number of multifamily unit developments.   Although  inclusionary zoning in Bellingham may not have exactly the same results, this study should be considered in determining whether inclusionary zoning is a suitable option here.

Other options do exist to create more affordable housing including incentive zoning and creation of a housing trust fund.  Incentive zoning is a voluntary approach whereby a municipality waives certain requirements for developers or provides density bonuses in exchange for the developer providing affordable housing.   Bellingham has already implemented this approach in certain neighborhoods, including Old Town.

The City Council is scheduled to revisit this matter in February and will need to decide whether to use a carrot vs. stick approach (incentive vs. inclusionary zoning) in regard to providing new affordable housing.  Alternatively, the City could create a housing  trust fund and/or promote existing infill techniques, such as attached and unattached dwelling units, carriage houses, etc. to create a  more diverse and affordable housing stock.

The Council will also need to decide what type of affordable housing is needed in Bellingham, is it lower-priced single family homes? or affordable rental housing for those who cannot or do not desire to own a home? more multi-family housing? or some combination of these?  Stay tuned for further updates on this important issue.