Boston and Mayor Walsh have announced that they will be updating the Inclusionary Development Policy this summer. We are running a campaign to help influence the mayor’s housing plan and make changes to the current Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP).
IDP Post Card content:
“The Inclusionary Development Policy is an important tool for the production and preservation of affordable housing. As you begin to update this policy, I ask that you please consider the pressing need for units that are truly affordable. Neighborhoods are seeing major displacement of
long-time community residents and families, causing many to fall into homelessness. Almost half of Boston’s households make less than $50,000 a
year; many residents are rent-burdened, and most can’t afford to buy homes. Thus, I support the following improvements to strengthen this policy.”
- Require developers to make one-third (33%) of
new units affordable. - Redefine affordability income levels so that
units are truly affordable for residents with the
greatest need. Rental units should be 30-70%
AMI at an average of 40% AMI, and ownership
units should be 50-100% AMI. - Make IDP units permanently affordable.
- Extend IDP to projects with fewer
Background Information: What are we fighting for and why is it so important?
Boston housing prices have increased greatly over the years and Boston is now facing what we call a “housing crisis.” Currently 35,000 renters have housing costs exceeding 50% of their household income. 92% of these rent-burdened households are very low-income (<50% AMI). Our proposed changes would help direct a larger share of IDP resources to these households with worst case housing needs. (Source: Boston draft Consolidated Plan 2013-2018)
Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) – directs housing developers to set aside a certain percentage of their new units as affordable. In some cases, instead of building the units on site, the developer has the option to build the units off-site or pay into a fund for affordable housing.
We are asking the Mayor and his top advisors to make several changes to the IDP that will aid the struggling Boston residents and their needs. Some of the changes include, increasing the percentage of units set-aside as affordable per development, requesting that the units include a range of affordability levels, and to increase the buy-out fee, for developers opting into this option, to reflect the true cost of developing an affordable unit.
Unfortunately, even with the current IDP, little money has come back to some of the most impacted neighborhoods and we are requesting that a meaningful portion of the funds generated by the IDP be earmarked for the neighborhoods where the development is occurring which will allow more affordable housing to be built in these neighborhoods.
The Mayor’s housing team is completing its housing plan right now and suggesting these changes at this time is crucial. We are looking to amend the IDP to help create more affordable housing, save and preserve current affordable units and create a better living environment for all of Boston residents. Your signatures will help to send a message to our Boston city officials!
Please sign our online IDP Post Card to support our action!