Officials discuss affordable housing

The Chapel Hill Town Council is taking baby steps in what likely is to be a big change.

Council members passed a resolution Monday that will establish a task force to look at inclusionary zoning — an ordinance that would require all developers to set aside 15 percent of their development for affordable housing.

In addition, council members are considering several other affordable housing initiatives, including an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan that would add a payment-in-lieu plan as an option to meet affordable housing goals.

“It’s a new approach,” council member Mark Kleinschmidt said Tuesday. “I think it’s probably going to be the best approach we’ve ever had.”

Kleinschmidt said he hoped changes to the current affordable housing policy would help to preserve diversity in community housing.

Council member Cam Hill echoed that sentiment Tuesday, and said an inclusionary zoning ordinance would also help to let developers know what they are getting into.

The ordinance would cement what now is only a recommendation to developers.

“We’re not getting good projects because people are scared of this component,” Hill said.

Council member Sally Greene told other members Monday that they needed to think about what steps they should to take to begin the process.

The task force being considered by the council would be comprised of between 15 and 18 members who have experience in areas such as residential land and affordable housing development.

The resolution also calls for UNC housing staff, neighborhood representatives and people in need of workforce housing, among others, to sit on the task force.

Appointments are slated to be made at the council’s first business meeting in September.

A formal charge will not be made for the task force until that date, but the group will likely be asked to look at inclusionary zoning ordinances in other communities and make a recommendation on enacting such an ordinance in the town.

While the affordable housing resolutions passed Monday with little discussion, possible controversy could arise from a change.

“I don’t see it going unchallenged,” Kleinschmidt said.

Nick Tennyson, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Durham and Orange counties, said that while he saw flaws in the current policy, he did not think an inclusionary zoning ordinance would be the answer.

“Inclusionary zoning raises the floor for investment decisions,” he said.

“It increases the amount of money that a developer needs to plan to spend on a project because some portion of the cost of inclusionary zoning units has to come from the cash flow in the project that would not otherwise have to.”

But Kleinschmidt said other members of the local development community have expressed interest in helping the council explore this change.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.