Inclusionary Zoning's Hard Math
Good intentions meet a pro forma.
Inclusionary zoning requires a share of new units to be affordable. The politics are intuitive; the economics are unforgiving, and getting the ratio wrong stops production entirely.
The Feasibility Cliff
Set the affordability requirement too high and developers simply do not build — you get fewer affordable units, not more. The policy lives or dies on a feasibility analysis most ordinances skip.
The jurisdictions that get it right calibrate to local rents and pair the mandate with density bonuses that pay for it.
Co-founder of Hearth Residential, a vertically integrated multifamily operator with 6,000 units across the Mountain West.
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