Naperville may use incentives to encourage developers to add affordable units into their housing plans.
The topic of inclusionary housing was discussed at a recent workshop meeting and the general feeling from council members, as summarized by City Manager Doug Krieger, was that offering inducements would be the easiest way to persuade home builders to include affordable housing in their projects.
“(Council members) don’t want it to be punitive, and we don’t want to do something kind of just for show,” he said. “We don’t want to put an ordinance in place that is really not going to move the needle.”
Last year the Naperville Housing Advisory Commission, now known as the Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission, recommended the council adopt an inclusionary zoning ordinance, or IZO. Under such a rule, developers of new residential developments would be required to include a minimum number of units affordable to people making below the average median income for the area.
Council members seem to prefer a system in which the developer is given benefits ? higher densities, reduced parking spaces or an expedited approval process ? in exchange for a percentage of units being affordable, Krieger said.
Naperville has been cited by the Illinois Housing Development Authority for its lack of housing units that fall into the category of being affordable to families earning below the region’s median income.
The city has been working with Chicago-based development adviser SB Friedman on a plan that would address the gap and create enough affordable housing to meet state and federal guidelines. Ideas on how to achieve that goal were presented a last week’s workshop meeting.
Mayor Steve Chirico, speaking at the meeting, said he needs to be convinced that whatever the city does will be productive.
“I don’t want to do anything if it’s not going to be successful, whether it be an IZO, or incentives, or a carrot or stick. It doesn’t matter. I mean if it’s not successful, then what’s the point?” Chirico said.
Council members Patty Gustin and Paul Hinterlong were opposed to setting mandates for developers.
“I don’t think that an IZO is the way to go on this,” Gustin said. “I think that providing developers with a definition of what affordable is for our community, and then the dais has the right and the obligation to some degree, to say, ‘Hey, this development looks like it could be a development that could absorb some affordable housing.'”
Hinterlong said the route the city has been taking seems to be working, citing the recent addition of 80 affordable units at the CityGate West development.
More Top Picks Ring Spotlight Cam Plus Battery
Nobody likes mandates, he said. “We don’t like mandates coming from Springfield because they’re always unfunded mostly, and here we’re looking at mandating too,” Hinterlong said.
Council member Patrick Kelly said the city needs a framework in place so everyone knows what the city wants to achieve.
While the city did have success with CityGate West, that is not a sustainable way to move affordable housing forward, he said.
The developers he’s spoken with, Kelly said, value consistency and the certainty of knowing what the rules of the game. They need to know the city will play fair with everyone, he said.
Krieger said that while some may bristle over the IZO nomenclature, even voluntary programs are considered an inclusionary zoning ordinance.
An incentive program and an inclusionary zoning ordinance are “kind of one of the same,” said Allison Laff, deputy director of the city’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department.
What the city most often sees are developers asking for additional density, she said.
“What you might do is set up an ordinance or a section in your zoning code that says you can have additional density if you set aside 10% as affordable as defined by Naperville,” Laff said.
“It may not be titled inclusionary zoning, but it has the same effect. I think where it’s codified is a set of standards that you’re working off of,” she said.
Council member Ian Holzhauer said he’d like to see consensus on a compromise proposal that shows the community the council is listening to what they and developers have to say and that also moves the ball forward.
After working with SB Friedman, staff will bring back a report to council with a more detail based on the input from council, Krieger said.