Because the City’s Inclusionary Housing Law has created Only 37 Affordable Units in 15 Years, the City Council is Making Changes.
At its November 17th Baltimore City Council meeting, everyone agreed that the city’s existing inclusionary housing ordinance isn’t working. Passed in 2007, the law requires developers of market-rate housing to set aside affordable units for people with lower incomes, but it has led to the creation of only 37 affordable units. Instead, developers have paid into an offset fund or sought waivers.
A bill now proposed by Councilwoman Odette Ramos and co-sponsored by a majority of the council would eliminate the loopholes allowed by the previous law, while also reducing the percentage of affordable units required. Instead of developers building 30 or more units to set aside 20% as affordable for residents earning less than the Baltimore area’s median income, developers receiving a city subsidy to build a 20+ units project would need to set aside 10% of units as affordable for low-income households (earning 60% of area median income). Developments getting an additional city subsidy would be required to add at least 5% more affordable units for residents who are very low or extremely low income. These units would have to remain affordable for 30 rather than the current 20 years. Developers would be required to submit an inclusionary housing plan to the city before receiving any project permits. That proposal, which also would require plans to market affordable units to residents who have historically been excluded from new developments, would have to be approved by the city’s Inclusionary Housing Board.
Some city housing and finance officials proposed some changes to Ramos’s proposed bill based upon recommendations from a 2021 study that analyzed the city’s real estate market and the feasibility of inclusionary housing. The study, conducted by Enterprise Community Partners, found that only the city’s strongest housing markets could support an inclusionary housing requirement. As a result, city officials have recommended applying the legislation to only “core” areas such as around the harbor and other select development-rich neighborhoods.
