Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)

Citation: Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)
Jurisdiction: Arlington (municipal)
Source: Official source
Original Source: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/57214/637641171662530000 ↗

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Inclusionary Zoning
Inclusionary zoning refers to a policy requiring that a percentage of new development be affordable to low-
income households. Arlington’s inclusionary zoning law requires that 15% of units in new residential developments
of six or more units be affordable to low-income households earning either 60% or 70% of Area Median Income
(AMI) for rental units and ownership units respectively, and that these units be deed-restricted as affordable in
perpetuity. The affordable units must be built on-site as an integrated part of the development; while payment-
in-lieu contributions are permitted under exceptional cases, this option has never been approved. The Bylaw
partially offsets the cost of the affordable housing provision through reduced parking requirements. Between the
Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw’s adoption in 2001 and 2020, 59 affordable housing units were created.
Assessment: By requiring affordability at 60% AMI, Arlington’s Inclusionary Bylaw enables deeper affordability
than the more common 80% AMI requirement. This is laudable and provides affordability for an income tier that
is often missing in many towns. However, the number of affordable housing units produced by the Bylaw in the
nearly 20 years since its adoption is low, due to the limited amount of multifamily development in Arlington. The

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Arlington Fair Housing Action Plan