DC is in the depths of a major affordable housing crisis!

 

In order to assist thousands of families and residents who need housing right now, we can and must redefine the term “Affordability” across all applicable DC Regulations, including — DC’s Zoning Regulations, DC’s Housing Production Trust Fund Regulations, DHCD’s IZ Implementation Regulations, as well as DC Code.

See DC’s Zoning Code dedicated to Inclusionary Zoning.

THE FOLLOWING ARE POLICY CHANGES THAT WILL HELP THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN DC RIGHT NOW!

RESET “AFFORDBILITY” LEVELS

• 0% to 30% AMI =  [AFFORDABLE LOW INCOME HOUSING]
• 30% to 50% AMI = [AFFORDABLE MODERATE INCOME HOUSING]
• 50% to 80% AMI = [WORKFORCE HOUSING]
• 80% plus = [MARKET RATE or LUXURY HOUSING]

INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRODUCTION

• Require at least 25% of all the new Residential Gross Floor Area in any new development (or substantial renovation) in projects with three (3) or more units be set aside as an affordable social benefit.
• Require at least 10% of all the new Residential Gross Floor Area in any new development (or substantial renovation) in projects with three (3) or more units be set aside as workforce housing with 3 or more bedrooms.

COMMERCIAL SPACE AFFORDABILITY

• Require At least 30% of all the new Commercial / Retail GFA be considered an affordable benefit for small businesses / startups / incubator space controlled and specifically rooted in the local community.

REDEFINE AFFORDABLE HOUSING (Affordable to Whom):

• Affordability means that no more than 30% of your annual income is spent on housing costs (rent/mortgage plus needed utilities and other housing amenities or condo fees).

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I) We Must Guarantee a Spectrum of Affordability in All New and Renovated Buildings

If “affordability” in DC absolutely cannot be based on the DC’s State Median Income metric, and we must use the inflated Area Medium Income (AMI) metric, then the definitions of income levels and affordability should simply be revised as follows.

Strike the current definitions of income levels across all applicable regulations and amend all regulations as following:

IZ AMENDMENT (AFFORDABILTY: TABLE 1)

• 0% to 30% AMI =  [LOW INCOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING]
• 30% to 50% AMI = [MODERATE INCOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING]
• 50% to 80% AMI = [WORKFORCE INCOME HOUSING]
• 80% plus = [MARKET RATE or LUXURY HOUSING] *

* Currently, the Area Medium Income (AMI) is derived by taking the median incomes of DC & VA (Fairfax County), and MD (Montgomery County).  If we want to get to an AMI closely representing that of DC only, then we must reduce the 100% AMI by at least 20 points.

Redefining the terms “affordability” levels as labelled above ensures that housing is built with a genuine mix of incomes and diversity, purposely planned as part of each new construction or renovation project in every neighborhood around the City.

Developers will have to simply calculate into their costs the citizens rightful expectation that we build an inclusive City that emphasizes the importance of economic and social diversity in DC neighborhoods per the DC Comprehensive Plan.

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II) We Must Increase “Affordable” Housing Production for Families
(a) Increase Production of “Affordable” Units
(b) Build “Affordability” Across a Spectrum of Incomes
(c) Build “Affordable” Units to be Inclusive of Families

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(II)(a) Increase Production of Affordable Units

In the midst of an affordable housing crisis, DC’s “inclusionary housing” production is rather poor, with only 8% to 10% of the gross floor area of residential space required to be “affordable” in new buildings, depending on the construction type (stick vs. steel frame).

SEE DCMR 11-2603 — IZ Set Aside Requirements

Also, right now all affordable housing requirements are waived for projects located in “Downtown” DC. See 11-DCMR-2602.3.

To increase production of affordable units, we must revise the rules that regulate “affordability” production.

IZ AMENDMENT

For any new construction project, or substantial renovation of a property with three (3) or less housing units, then the following rule applies:

At least one “affordable” unit consisting of at least two bedrooms, shall be constructed and made available to residents, or families with incomes set at 30% AMI or below (aka “Low Income” housing as defined above).

IZ AMENDMENT (AFFORDABILTY: TABLE 2)

For any new construction project, or substantial renovation of a property that results in the creation of three (3) or more housing units, then the following rules apply:

• At least __30___ % of the residential gross floor area (R-GFA) shall be considered “affordable” in order for the developer to receive an added development bonus density at the rates currently offered in the regulations; Or, developers can choose to dedicate a minimum of __25__% of the residential gross floor (R-GFA) area as “affordable,” but then may not receive any development bonus density.
  
• And, at least 30% of commercial gross floor area (C-GFA) shall be considered “affordable” and reserved for local small business operators who make, or expect to make less than $250,000 in gross annual sales receipts.
• All of the affordability production requirements slated above shall be applied equally to all zoning districts across the entire City, including Downtown DC;
• And, all the R-GFA dedicated to “affordable” units produced by the requirements above will remain permanently affordable for the life of the project.

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(II)(b) Build Affordable Units Across a Spectrum of Incomes

Right now, DC’s regulations allow developers to choose to market their “affordable” units to people making the 80% AMI income of $60,000 a year.

As such, this means a developer can rent/sell their “affordable” studio/one-bedrooms to wealthy singles who are comfortable forking over $1,500 a month for their housing costs, either as rent or as a mortgage & fees.

This is why DC’s regulations, as currently written, are not serving to mitigate our severe housing crisis which has been in full-on displacement mode.

Revisions to the DC Municipal regulations must require the developer to ensure that their “affordable” housing units are available across a spectrum of incomes and bedroom-sizes.

IZ AMENDMENT (AFFORDABILTY: TABLE 3)

Using the re-definitions demonstrated above in Table (1) above, we can revise all relevant affordability regulations as follows:

• At least 60% of the residential gross floor area (R-GFA) of a new project must be dedicated as “Low Income” housing;
• At maximum, 40% of the R-GFA may be dedicated to “Low to Moderate Income” housing;

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(II)(c) Build Affordable Units to be inclusive of Families

Right now, DC regulations force a developer to build “affordable” unit sizes at the same ratio of bedroom sizes as that of the market-rate units.

See 11-DCMR-2605.02, Development Standards – The proportion of studio, efficiency, and one-bedroom inclusionary units to all inclusionary units shall not exceed the proportion of market-rate studio, efficiency, and one-bedroom units to all market-rate units.

That is to say, if most of the market rate units are studios/one-bedrooms, which most developers target to build in new buildings, then the affordable units can only be studios/one-bedrooms.

Hence, there are no new “affordable” units being built for families in DC right now, nary an “affordable” unit with two-bedrooms.

IZ AMENDMENT: (AFFORDABILTY: TABLE 4)

DC must revise the regulations across the board to guarantee family sized “affordable” units are incorporated in all new projects and renovations, as follows:

• At maximum, 10% of the “affordable” R-GFA may consist of studio/one-bedroom units;
• And, at minimum, 40% of the “affordable” R-GFA shall consist of four-bedroom units or bigger;

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Conclusion

The revisions found in the aforementioned Table (1), Table (2), Table (3), and Table (4), taken together would ensure that when politicians and developers tout how much affordable housing they are building, we know they are talking about truly affordable housing across a spectrum of income levels.

The above suggested amendments and re-definitions of “affordability” would immediately open up access to many family-sized housing units which would be truly affordable, and mitigate parts of DC’s troubling housing crisis.

If the above suggested amendments to IZ are adopted, this stroke of the pen would represent immediate assistance to thousands of longtime DC families who are struggling to keep pace with DC’s soaring housing costs.

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View more “affordable” housing information here:
http://www.dc4reality.org/updates/168
http://www.dc4reality.org/updates/179