Despite opposition from its mayor, the city of Albany is beefing up its mandatory inclusionary housing mandate.
The Albany Common Council unanimously approved changes to its affordable housing quotas, the Times Union reported. Fourteen members voted in favor and one voted “present.”
The measure requires an increasing percentage of units to be affordable as the size of a residential development grows. Those with 20 to 49 units will need to set 7 percent aside as affordable. That percentage maxes out at 13 percent for projects with 75 or more units.
The quota had been 5 percent for developments of 50 or more units.
The legislation also requires lower rents for affordable units than the existing policy does. Rents for those apartments must be affordable for tenants making 60 percent or less of the area median income, down from 100 percent of AMI.
“This is not the solution to affordable housing; this is just one of many tools,” council member Alfredo Balarin, a sponsor of the legislation, told the publication.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan opposed the bill, worrying that it would drive developers away. In a letter to the council, Sheehan said the measure would make projects financially unfeasible. If it constrains housing supply, it would push rents higher in all the apartments not subject to rent limits.
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The mayor is expected to veto the ordinance. The Common Council could then override her veto at its next meeting.
The Albany policy differs from New York City’s, which only applies to projects that benefit from a rezoning. New York also requires far more affordability — 25 to 30 percent of units, depending on the income limit for incoming tenants. The upstate housing market isn’t strong enough for developers to provide that level of subsidy.
Albany is also eyeing the regulation of short-term rentals. The city is also a key battleground in the good cause eviction fight unfolding across the state.
— Holden Walter-Warner