SCOTUS May Hear Affordable Housing Case
The lawsuit challenging “inclusionary zoning” could have implications for Honolulu’s efforts to build more low-income housing.
A group of California developers is taking its case against San Jose’s affordable housing rules all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If SCOTUS agrees to hear the case, the ruling could have implications for similar requirements in Hawaii.
that the California Building Association believes “forcing them to build below-market-rate units as a condition of obtaining building permits amounts to extortion.”
It’s a strategy called “inclusionary zoning,” and it’s a key part of the affordable housing strategy that Mayor Kirk Caldwell is expected to roll out this month.
The mayor wants to require all developers who are building 10 or more units to set aside a few for low-income rentals or moderately priced for-sale homes.
Honolulu’s current affordable housing requirements — which only apply to developers seeking zone changes — only produced 33 units in fiscal year 2014 despite the demand for thousands of homes.
To read more about the California case,
