02-27-2022, 09:36 PM
(02-27-2022, 07:49 PM)bravado Wrote:(02-27-2022, 06:24 PM)nms Wrote: Until we end up with a general zoning variance than mandates affordable housing components in all new residential developments, and not just a paltry sum into a "to be built elsewhere" pot, it will be very difficult for cities to see new affordable housing units in new construction.
Isn't the current plan "make enough units so that the market becomes cheaper"? Losing 1 tower from this plan is not good in that regards. I still think that forcing developers to add "affordable units" will only increase the costs for everyone else, making "non-affordable units" even further out of reach.
So, give the developers the option of either making 3% of the units affordable (eight in this case) or paying a 3% affordable housing surcharge to the city/region ($5M or so in this case). It needs to be substantial enough that we can start making some headway with this issue.
And, no, paying an extra 3% on a high-end condo is not going to seriously impact that condo's affordability.