When we talk about affordable homes, our conversations often go straight to federal funds and state financing tools — such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and bonds. We tend to overlook that a lot of opportunities to increase the supply of affordable homes come locally. Zoning and local pools of funding can target specific communities, and city governments can help stop displacement because they know their communities intimately.
“I’m really excited about an ordinance we were able to pass here in Central Falls, the Affordable Housing Act,” said Jessica Vega, President of Central Falls City Council. “We have so much new development, because of the train station. It’s exciting and welcoming. But it’s also scary because of gentrification. We don’t want folks to be displaced. So we passed the ordinance that stressed affordable housing or paying into a fund. Then we could use that money to help people buy homes.”
Sadly there’s a long history of cities using zoning to exclude Black and brown residents. This process has come to be known as exclusionary zoning. But a new wave of zoning reform has grown to counter that: inclusionary zoning. Generally, inclusionary zoning is any zoning reform aimed at stopping displacement, welcoming immigrants, and increasing the supply of affordable homes. Recently its definition has narrowed to mean a restriction on housing developments where a percentage of the units must be affordable. Sometimes the developer is allowed to pay into a fund for the development of affordable homes to keep their units market rate (this is sometimes called a “fee-in-lieu”). Inclusionary zoning might not be for every community, but it is a good example of what cities and towns can do to encourage more affordable home development.
Sabina Matos, former Providence City Council President and current RI Lt. Governor, in an interview on how cities help develop affordable homes, said, “When it comes to affordable housing, the challenge that we have is ‘how do we ensure that we improve the quality of life in our city and our neighborhoods, and once we do that, the residents that are already here do not get displaced?”
Another tool available to cities is creating a fund for the development of affordable homes. While cities can not generate the amounts of money that the federal government or states can, the funds they do raise can be used with more precision. State and federal monies come with a lot of regulation, while local pots of money can be targeted to help specific communities and fight displacement.
Cities can also provide land. Sometimes city properties stop serving a purpose. Maybe a public building has been replaced on the other side of town. Maybe new public transportation has reduced the need for a parking lot. Cities can send out a request for proposal to have affordable housing developers transform a derelict property into homes.
Housing is not just about production. A city can step in to increase access to homes with ordinances and new programs. For example, the town of Barrington and the City of Providence both recently approved ordinances banning housing discrimination based on a tenant’s lawful source of income. Before then, if a resident was paying for their housing with a Section 8 voucher, a landlord could legally deny them a place to live, despite being able to pay. This improvement on the fair housing laws came before the state or federal government has passed anything similar — though Rhode Island is gearing up to join the 10 states with a statewide law.
Cities have partnered with organizations like the Housing Network RI to pair local services, homebuyer education, and down payment assistance. This couples technical assistance and access to resources with help overcoming that first hurdle in home ownership: the mortgage down payment.
We need to let our city officials know that we believe in homes. “There are different ways for residents to engage with city councilors,” said Sabina Matos. “Not everyone is comfortable attending a public meeting and testifying. You can reach out to us directly. Most of us share our phone numbers publicly or you can email us.”
Check out some of the civic engagement tools on Rhode Island’s Secretary of State’s website. You can find it here. It’s great for looking up your counselor and exploring your city’s meetings to discover what commissions and committees are active.
