By Kolby LaMarche

With the City’s housing affordability crisis deepening—more than one in three renters spending over half their income on housing—the city’s longstanding inclusionary zoning ordinance is under fresh scrutiny. 

The Office of City Planning, with city council support, has proposed a structured review process to recommend updates, in addition to community input. 

Burlington pioneered locally initiated inclusionary zoning in 1990, one of the earliest mandatory programs in the nation. The ordinance requires developers of projects with five or more units—or conversions creating at least 10 units—to designate 15% to 25% as affordable, with the exact percentage scaled to the average market-rate price in the development. 

Affordable units must remain price-controlled for 99 years or permanently. Incentives include density bonuses of 15% to 25%, increased lot coverage allowances, fee waivers, and parking reductions to help offset costs.

The initiative comes as part of Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s Burlington 2026 Housing Strategy, unveiled in January, which set an ambitious goal of 7,000 new units by 2050 through a three-pronged approach. As BDN covered, the mayor’s plan was quite thin on details.

However, the mayor has launched this plan by focusing on the first prong: revitalizing legacy tools, including modernizing the inclusionary zoning ordinance and the Housing Trust Fund.

The policy has been amended over time, notably in 2008 and 2019, adding options like off-site affordable units (with higher requirements) and payments in lieu for certain projects. These changes aimed to provide flexibility while preserving long-term affordability.

Since its adoption, the ordinance has generated modest but meaningful results. 

Between 1990 and 2015, it facilitated 56 qualifying projects, producing 1,773 total units, including 270 affordable ones. 

In the Old North End, 141 of 551 units built from 1990 to 2019 were affordable under the rules. 

By 2006, roughly 200 affordable units had been created across rentals, condos, co-ops, and single-family homes. Production has averaged about 10 affordable units annually—helpful for integration and preventing displacement, but insufficient against demand in a tight market.

Critics contend the mandate has slowed broader construction. Pre-adoption, the city averaged 125 new units yearly; post-adoption, that fell sharply in early years, according to scattered city data. A 2017 evaluation praised its role in curbing gentrification but noted limited impact on overall supply-demand imbalances. Some studies on similar programs suggest mandatory inclusionary rules can raise prices or deter building.

The city grants exemptions or variances sparingly to maintain compliance. Since 2019 amendments, developers can pursue off-site or in-lieu options under specific conditions, such as site constraints or economic infeasibility. 

Records indicate fewer than a dozen such approvals since then, often partial waivers where full on-site inclusion would jeopardize projects. For example, a 2024 mixed-use proposal received a payment-in-lieu arrangement after demonstrating viability issues, directing funds to off-site affordable housing. Nonetheless, some critics argue this allows developers to undermine the city’s work on affordable housing. 

Alternatives and complements being considered include re-vamping the Housing Trust Fund (launched 1988), which channels fees, taxes, and in-lieu payments into projects—yielding over 1,800 units or beds with $7.4 million invested. 

The 2024 Neighborhood Code eliminates parking minimums, enables accessory dwelling units, and promotes “missing middle” housing like duplexes and triplexes. Public-private partnerships on city land, such as the South End’s SECORD project (potentially 1,200 units with $8 million state support), offer additional paths.

The Office of City Planning has proposed a Joint Committee process uniting the Planning Commission and City Council Ordinance Committee to evaluate and recommend changes to inclusionary zoning. 

BDN will provide updates on opportunities to have your voice heard.