Baltimore City’s inclusionary housing law went into effect on July 21st but during a Thursday hearing before the Baltimore City Council Finance and Performance Committee, council members learned that so far, there are no permits underway for affordable units.
City law now requires any new construction that uses public subsidies on a 20-unit or more apartment complex must set aside 15% of those units for people making below half of the area median income (in Baltimore City that is $60, 850 for a family of four).
Department of Housing and Community Development Commissioner Alice Kennedy says so far, no current construction permit applications meet that, however, a few impending projects look promising.
“One of them is in the process of reviewing what would be needed for their inclusionary housing plan… I would think that we'd still be at least a year– to a year and a half– before any units would actually be available for that project.”
Kennedy also wanted to “manage expectations”, noting that it is likely tens of thousands of Baltimoreans could apply for, and qualify for, the inclusionary housing program but that tens of thousands of units are not likely to be built under the program. The market in Baltimore does not demand developers to create that much multifamily housing, she explained.
“Many of us have been disappointed with the low number of units that have been developed over time,” said committee chair Councilman John Bullock, referring to the city’s previous affordable housing law that ultimately created only thirty-some affordable units over the course of 17 years.
“As you went over this process in terms of the market, in terms of what it looks like, in terms of getting these projects online, you kind of gave us a sobering sort of view there,” said the chair.
Even though finer aspects of regulations are still being finalized, Kennedy assured the council that the city can, and is, holding eligible projects accountable to the new affordable housing law.
“We can enforce and hold people accountable for compliance now,” Kennedy promised.
In exchange for including affordable housing, the developers get a tax credit from the city to offset that cost. Part of the process now, Kennedy explained, is making sure developers understand the law and the resources the city has to help them comply.
The city is also working on a centralized application and screening for residents who qualify, so that doesn’t have to be done individually by the developer (although, as Kennedy pointed out, the developer must still advertise and make clear that they have affordable housing units).
“As you kind of went over this process in terms of the market, in terms of what it looks like, in terms of getting these projects online, you kind of gave us a sobering sort of view there,” said Councilwoman Odette Ramos, the inclusionary housing bill sponsor, and outspoken city council housing advocate.
Kennedy pushed back against claims that the inclusionary housing law is late in its roll out. The department posted its request for public comment on rules and regulations in August, which the commissioner noted is the appropriate time to do so as per the law department.
But there is one section of the law that remains incomplete: the 10-member inclusionary housing board. That board consists of four mayoral appointments, three appointments by the council president, and three agency representatives. So far, only two people have been confirmed by the city council.
For housing advocates, who have been pushing for the creation of this law for years (it was passed two years after its introduction), the pace is slow and difficult. The law is also absolutely essential.
“I go to the courthouse to watch eviction court multiple times a week, and so I'm seeing literally hundreds of people, hundreds of families, getting put out of their homes on a weekly basis,” said Indigo Null, a tenant advocate with Baltimore Renters United.
“You hear what they're saying in court and why they're being put out, and it's always affordability,” said Null. Null said they put in an application to be on the inclusionary housing but they haven’t heard anything since early spring.