IZ addendum

I got a chance to talk to Sally Clark briefly about Incentive Zoning after the Pike/Pine Overlay meeting. The main thing that came across was that she was trying to figure out why there was such an extensive hooplah about IZ - to her, Incentive Zoning would only establish very modest amounts of affordable housing as compared to what the Housing Levy (coming up before Council early 2009) could create.

She also said that the average apartment is affordable to those making 110% of area/Seattle median income, which would make 80% Seattle AMI look like a big reduction. The other reason that 80% AMI was being used for affordable rentals in the IZ is because developers won't bite at 60% or 30% AMI if the only carrots are higher height allowances, etc. At that point, developers want subsidies, which means it wouldn't be incentive zoning anymore (subsidies are the business of the Housing Levy anyway).