The City of Antioch kicked off an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, or IHO, in July 2024. An IHO is a local ordinance that requires private developers to dedicate a certain percentage of units in their housing developments as below-market rate, or affordable, units. The IHO will be adopted as part of the Antioch zoning code.

Antioch, like every city in California, is experiencing an affordability crisis. Antioch recently completed it’s 2023-2031 Housing Element Update, a state-required “blueprint” for addressing local housing needs. This process required a comprehensive evaluation of current housing conditions and future housing strategies. The Housing Element calls for completion of a feasibility study of an IHO for City Council consideration. A successful IHO could result in the development of 360-460 affordable housing units. 

IHO affordability requirements can impact developers’ financial returns. This depends on factors such as local market conditions, zoning regulations and housing development trends. For that reason, the percentage of units required to be affordable will be based on a detailed Financial Feasibility Analysis. This analysis will account for local development conditions and test the financial impact of different affordability requirements on various for-sale and rental development prototypes. The analysis will allow Antioch to identify affordability requirements that spur affordable housing without impacting overall housing development activity. The IHO may also include financial incentives, such as a density bonus, for developers that meet affordability requirements.

No. An IHO is a flexible regulation shaped by community priorities and conditions. Pending the results of analysis and community input, the IHO may establish different requirements for for-sale and rental projects, and for projects of different size. The IHO will also establish how developers must allocate their total affordability requirement across moderate, low-income, and very-low income household affordability levels.

No. Per state law, the IHO will include other methods of compliance. The most common is the option of paying an “in-lieu fee” into the city’s housing trust fund. This fee would be equivalent to the total cost of constructing the affordable units that would have otherwise been required. Other compliance options could include dedicating land to the city for affordable housing, constructing off-site affordable units, and rehabilitating existing housing into affordable units.

Yes, many other cities in Contra Costa County have IHOs. For example, Concord has an IHO which states that 15% of for-sale development projects and 6% of rental projects must be affordable. The ordinance includes in-lieu fees and off-site construction as alternative compliance options. In addition, Contra Costa County’s IHO includes a general requirement of 15%, with a specific portion of that requirement to very-low household income levels. It provides for numerous alternatives such as in-lieu fees based on project size, off-site development, land conveyance to an affordable housing developer and joint-project compliance.