Worcester Groups To Make Push For Wider 'Inclusionary Zoning' Policy

WORCESTER, MA — A local group seeking for more affordable housing in Worcester will take their campaign to City Hall Wednesday, asking city leaders to commit to a more "inclusionary zoning" policy.

In May, former city manager Ed Augustus Jr. sent a proposed inclusionary zoning policy to city councilors for review. The policy proposed a requirement that developers set aside about 15 percent of units in new residential buildings as affordable for people making 80 or less than the Worcester area median income (AMI), or 10 percent of units at 60 percent AMI.

But the Worcester Together Affordable Housing Coalition says the 80 percent threshold is still too high. The coalition wants Worcester's inclusionary zoning ordinance to be set at 60 percent AMI across the board.

"Seventy-five percent of Worcester residents are severely cost-burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities, an untenable and unfair situation as rents skyrocket and wages stagnate," the Worcester Together coalition said in a news release. "Meanwhile, market-price units in Worcester are being developed at an unprecedented rate, making it increasingly difficult for residents to find housing that is safe and affordable."

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Worcester is in the midst of a development boom, but many new developments under construction in the city contain only apartments that are "market rate" — in other words, priced at whatever rate the developer thinks the market can bear.

Developments like Alta on the Row along Mulberry Street, a 228-unit building along Madison Street across from Polar Park and The Cove along Green Street will all be 100 percent market-rate. A notable exception is the development underway at the site of the former Table Talk Pies headquarters in Kelley Square: the nearly 400-unit project — split across six buildings — will contain about 83 units set aside as affordable.

The Worcester Together coalition will be in front of City Hall Wednesday morning starting at 9:30 a.m. to call on city officials to rewrite the proposed inclusionary zoning ordinance with a lower threshold. The policy will likely be on the city council agenda at the upcoming Sept. 20 meeting.