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Newark council hears wide-ranging options to address affordable housing shortage
Summary
City planning staff and the city manager presented a menu of regulatory and financial options — from inclusionary zoning to parking reductions and a housing trust — as council and residents debated trade-offs and next steps for closing a shortfall of about 2,100 affordable units.
City of Newark planning staff and the city manager presented a multi-pronged review of options to address the city’s affordable housing shortage during the July 21 council meeting, with public commenters and several council members urging firm action on inclusionary zoning and other tools.
Planning and Development Director Renee Benzley told the council the staff outreach process included roughly 15 events and about 115 unique participants and that the Delaware State Housing Needs Assessment shows Newark has a shortage of about 2,098 affordable units for households earning 0–50% of area median income (AMI). Benzley outlined two broad policy buckets — regulatory code changes and financial/resource incentives — and said staff were seeking council direction on which ideas to study further.
The presentation reviewed a range of options: mandatory or voluntary inclusionary zoning (for example, a hypothetical 10% set‑aside on developments larger than 10 units targeted at households below 80% of AMI), “missing middle” and…
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