Monrovia staff recommends targeted inclusionary housing ordinance; council asks for citywide analysis

City of Monrovia staff on Tuesday presented a proposed inclusionary housing ordinance that would require most new residential projects of five or more units in targeted high-density areas to include or fund affordable units and asked the City Council for direction on whether to expand the requirement citywide.

The proposal, presented by city staff member Sherry Vermejo, targets corridor and transit-focused areas such as the Station Square Transit Village, the South Myrtle Avenue corridor (including PD-12 and the Avalon project), and portions of the West Huntington Drive mixed-use corridor. Vermejo said the ordinance is intended to align with the city’s general plan and recent housing element actions and to avoid placing new requirements on Monrovia’s older, lower-density neighborhoods.

“0% of 0 is 0,” Vermejo said, characterizing the staff goal of setting an inclusionary requirement that produces affordable units without halting development. She and consultants from Kaiser Marston and Sage Crest presented technical feasibility analysis, examples from other San Gabriel Valley cities, developer survey feedback, and draft ordinance mechanics.

Key recommendations presented

- Threshold and geography: The requirement would be triggered on projects that result in five or more total units on a site and would initially apply to the city’s identified higher-density planning areas, any housing project on a nonresidential site that meets the threshold, any future housing opportunity sites added during the housing element cycle, and projects seeking a general plan or zoning change to increase density.

- Affordable unit requirements: For ownership projects, staff recommended 10% of…