The Newton City Zoning and Planning Committee debated and approved an amendment to its pending Inclusionary Zoning ordinance that separates in-lieu thresholds for rental and ownership projects.

Councilor Wright proposed keeping the ownership threshold at 7–9 units while expanding the rental in-lieu threshold to 19 units. Wright said the housing trust historically has used in-lieu funds on rental developments and that a split would preserve opportunities for homeownership at the bottom of the market.

Planning staff (Miss Kreitzer) advised maintaining consistent thresholds for rental and ownership because a lower ownership threshold could discourage ownership developers and unintentionally bias production toward rentals. Staff also noted the trust has historically used funds to support rental projects but is not statutorily barred from funding ownership projects in the future.

Several councilors pressed the trade-off between more units at deeper levels of affordability — an outcome staff and Director Barney Heath said in-lieu payments can often achieve — versus preserving opportunities for homeownership. Councilor Danberg raised administrative and enforcement concerns about scattered ownership units and noted that leveraging funds can increase total unit production; she cited a multiplier used in previous presentations but several members cautioned that the consultant math may not be apples-to-apples.

Councilor Wright moved to amend the committee report to adopt the split thresholds; after a hand-count (Wright, Kalis, Oliver and Baker in favor; Albright and Danberg opposed; one member absent) the amendment carried. The committee then voted to send the full, amended package to the full council. Chair Baker noted the ordinance will require 16 affirmative council votes and that staff may consult the law department about whether to divide the item to secure passage.

The committee action preserves most of the committee’s earlier edits to the IZ ordinance while distinguishing thresholds for rental versus ownership projects. The full council will consider the ordinance at an upcoming meeting.