On March 8, 2022, Mayor Ras J. Baraka introduced amendments to the City of Newark’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (“IZO”) that may have far reaching impact on residential development in the City. The proposed amendments passed through the City Council on first reading, and are now referred to the Planning Board for review. Following Planning Board review, the amendments are expected to be adopted by the Council in the coming months.

Existing IZO

Under the existing IZO, developments of over 30 residential units that are seeking certain forms of variance relief are required to set aside 20% for affordable low and moderate-income residents for a period of 30 years. The proposed amendment to the IZO would require all new residential, mixed-use development or substantial rehabilitation having 15 or more residential units, regardless of whether they are seeking variance relief, to set aside 20% for deed restricted affordable units for a 50-year period. Under the current IZO, there is a process for a developer to request a payment in lieu of providing affordable units on-site. The amended IZO would further increase the amount of payment in lieu of providing affordable units on-site to $180,000 per unit. Compensatory benefits are provided under the amendments to the IZO, including a 15% residential density bonus and relaxation of zoning standards to accommodate additional units.

This proposed ordinance amendment would be effective October 1, 2022. So long as a potential development project has submitted a completed development application prior to the effective date of the ordinance amendments, it will be exempt from these requirements, and will be considered under the current IZO.