By Sophie Kasakove, Pacific Standard, July 23 2019.
In December of 2018, Miami passed an ordinance—the first of its kind in the city—mandating the inclusion of affordable housing in new developments in certain neighborhoods. The city claims the highest share of rent-burdened residents in the country, and the inclusionary zoning ordinance was intended to address the city's severe shortage of affordable housing. But the city was quickly stopped in its tracks: At the end of June, Florida's governor approved a law banning municipalities from passing mandatory inclusionary zoning ordinances, sending Miami's city councilors back to the drawing board.
In the midst of an ever more acute renter crisis, local governments are increasingly experimenting with new ways to keep residents housed: Measures to raise revenue for affordable housing or increase tenant protections appeared on the ballot in 24 United States cities in November of 2018, and many of them passed. As progressive cities are stepping up, though, conservative state legislatures are blocking necessary reforms. Florida's bill is just the most recent attempt by a state to limit cities' affordable housing toolkit. In total, at least 35 states currently enforce some limitation on cities' ability to protect or create affordable housing, whether by preventing them from enacting rent control and anti-discrimination measures, mandating inclusionary zoning, regulating short-term rentals, or some combination of these measures.
The use of such legislation—called "preemption" laws—to protect landlords and developers at the expense of tenants is not new. Starting in the 1970s, as rent control policies became increasingly popular across the country, one state after another passed legislation preventing cities from enacting it. Currently, 31 states ban rent control. Some of these bills, while not addressing zoning explicitly, have been interpreted by courts as bans on inclusionary zoning ordinances as well.
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