An Act facilitating approval of inclusionary zoning for affordable housing

HD 2206 amends Massachusetts law to streamline the approval process for inclusionary zoning ordinances. It defines inclusionary zoning as requiring a municipality-determined percentage of new residential units (in developments of a specified size) to be permanently affordable for households earning below a set percentage of the area median income (using HUD data). The bill allows municipalities to establish these requirements and specifies that the state's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities may issue guidelines to ensure such zoning doesn't unduly limit housing production. This directly affects municipalities adopting inclusionary zoning policies and developers building qualifying residential projects.