August 14th marked the final step to putting a long-awaited affordable housing program in place.  With the publication of the final piece of regulations by the Fenty Administration, the city's Inclusionary Zoning law goes into effect.  Inclusionary Zoning is a widely used affordable housing tool throughout the country.  D.C.'s Inclusionary Zoning program requires that D.C. residential developments of 10 units or more set aside 8-10 percent of new housing affordable to moderate and low income families.

 "We appreciate that the administration is taking care to ensure the program works for all the participants - the developers, property managers, and of course, all the working families seeking housing they can afford," said Jacob Feinspan, Executive Director, Jews United for Justice.  "As we were able to demonstrate during the Campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning, D.C. residents in all neighborhoods and at all income levels understand the importance of this policy in ensuring that D.C. continues to be a welcoming and affordable place to live."

During the campaign to achieve mandatory inclusionary zoning, JUFJ's innovative "Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY)" campaign was critical in dispelling the impression that more affluent regions of DC opposed affordable housing.  JUFJ volunteers went door to door to win support for the measure.  

Read the entire press release here.

You can read more about inclusionary zoning here.