Inclusionary Housing
What is Inclusionary Housing
Longmont has an inclusionary housing, commonly known as affordable housing, requirement. All residential developments seeking a development permit must ensure that 12% of the total units are affordable to low- and moderate-income residents.
What is the City’s definition of affordable?
The City defines affordable housing as homes sold at a price that is affordable to households at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and units rented to households at or below 50% of the AMI.
Read Longmont’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.
| Type of Home | Deed Restricted | Income Qualified | Sale/Rental Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| For-sale | Yes | At or below 80% AMI | https://longmontcolorado.gov/housing-and-community-investment/housing-1/maximum-sale-prices/ |
| Rental | Yes | At or below 50% AMI | https://longmontcolorado.gov/housing-and-community-investment/income-and-asset-limits/ |
IH Compliance Options
- On-site:Â Provide required affordable housing within the market-rate development.
- Fee-in-Lieu: Pay square-footage fees to the City’s affordable housing fund.
- Off-site:Â Build the required affordable housing in another location.
- Land Donation: Donate land to the City or a non-profit housing developer (only if approved by City Council). Land must have all necessary infrastructure and support the affordable housing that would be required on-site.
- Combination of Options: A developer and/or builder can use a combination of the available options to fulfill their IH requirements.
- Voluntary Alternative Agreement (VAA): A developer and/or builder can propose to City Council an alternative way of meeting the requirements not specified in the Ordinance.
- Redemption of Credit:Â A developer and/or builder may acquire Surplus Unit credits from another developer/builder that built more than the minimum required affordable units and was issued credits by the City. Credits may be redeemed to offset an equal number of required affordable units in a new development.
What type of approval is required?
For-sale and rental projects selecting the on-site or fee-in-lieu option are administratively approved by staff. For all other IH compliance options, City Council approval is required. Both for-sale and rental affordable homes must be deed restricted as permanently affordable in a form provided by the City.
What incentives are available?
Longmont offers affordable housing incentives to assist projects, including land development incentives that apply specifically to affordable housing and financial incentives for projects that provide more than the minimum required.
What is my specific project requirement?
Use our calculator to determine your development’s inclusionary housing requirements. The calculator allows you to input different configurations for your project to identify the ways a project may comply with the IH requirements.
PLEASE NOTE: For for-sale live/work units, 80% of the unit will be subject to Inclusionary Housing. If you will be providing live/work units, please contact the Affordable Housing Program Specialist to determine how this requirement applies to your project; the calculator does not address this feature.
What do we submit with our development application?
Please complete the inclusionary housing application and submit with the initial submittal of the project’s development application.
How is this program impacting the community?
For questions about the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, please contact the Affordable Housing Program Specialist.
