Inner City

The tables summarise the potential outcomes of each planning measure across generalised Australian housing market geographies. They should help in giving priority to approaches that can be investigated for implementation at local or regional levels, but are not a prescription for particular jurisdictions to follow.
Each table is a guide to the potential effectiveness of the mechanisms available for the inner city. Use the key to determine which mechanisms are suitable for use in the inner city.

Each table heading is a link that will take you to more information about the potential effectiveness of the mechanism

Land supply programs

Barrier reduction strategies

Protective mechanisms

Affordable housing planning incentives

Negotiated agreements

Mandatory requirements

Key
High	Mechanism is generally associated with high potential impact on affordable goals
Moderate	Mechanism may have a positive impact on affordability goals, depending on local market
Low	Mechanism may be worth further investigation, depending on local market considerations

Land supply programs – Inner city
Mechanism	Considerations	Potential Impact
Development incentives and penalties – Incentives	High land values mean inventive which deliver additional yield or reduce costs likely to be taken up	High
Betterment capture	Planning approval is very valuable in these contexts	High
Systematic land development enhancements	If supply blocked due to process issues	Moderate
Government land banking	But high cost to government, unless already public land	Low
Development incentives and penalties – penalties	Where high land values most likely holding costs will drive development penalties unlikely to be necessary	Low
Zoning for affordable housing (This category does not address inclusionary zoning)	If applied to public land or as a proportion of large redevelopment sites in single ownership	Low

Barrier reduction strategies – Inner city
Mechanism	Considerations	Potential Impact
Planning controls – enabling encouraging or requiring a mix of housing types	Where there is sufficient capacity for new housing development, intensification, or adaptation of existing housing to meet changing needs	High
Building controls – removing unnecessary requirements	To promote greater housing diversity by removing controls may be difficult in inner areas due to density	Moderate
Covenants – eliminating exclusionary requirements on title	If covenants used in redevelopment projects within this market	Low

Protective mechanisms – Inner city
Mechanism	Considerations	Potential Impact
Impact mitigation conditions	Where remaining low housing cost stock is at risk, housing need is high, and few alternative low-cost housing sources exist	High
Social impact assessment requirement	To assess housing impacts of all major developments	High
Controls to protect low-cost housing supply	When a specific type of housing is at risk	High

Planning incentives – Inner city
Mechanism	Considerations	Potential Impact
Graduated standards	Supports affordable housing development in high cost market	High
Planning bonuses	Bonuses, particularly density bonuses are attractive levers in high-cost market	High
Planning process incentives	Fast-track planning gives certainty and saves money	High

Negotiated agreements – Inner city

Mechanism

Considerations

Potential Impact

Negotiated agreement for affordable housing

Where rezoning/concession valuable

High

Mandatory requirements – Inner city
Mechanism	Considerations	Potential Impact
Mandatory contribution, (fixed amount, by threshold)	As contribution valuable in high-value market	High
Mandatory contribution (negotiated amount)	As planning leverage and contribution valuable in high value market	High
Onsite contribution	As onsite contribution valuable in high value market	High
Offsite/cash contribution in lieu	Although cash in lieu may be insufficient to enable access to housing opportunity in similar location	Moderate

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Last modified: Sunday, 5 February 2012