Inclusionary zoning typically requires developers to contribute to a community's affordable housing in exchange for development rights or zoning approvals. It's a hot topic among developers and housing groups, with the two sides often debating whether inclusionary rules are a boon or a bane to the housing market.

The NHC report, titled Inclusionary Zoning: The California Experience, says California cities and counties "are at the forefront of an innovative affordable housing practice called inclusionary zoning that is benefiting thousands of households." From 1994 to 2003, the number of California communities that adopted inclusionary zoning rules grew 67%, increasing from 64 to 107 communities. That represents about 20% of all California cities and counties, the report says. It says the inclusionary housing practices "helps ensure the construction of much needed low- and moderate-income housing by requiring developers to set aside affordable units in an otherwise market-driven development." The report calls the need for inclusionary rules "more critical than ever," explaining that federal spending cuts have sharply reduced the role that government programs and subsidies have historically played in the provision of housing for low-income families.

Findings from NHC's research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy, show that the affordability gap is greatest in the West, where working families "are more likely to lack decent, affordable housing than in any other region," the report says.

Besides the NHC, organizations throughout California that contributed to the new affordable housing report included the California Affordable Housing Law Project; California Coalition for Rural Housing; NHC regional affiliate the California Housing Consortium; Century Housing; David Paul Rosen & Associates; National Housing Development Corp.; and the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California.