Politics
Rochester City Council Adopts Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance for New Multifamily Projects
The measure requires 15 percent of units in qualifying developments to meet affordability targets, applying first to sites near the Inner Loop and East Main Street corridors.
How we reported this
The Rochester City Council voted 5-2 on July 7 to enact an inclusionary zoning ordinance that mandates 15 percent of units in new multifamily buildings of 10 units or more be priced for households at 60 percent of area median income. The rule covers projects seeking site plan approval after January 1 2027 and applies inside designated growth districts that include downtown blocks and the East End.
The ordinance responds to a 2025 update of the city’s comprehensive plan that identified a gap of roughly 4,800 rental units priced below market rates. City staff presented data from the Monroe County Department of Planning showing that 2,300 building permits for multifamily housing were issued in Rochester between 2022 and 2025, yet only 180 of those units carried deed restrictions for lower-income tenants.
How Rochester’s rule stacks up against nearby cities
Buffalo’s inclusionary policy, adopted in 2023, sets a 20 percent set-aside for projects above eight units. Syracuse requires 10 percent but applies the rule only to buildings receiving city subsidies. Rochester’s 15 percent threshold without a subsidy trigger places it between the two neighbors and matches the minimum suggested in the state’s model local law issued last year.
For Rochester renters, the change means new apartment complexes along the Inner Loop trail or on East Main Street will include a fixed share of two-bedroom units capped at approximately $1,050 monthly. Developers can satisfy the requirement by building the units on site or by paying a fee of $45,000 per required unit into the city’s housing trust fund, which last year distributed $2.8 million to nonprofit developers.
Implementation timeline and resident effects
The planning commission will begin reviewing the first projects under the new code in March 2027. Local advocates note that the fee option could direct money to scattered-site rehabilitation on the west side, where older two-family homes have been converted into rentals at an average cost of $185,000 per unit. The legislation states that annual reports on unit production must be posted on the city website each September starting in 2028.
City council members directed staff to hold three public workshops in the fall to explain how the ordinance interacts with existing tax-abatement programs. Property owners and small-scale builders in the affected districts will receive mailed notices by August 15 detailing the calculation method for the affordability set-aside.