State Law provides incentives to developers who opt to make a certain number of units within a multi-family development affordable to those learning less than an area’s median income by increasing the number of units they can build in exchange for making more of those units affordable. This program is called the Density Bonus Law, and it enables a developer to build up to 35% more homes than would normally be allowed by local zoning laws in exchange for setting aside 10-20% of those homes for families with less income. The more homes the developer sets aside for lower income households, the more units they can build beyond the normal limitations. The program also allows a developer to ask for relief from local zoning requirements or restrictions, like a certain number of parking spaces per unit or building height and setback limits, if it would make the affordable units more financially feasible. You can read more about the City’s Density Bonus program here.