San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law an inclusionary housing policy aimed at creating more affordable homes in the city. Fifteen percent of units in new residential developments must be rented or sold below market rates, as opposed to the previous standard of 12 percent. If developers choose to build the affordable units elsewhere, the market-rate and affordable sites have to be within a mile of each other and the number of affordable units must be equal to 20 percent of the units in the market-rate development. City leaders are hoping to not only address the city’s lack of affordable housing, but also help maintain a diverse population. (San Jose Mercury News, 8/10)