Guest columnist Gerry Weiss: Inclusionary zoning changes can work in Amherst By Gerry Weiss There are discussions happening in Amherst town government right now that will determine two aspects of future downtown construction; design standards for new buildings and whether inclusionary zoning will be a required feature of those new residential buildings. I will focus today on inclusionary zoning. The need for a more affordable workforce and low-income housing in Amherst has been well documented. The Planning Department has come up with a proposed bylaw change that would easily make this happen. The Mass Smart Growth-Smart Energy Toolkit says that inclusionary zoning is an effective tool for communities that want to increase the affordable housing options. Inclusionary zoning uses the marketplace to generate affordable housing without requiring significant expenditures by the municipality. This zoning is designed to stimulate economic development by increasing the range of housing types for the local workforce, thus helping to retain and attract new business investment, and frees up additional disposable income for low- and moderate-income households to spend in the local economy, the toolkit explains.