Between them, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Home Trust have more than 1,000 households on their interest lists for affordable housing.

Despite worries about selling small 1- and 2-bedroom condominiums, East 54 has sold all 23 of its first-phase subsidized units.

"The market is not providing the housing for the full range of people who work in Chapel Hill and would like to be able to live here," said former town planner Roger Waldon, now a consultant who helped develop the town's proposed Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance.

The proposal would take the Town Council's practice of requiring 15-percent affordable housing from developers who request zoning changes for their projects, apply it to all residential developments greater than five units and provide density bonuses for developers who comply.