BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Residents spent more than two hours Tuesday night telling stories of their rent rising too much and looking at multi-year wait lists for subsidized housing.

The Common Council hosted the public hearing to hear those struggles and gather ideas for a new inclusionary zoning law.

Some in attendance, including members of PUSH Buffalo, are calling for all new residential developments with at least 10 units to contain 30 percent affordable housing.

"They can enforce the rules so that rich developers don't get the tax breaks and still charge ridiculously high rent and push citizens of the community out," said PUSH Buffalo Board Chair Maxine Murphy.

The city's Office of Strategic Planning has spent the last several months studying data to determine what that percentage should be.

Executive Director Brendan Mehaffy says it's not an easy task.

"If we set a number too high, then no units are produced," Mehaff said. "If we set a number too low or we don't have a policy, then again, no units are produced, which is why we've been spending so much time trying to understand what the possibilities and potentials are there so we can maximize the number of affordable units that are created."

Common Council President Darius Pridgen says the majority of the council is in favor of inclusionary zoning and they want to get it done quickly.

However, he stresses it can't be done until they have the completed study from the Office of Strategic Planning.

"There's a bunch of lawmakers, who weren't in here, who are waiting to challenge inclusionary zoning. I wanna be clear. We know that. I'm positive of that. We've gotta do it right," Pridgen said.

Mehaffy says the city is already moving in the right direction with 1,400 affordable units being built since 2006 and more slated for construction this summer.

A steering committee will discuss inclusionary zoning further on March 15th.

Pridgen says he hopes to have all of the data in his hands in the next month so the council can start drafting the law.

"After that, then we can begin drafting whatever it is that the inclusionary zoning will start to look like. Meeting with people, making sure we're doing this thing right, and then when the final draft is before the people, there will be a mandatory public hearing like any other law in the City of Buffalo books," Pridgen said.