Want more affordable housing? Increase density in developments.
To do so, Howard County would need to change its zoning requirements, according to the report from the county?s task force on affordable housing.
“You?re not going to do it with single-family lots,” said Earl Armiger, president of Orchard Development Corp. and a member of the task force.
Each year, Howard permits 1,850 residential units to be built, the report states.
Affordable units should be excluded from that limit so projects can move forward, according to the report.
However, residents often protest high-density developments, citing traffic concerns or a negative affect on quality of life, said task force member Sherman Howell.
“Increasing density certainly is going to be a major obstacle,” he said.
The only way to encourage home builders to include a portion affordable housing, known as inclusionary zoning, is to provide incentives, the report states.
“The home-building industry is against the concept of inclusionary zoning unless there are offsetting incentives” so the builders won?t have to pass the costs to market-rate buyers, said Armiger.
For example, developers should be given density bonuses to promote more affordable housing units.
If a developer wants to build 100 units, 10 percent of which would be affordable, the developer would then be allowed to build an additional 15 percent of units, Armiger said.
Other incentives could include waiving certain fees or guaranteeing a speedier review process, he said.
“There are ways to do that that are more creative than the zoning regulations provide for,” he said.
Any zoning changes would go through a public review policy, said Steve Lafferty, deputy director of the Department of Planning and Zoning.
Department staff would present the changes to the Planning Board, which would host public meetings before being approved by the County Council, he said.
