Families making less than $65,000 now can qualify for affordable housing in Howard County.
“There are cases, although they may be rare, that would allow certain individuals and families to qualify,” said Council Chairman Christopher Merdon, R-District 1, who proposed the amendment to the truncated housing bill passed by the county Monday.
“It could include people who inherit money, who lose a spouse and receive life insurance policy, or a mom who has received assets from a divorce.”
Merdon said he wanted to leave the option for moderate-income housing available to the county?s poorest residents, even though most households earning less than $36,000 cannot afford to purchase a house in Howard County.
Before the bill was passed, only families making between $36,000 and $57,700 qualified.
Eliminated from the bill was:
» A middle-income housing bracket, which began at the top of the moderate level and extended to about $90,000. “We want to focus our resources on those who have the greatest need, and those households were not our priority,” said Council Member Calvin Ball, D-District 2.
» A fee developers would pay the county instead of building affordable housing.
The middle-income bracket proposal may resurface as Columbia solidifies its plans for redeveloping its downtown area into an urban center.
“We want to have diversity of housing prices available to people. James Rouse founded Columbia on that principle, and as we approach the buildout of the county, we want to make sure that is realized,” said Steve Lafferty, deputy director of the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning.
Council Member Guy Guzzone, D-District 3, said the fee could have let developers off the hook.
“Just collecting money and putting it aside was no guarantee we would eventually get the units,” he said.
Merdon is running for county executive, Ball for re-election to the council and Guzzone for state Senate.
At a glance
» In Howard County, developers must dedicate between 5 percent and 15 percent of their houses to moderate-income buyers.
