A proposed low-income housing development in Ellicott City has some worried it resembles failed high-rise public housing buildings nationwide.
The 59-unit development would segregate low-income residents, said Patrick Crowe, a member of the residents? group Friends of Font Hill, who opposes the Frederick Road building.
Cities, including Baltimore, have moved from housing low-income residents in a single complex to building houses for a variety of income levels.
Failing to mix income levels often leads to crime and safety issues, said Maria Fiore, director of policy for National Housing Conference, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy organization.
In contrast, mixed-income housing allows developers to sell or rent units at the market rate, which supports the lower-rate housing, and provides the low-income residents with role models in their working neighbors.
However, imagining low-income housing in suburban areas as the failed public housing built 40 years ago is a misconception, said Richard Nelson, senior fellow at the University of Maryland and chairman of the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission.
Public housing, which houses those averaging 17 percent of the median income, differs from the low-income housing that targets those making 60 percent of median income, such as the Frederick Road development, Nelson said.
The low-income developments house working families, typically entry-level teachers and police officers, which don?t bring the crime and property value issues, he said.
“You have a totally different clientele,” Nelson said.
