The Committee of 100 | FYI Archives

Affordable Housing is becoming “the” issue in New Castle County. It was discussed thoroughly during the 2007 Comprehensive Development Plan Update process and the provision of affordable housing is one of the core goals of the Comp Plan. Now, ways to achieve the Comp Plan goals are being put on paper.

New Castle County Councilperson Penrose Hollins has put Resolution 07-176 on the October 9th Council Agenda. This Resolution, entitled “Supporting the Creation of the New Castle County Housing Trust Fund,” would approve “the establishment of The New Castle County Housing Trust Fund for the purpose of dedicating public funds and revenues from other sources to address the housing needs of the very low income households earning less than 50% of median income, low income households earning 50 to 80% of median income, and moderate income households earning 80% to 120% of median income.”

The Resolution notes that 2000-2007 home prices rose 74% while income increased by only 7%; that the median price of a home rose from $130,000 in 2000 to $224,000 in 2006; that the median home price was affordable to households earning 60% of the median income of $69,000 in 2000 vs. 97% of the median income of $72,100 in 2006; and that the 2000-2006 increase in the cost of rentals was 33%.

While the Comp Plan goal, reiterated in the Resolution–“to provide housing opportunities and a diversity of housing types to meet the needs of people and families in all stages of life, and in all income ranges; and to ensure that people who work in the county can afford to live in the county”–is laudable, the Resolution’s solution raises concerns. The Resolution does not stipulate how the Trust Fund will be funded, provide guidelines for distributions, ensure systems for vetting and monitoring, or clarify who will administer the Fund.

Delaware already has the State Housing Development Fund, funded by the General Assembly, and an entity, the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), that has the expertise and systems in place to monitor and vet funds provided for affordable housing. Other sources for funding affordable housing via the DSHA include HOPE VI, HOME, Block Grants, and Tax Credits.

The Committee of 100 has noted repeatedly that one of the major impediments to providing affordable housing in New Castle County is the costly, time-consuming, and uncertain approval process. Another major impediment is New Castle County’s unique Traffic Impact Study (TIS) and Level of Service (LOS) requirements that are more stringent than the DelDOT standards for the rest of the State. The County requires a LOS D in sewer service areas unless contracts are awarded for transportation improvements that will raise E to D.

If New Castle County is serious about providing affordable housing, it could immediately do several things. First, hire an outside consultant to study the land-use approval process to determine how to cut the time it takes to make it through the process (and identify outside delays) then adopt changes that significantly shorten the process. Second, reduce TIS and LOS requirements and accept the DelDOT standards, waiving those for appropriate projects. Third, increase the densities in appropriate zoning categories, e.g. ST. Fourth, proactively rezone land to provide a sufficient supply of appropriately-zoned land, e.g., ST. Fifth, provide incentives for an affordable housing mix in market developments, such as real density bonuses; concurrency elimination; impact and sewer fee reductions and waivers; reduction in open space, landscaping, setback, buffer, and parking requirements.

Waiting in the wings are the next steps, including determining how to pay for the proposed Affordable Housing Trust Fund and how to compel construction of affordable housing. In a Draft Ordinance sponsored by Penrose Hollins, all commercial land-development projects would be required to pay $1,500 per 5,000 square feet of development to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund unless the development incorporates affordable dwelling units in its development

Councilperson Hollins’ Draft Ordinance also requires that all residential development of ten or more dwelling units “contribute a proportionate share of affordable housing, and also make an appropriate contribution to the County’s Housing Trust Fund to ensure that an adequate stock of affordable housing will be available to very low-income, low-income and moderate-income households in the future.” The “proportionate share” is 10%, with 5% low-income and 5% moderate-income. If a project receives County funding, the project must have 20% affordable housing and must include very-low-income units. The cost of providing such affordable housing would be offset by a density bonus of up to 25% and up to 20% reductions in landscaping, open space, parking, lot coverage, FAR, or minimum lot sizes, if approved by the Department. The Draft Ordinance allows a payment-in-lieu of $15,000 per affordable unit not constructed on the site.

In contrast to the Hollins’ draft, Larry Tarabicos, of Young Conaway Stargatt and Taylor, has drafted an ordinance which would make inclusionary housing voluntary, rather than mandatory, and provide additional incentives for building affordable housing, including 120-240% density bonus; sliding impact and sewer fee waivers; significant reduction in specific environmental protections; elimination of concurrency and traffic analyses; a streamlined development process; and reduced landscaping, minimum site area, street tree spacing, and open space requirements. The Coons Administration and Department of Land Use General Manager Charles Baker are seeking a workable, effective compromise between the contrasting drafts to address concerns expressed by both affordable housing advocates and the businesses which would be impacted by the ordinance requirements.

Toward that end, the Department of Land Use and Councilperson Hollins are holding a Public Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 11, 2007 in the Gilliam Building Public Meeting Room, 77 Reads Way “to encourage public dialogue on UDC amendments and rezoning to provide incentives to develop more affordable housing.” The Department expects to have a Draft ordinance available for discussion by Tuesday, October 9. An ordinance is scheduled to be introduced at the October 23rd Council meeting.

COMP PLAN IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS

Council is supposed to take the lead in implementing the 2007 Comprehensive Development Plan Update. Councilperson Stephanie McClellan is leading a Smart Growth Committee and has established a schedule of meetings with a goal of having ordinances ready for introduction by the end of the year. Bill Powers is leading a Transfer of Development Rights Committee which has already started meeting. Penrose Hollins is going to fold Affordable Housing into the work of Council’s Community Services Committee. Economic Development issues will be handled by Council’s Economic Development Committee.