Montgomery County reviews 'attainable' housing tools, funding options and zoning levers
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Summary
County staff described a multi-pronged approach to increase housing that is affordable or attainable to local workers, emphasizing use of federal/state grants, local funds, home‑trust preservation tools and zoning/regulatory tools to lower development costs.
County staff presented housing strategies on Oct. 6 and told the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission that Montgomery County needs additional housing across the affordability spectrum, and that no single policy will suffice.
Chris, county staff, framed the discussion around “attainable” housing and noted that many local workers fall within income ranges that make housing costly relative to other basic needs. Chris said staff uses a common benchmark that households should pay no more than 30% of income on housing costs and that many local workers fall into income bands near 80% of area median income — a common target for subsidized programs.
Programs and local tools
Staff reviewed existing and potential funding and program tools: the federal HOME program (regional implementation shared among Floyd, Giles, Pulaski and Montgomery counties), the New River Home Trust (to preserve subsidized units or permanently protect affordability), a local New River Housing Fund (regional/local funding pool), and local affordable-housing funds such as town ARPA-funded programs. Chris said each locality can adopt tools to subsidize or preserve housing, and that preservation via home trusts can keep subsidized units affordable long term.
Staff emphasized local levers that affect development costs: development fee waivers, building and permitting fee structures, reduced water/sewer connection fees, real-estate tax rebates or performance-based tax agreements, and targeted infrastructure investment (for example, village utilities) that can make projects financially feasible. Staff also said the county can recruit specialized developers experienced with subsidized and mixed-income projects.
Zoning and redevelopment
Staff recommended a zoning study and potential new land-use tools to enable smaller-lot development or increased relative density where appropriate. Staff also said the county will study strategies for redeveloping and reinvesting in manufactured-home communities in unincorporated areas.
Board reaction and next steps
Board members asked about implementation authority and timing; staff replied that many incentives must be funded and are voluntary (for example, proffers tied to rezoning). Chris said actionable projects will come to the board through formal requests and that the county is actively researching outside developers, mobile-home park reinvestment models and zoning tools. Staff said more specific proposals and funding requests will be presented when ready.
Quotes and attributions
Chris: “We collectively 2 towns and the county, for several decades, and we have very successful projects that have worked really well. We just need a lot more of everything.”
Chris: “You shouldn't spend more than 30% of the money that you have available.”
Ending
Staff told the board that housing work will continue through targeted outreach to developers, a zoning study to create new land‑use tools, and investigations into preservation strategies for manufactured‑home communities; specific requests for funding or incentives will return to the board for formal action.
