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County lowers planned‑development minimum and offers density bonus tied to deed‑restricted moderate‑income units
Summary
Washington County on May 6 adopted zoning changes that reduce the minimum PDR zone size from 40 to 10 acres and create a density‑bonus for moderate‑income housing in exchange for deed restrictions.
The Washington County Commission approved ordinance 2025-12-92-O on May 6, changing several zoning provisions in Title 10, including reducing the minimum PDR zone size and establishing a density bonus tied to deed‑restricted moderate‑income housing.
Under the adopted changes, the minimum zone area for Plan Development Residential (PDR) is lowered from 40 acres to 10 acres. The county also adopted a density‑bonus framework that allows higher base density (for example, 7.5 dwelling units per acre in a 10‑acre PDR) if a small percentage of units—6.7% in the planning commission recommendation—are deed‑restricted as moderate‑income housing with a long‑term restriction.
Victoria, a county staff member presenting the amendment, said the planning commission “unanimously recommends giving them a density bonus if a small percentage, 6.7% back, is given in, moderate income housing units with the deep restriction.” She described this as a trade: higher density in exchange for permanently restricted affordable units.
Commissioners debated the length of the deed restriction and construction‑hours provisions. The planning commission recommended a 100‑year deed restriction; several commissioners said that period was excessively long and discussed alternatives between 20 and 50 years. The commission adopted the ordinance with amendments instructed by commissioners (the record shows the body adopted the ordinance; staff will draft the specific deed‑restriction language per the commission’s direction).
The ordinance also consolidated penalty provisions, corrected use‑chart inconsistencies, added construction hours (default 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in warmer months and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in winter, subject to change by commissioners), and aligned use charts with the Title 3 licensing changes adopted at the same meeting.
Commissioners said the changes respond to a developer concept plan (identified in meeting materials as the Solara project) that sought 75 units on about 10 acres; the PDR adjustments were introduced to allow the project to proceed subject to the affordable‑housing tradeoffs and conditions the commission required.
