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Council discusses establishing affordable/attainable housing task force; staff to draft ordinance
Summary
The College Park City Council discussed forming an affordable/attainable housing task force to study local housing needs, define affordability, and recommend sustainable programs, and directed staff to draft an ordinance establishing the body.
Council members discussed a proposal to establish an affordable housing (also described by some members as “affordable/attainable”) task force to research housing needs across College Park, develop a local definition of affordability, and recommend sustainable program parameters open to eligible residents.
Planning Director Bader summarized prior council direction and a 2021 request to study an affordable housing strategy and noted recent Council interest in a task force after debates about student housing and a rental subsidy pilot. Council members urged a broad charge that would examine needs for seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, students and young professionals, and identify structural barriers to affordable supply (for example, market tools or software that affect pricing). Several council members recommended the task force include two representatives from each council district, one student representative, and nonvoting subject-matter experts and advisors such as staff from county planning, the city’s Age Friendly work group, and veteran‑services representatives.
Age Friendly College Park work‑group representative Janine Miller described ongoing local efforts on aging‑in‑place and housing match/home‑sharing pilots that could complement a broader housing strategy. Councilmembers suggested the task force consider “future‑proofing” (accessibility and retrofit needs) and explore inclusionary approaches such as requiring a share of new developments be affordable, and to coordinate with county studies on missing‑middle housing.
Staff said they will draft a proposed ordinance creating the task force, including membership, term, and charge, and will return with the ordinance for council adoption. The Age Friendly group and planning staff offered to help populate the task force and to coordinate with county studies already underway. Councilmembers asked that the draft explicitly consider a definition of affordable/attainable housing, mechanisms to address barriers to supply, and outreach to a geographically representative cross‑section of residents.
