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Commissioners approve impact-fee waiver for Habitat home and fund engineering work for Archdiocese site
Summary
The board approved an impact-fee waiver for Patuxent Habitat for Humanity and authorized reimbursements to Victory Housing to advance workforce housing planning on property offered by the Archdiocese.
The Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 28 approved an impact-fee waiver for Patuxent Habitat for Humanity and signed off on additional county funding to advance a workforce-housing plan on property held by the Archdiocese.
The action included a signed award letter granting an impact-fee waiver tied to a Habitat house at 21358 Brighton Avenue in Lexington Park. County staff also approved a related budget amendment of $45,100 to record the waiver in county accounts.
Context: County economic-development staff told the board the impact-fee deferral and waiver program helps lower costs for rental and for-sale housing. DECD reported Hunting Creek—a separate workforce-rental project on Willows Road—received 50 impact-fee deferrals for the year ending June 30, 2006 and 20 deferrals in 2007, representing roughly $315,000 in deferred fees that are repaid over 15 years.
Separate but related, the board approved a memorandum of understanding with Victory Housing Inc. to reimburse that nonprofit for $23,252 in preliminary site and market feasibility work and $78,595 for engineering services to advance phase 1 of a proposed development behind Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Route 235. Victory Housing told commissioners phase 1 would include 66 townhouses and 33 condominiums; a later phase could add senior units. Victory Housing said the MOU funding is intended to produce engineered lots and a pro forma needed to pursue state construction financing.
Commissioners and staff noted available county workforce-housing CIP funds will be reduced by the Victory disbursement and that, after the MOU payments, the remaining balance in the workforce-housing account was roughly $70,000–$75,000.
Quotes and attribution: "The developer said they would not be able to do that project without this impact fee deferral," Bob Shower of the Department of Economic and Community Development told the board, referring to Hunting Creek. Jim Brown, president of Victory Housing, described the Archdiocese property and said the engineering funding will help get the project to the construction stage.
Ending: The approvals move two housing projects into next steps: a Habitat home in the Southampton/Lexington Park area and engineering/site work for a larger workforce-housing development. Staff were directed to manage contract and budget actions required to release funds.
