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Residents and council urge action on affordable housing; some projects delayed by permitting and administration disputes
Summary
Residents and council members pressed for stronger affordable-housing requirements and for administrative fixes to speed stalled projects; a council member recommended tying developer tax incentives to escalating affordable-housing set‑asides.
Affordable housing drew sustained public comment and council discussion at the May 12 legislative session. Robert Taylor, a Salisbury resident, urged the council to require developers who receive long-term tax incentives to provide dedicated affordable units and to bind those commitments in land records so units remain reserved through ownership changes.
“I'm speaking primarily of the Horizon program up to a 20 year tax waiver,” Taylor said, and recommended tying tax incentives to affordable-housing set-asides: “If somebody wants any of that horizon program, let's say 25% affordable housing requirement for the first 5 years. … If they want to go another 5 years, say they gotta go to 30% affordable housing.” Taylor also proposed escalating thresholds for longer waivers and recommended prioritizing deeply affordable units (citing roughly 60% of area median income as an example for serious affordability).
Council members agreed the issue requires both legislative and administrative action. The mayor and other council members said a number of projects have been delayed or held up by permit and administrative processes; the transcript references a “$40,000,000 lawsuit and the notice for intent to sue” as public documents that have affected development timelines and developer interest. Council members said one West Side project of roughly 50 units is awaiting permits and has been delayed for more than a year; Mitchell Landing (a repair/restoration of affordable units) was noted as recently reopened.
Several council members asked that staff bring the subject back for a focused work session so the council can draft ordinance language and administrative procedures in parallel. The mayor and other officials emphasized that legislation without administrative follow-through would be ineffective; they asked for co‑ordinated legislative and administrative steps, including stronger permit processing to avoid further project delays.
Ending: Council committed to scheduling further work on affordable- and attainable-housing policy, with follow-up to address administrative permit processing and potential developer obligations tied to city incentives. No ordinance or binding requirement was adopted at the May 12 session.
