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Local panel urges zoning changes, septic fixes and modular building to expand 'missing middle' housing
Summary
Developers, county staff and housing officials at a Saint Mary's College panel named lot-size rules, septic-permit constraints, construction costs and financing gaps as barriers to "missing middle" housing and suggested density bonuses, modular construction and targeted county incentives to speed attainable housing.
A panel of local developers, state housing officials and county staff at a Saint Mary's College symposium outlined concrete local barriers to building more attainable housing and recommended practical fixes.
Panelists cited several recurring obstacles: land costs and lot-size rules that make small starter homes uneconomical, high materials and labor costs since the pandemic, a thin pool of construction trades, and county and state permitting gaps—particularly septic (percolation/perk) rules and delegated health-department processes. Don Cropp, a local home builder, said regulatory constraints on lot sizes and septic rules often force projects to be larger and more expensive and urged flexibility for smaller-lot projects.
Chase Powell of Green Street Housing, who develops and preserves affordable housing, and Jordan Gilmore from DHCD emphasized the value of "missing middle" housing types—duplexes, townhomes, accessory dwelling units and tiny homes—as cost-effective solutions. Powell noted that missing-middle typologies can reduce per-unit cost (townhomes were described in the keynote as roughly 30% cheaper than detached single-family homes) and recommended county tools such as density bonuses, tax abatements, fee waivers, housing trust funds and inclusionary zoning on large master-planned projects.
Multiple speakers highlighted septic and water/sewer (EDU) limits as a local constraint. Amy Scott (broker and property manager) and others pointed to properties that cannot "perk" for septic systems and the county's limited perk season; Mike Hudson earlier urged permission for on-site sewage treatment technologies. Panelists urged the county and state to examine MDE and delegated health processes and to pilot technologically advanced on-site treatment where safe and appropriate.
Panelists also recommended boosting local training and trades capacity, using modular or factory-built construction to reduce costs and timelines, and aligning the county's zoning code with the Saint Mary's 2050 plan to permit missing-middle housing in appropriate growth areas. Chase Powell suggested design-driven density bonuses and a county housing trust fund to make smaller multifamily and mixed-income projects more financeable. Jordan Gilmore (DHCD) recommended state support for modular construction and reiterated that more housing at all price tiers reduces overall pressure on affordability.
The panel concluded with a call for coordinated action: revising local codes where appropriate, targeting development to areas with sewer infrastructure, pursuing financing tools and piloting modular and septic innovations to bring attainable units online faster.
