Committee continues attainable-housing work session; planning board urges multiplex building types, LMAs and streamlined approvals

At a July 22 work session the Planning, Housing & Parks Committee received detailed recommendations from planning staff and the planning board to increase production of "attainable housing." The discussion covered large-, medium- and small-scale strategies including zoning changes, procedural streamlining and homeowner incentives.

The planning board representative explained the board's approach: use the master-plan process and local map amendments to identify corridor-appropriate rezoning, and consider form-based corridor zones to allow four-or-more-story mixed-use residential buildings where appropriate. "The master plan process is the one that legally amends the general plan," the planning representative said, noting that the planning board transmits plans to the council for adoption.

Planning staff and the planning board proposed adding a multiplex building type (vertically and horizontally attached modest structures) to optional and standard methods in many residential, townhome, multi-unit and some commercial zones, with a requirement that multiplexes be served by public water and sewer. For smaller projects, staff recommended requiring site plan approval but permitting administrative director-level approval for projects under 20 dwelling units to shorten review time.

Ben Burbert of Montgomery Planning told the committee, "A lot of what we're actually discussing now is no longer large scale. This actually is the implementation of small and medium scale." He and other planning staff stressed that the suggested administrative subdivision and site-plan changes are intended to make small- and medium-scale multiplex conversions and duplex/triplex infill more feasible for ownership models that enable sale of individual units.

The planning board also recommended allowing limited minor subdivisions and new administrative subdivision plans (for up to 19 dwelling units), permitting the creation of lots without frontage under narrow conditions, and modifying cluster and MPDU optional methods to include multiplex building types. Committee members asked for mapping and counts of existing preliminary plans and site-plan conditions that limit density so the council can better understand the scope of exemptions and how many lots would be affected.

On parking, planning suggested a three-tier reduction (no reduction, 50%, or 75%) depending on zone, whether on-street parking is available and whether the site is inside the Priority Housing District; staff also proposed exploring alternative parking calculations, on-street parking counts and tandem parking options.

Staff and the planning board put forward several incentive proposals to support owner-occupied conversions: property tax refunds (proposed: 50% refund for duplex conversions, 66% for triplex conversions and 75% for quadplex/apartment conversions for up to 10 years while the owner occupies the unit), a conversion assistance toolkit produced by a multi-agency team, and a proposed conversion loan fund with an initial capitalization discussed at $5,000,000 and loans capped at $25,000 with a five-year repayment window and an interest-free first year. Council staff recommended further research into these incentives and peer-jurisdiction practices.

Throughout the session, committee members emphasized the need for data-driven decisions on driveway widths, tree canopy impacts, stormwater and address-assignment for lots without frontage; staff agreed to follow up with DPS and planning to get empirical data and mapping. The committee scheduled additional fall listening sessions and expects planning board-proposed legislation and ZTAs to continue through the council process into late 2024.

No formal committee vote was taken on the attainable-housing recommendations during the July 22 session; staff asked the committee to review the materials and return with more detailed analyses and public engagement in the fall.