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Local builder urges clarity as ordinance rewrite proceeds, cites financing shifts since 2008
Summary
Builder Tom Marcovich told the committee the moratorium and law changes have made the ordinance rewrite more detailed and said financing changes after 2008 concentrated development among large corporate builders; he suggested priority investment zones for workforce housing.
Tom Marcovich, introduced to the committee as a house builder, spoke about how the moratorium and recent legal changes have affected development in Oconee County. "Since the very beginning of when the moratorium was put into place, I feel like some of this process has morphed slightly," Marcovich said, adding that laws affecting on-site septic and subdivision approvals have changed and that some provisions have been abolished.
Marcovich said financing rules changed in 2008 and that has altered who builds: "And all of a sudden, the federal government decided they were getting in the middle of all this financing stuff...the whole world of financing for home building got turned upside down." He told the committee that large corporate builders now often dominate subdivisions because they can finance projects internally or via bonds rather than rely on conventional mortgages.
Marcovich suggested the county consider creating priority investment zones to encourage certain types of workforce housing and to attract builders suited to that housing type. He also raised sewer availability as a constraint for large developments, saying some companies would not proceed without sewer service.
