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Commissioners press staff on town-center affordable-housing language and TDR waivers
Summary
Members questioned why affordable-housing waiver language (including a potential waiver of TDR purchases when projects exceed 30% of town-center housing) appears in Lusby and Prince Frederick but not other town centers; staff said definitions and text will be clarified in later town-center updates.
Commissioners raised questions about affordable-housing provisions in Exhibit A of the draft county ordinance, noting the language appeared to apply only to Lusby and Prince Frederick town centers. Commissioner McQueen asked why the provision was not consistent across town centers and sought explicit definitions of what qualifies as "affordable housing." Staff said parts of the town-center zoning were written at different times and that the county plans to update each town-center ordinance in sequence after the county ordinance is adopted.
Staff provided a working definition of affordable housing from the county approach: "Housing in which the occupant is paying no more than 30% of the occupant's gross income for housing cost." Staff also referenced state and federal standards that link affordability to a percentage of median income and noted a common state threshold of households at or below 80% of statewide median income for some programs. Commissioners asked staff to take a closer look and to harmonize the language across town centers during the next ordinance update cycle.
