County finds smaller is better, shrinks minimum home size

Measure touted to help homebuyers afford houses

Friday, Sept. 11, 2009

The decision is a reversal of what the county commissioners did in the late 1990s to address the declining property values of a plethora of townhouses that were built in Waldorf, making it difficult to sell the units. Many townhouses were rented and property values dropped even more because many tenants did not take care of the units, according to county officials.

A proposed zoning text amendment that will go to public hearing before the Charles County Planning Commission on Sept. 14 would reduce the minimum square footage of single-family homes and townhouses from 1,650 square feet to 1,250 square feet. The amendment targets housing units that will be built in the development district which includes Waldorf and White Plains.

W. Daniel Mayer, a former delegate, served on the board of county commissioners when the townhouse issue came up. Mayer defended the commissioners' decision to increase the minimum size of townhouses during the 1990s.

"The reason we did it is because for the first time in anybody's memory the assessment value of properties in Waldorf went down and that directly affects county revenue," he said. "We found that the horse was out of the barn by then because for two decades we allowed residential construction on inexpensive land and that dictated the type of housing that was built on the land. The economy dictated what we did back then, and I don't regret it. It served its purpose."

Mayer said he would support the commissioners' bid to reduce the minimum size of townhouses and single-family homes as long as the architectural standards the county tightened in the late 1990s remain in place.

Those requirements included that the fronts of the units must be brick and up to only six units could be attached to one another in a "stick." Other changes adopted during that period called for a floating zone to be created for townhouse communities to eliminate building the units by right in any zone.

"I have no problem with it because the commissioners have got to do things as the economic conditions dictate," Mayer said.

The changes made to the zoning ordinance in the late 1990s also mandated that townhouse units have "party walls" made of gypsum board between each townhouse unit as a safety measure.

The issue regarding townhouses got so bad that in fall 1998 the county commissioners placed a moratorium on building the units, Mayer said. It was lifted in spring 1999.

All of those requirements will still stand if the proposed zoning text amendment is adopted by the county commissioners, said Commissioner Gary V. Hodge (D).

"All of the requirements of quality control will remain in place," he said. "We just want to reduce the size of housing units to make them affordable without reducing the quality."

The need for more affordable workforce housing and the still floundering housing market are the key reasons behind the proposal to reduce the size of single-family homes and townhouse units, Hodge said.

"Yes, the economy is a factor because people need more affordable housing in this difficult economic period," he said. "It's been on this board of commissioners' to-do list since we've come into office to address workforce and affordable housing issues in the county."

Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D) said the county's housing commission is working on several initiatives to address the affordable housing issue.

"The downturn in the economy and the cost of housing are impacting our decision to reduce the size of housing units," he said. "We don't want to create additional barriers to potential home ownership. We think that this will help increase our housing market potential.

"We're trying to put together all of the tools that we have to create a comprehensive housing policy," he added. "The people who serve on the housing commission want to do more but we're not allowing them a vehicle to do anything. The county was basically floundering on the issue, and now we're planning."

The construction industry in Charles County is flagging and the proposed amendment will give local builders an economic boost, as well, said commissioners' President F. Wayne Cooper (D).

"The economic times that we're in right now [are] not really giving our youth a choice to live in the county," he said, adding that financing will be easier for potential homeowners to obtain if they are trying to buy a smaller unit because the price of the home would also be reduced.

The number of residential building permits issued by the county has dropped about 60 percent and commercial building permits have decreased by 50 to 60 percent since the start of the recession, Cooper said.

"The cost of housing units has been driven so high even senior citizens can't afford to purchase a home," he said. "We need to move forward with this because I believe that we're going to see hard times for at least a couple more years."

Total home values dropped 5.8 percent during the last couple of years in Charles County from $6 billion to $5.6 billion, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.

The proposed zoning text amendment does make some stipulations, however, including that 25 percent of the units in a community must be at least 1,250 square feet, 25 percent must be a minimum of 1,450 square feet and the remaining units must be at least 1,640 square feet, according to a county planning staff report.

In addition, dwelling units that are less than 1,650 square feet must be mixed within a subdivision rather than being segregated, according to the staff report.

One hundred percent of housing units in minor subdivisions and existing plotted lots in the development district must be a minimum of 1,250 square feet, according to the staff report.

The planning commission will hold a work session before making a recommendation to the county commissioners.

The commissioners will also hold a public hearing and work session before rendering a decision about whether to adopt the zoning text amendment.

Hodge said local developers who are still building in the county definitely support the size reduction in housing units.

"It gives them a broader spectrum of products to offer their customers," he said.

The proposed legislation would be welcomed by American Community Properties Trust, the developer of the St. Charles community in Waldorf, said Craig Renner, spokesman.

"It's would enable us to provide a wide diversity of housing stock," he said. "The new standards would be beneficial."

It is the right time to start making it a little easier for folks to purchase affordable homes in the county, said Commissioner Edith J. Patterson (D).

"This is the only way we can provide more affordable housing for our citizens," she said. "It's the only equitable way of doing it."

nmcconaty@somdnews.com