The County Executive issued an executive order requiring new developments receiving County financial support now include affordable housing units.
Yesterday, County Executive Johnny Olszewski issued an executive order requiring that new housing developments receiving County financial support must include affordable housing units.
According to the executive order, any new or preservation development projects receiving County discretionary financial support – including loans, grants, payments-in-lieu of taxes, tax credits, TIFs, and bonds – are required to designate a percentage of units as affordable housing and set them aside to be preserved at specific income thresholds. The order requires that 20 percent of units must be set aside for affordable units; 10 percent for households at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 10 percent for households below 80 percent.
“Access to high quality, affordable housing should be a fundamental right. Leaders have an obligation to do whatever they can to create attainable housing opportunities that allow residents to put down roots and join vibrant neighborhoods,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “This executive order builds on our successful market-based, mixed-income approach to housing, and ensures that publicly funded developments assist in addressing our moral and legal obligation to provide housing that meet the needs of families at all income levels.”
The executive order is an instrument to tackle the current housing crisis by ensuring that a number of new or existing housing units will be accessible to critical parts of Baltimore County’s workforce including teachers, public safety personnel, retail and service workers. Private developers can proceed with projects without attainable housing options, but they will not be eligible for financial assistance from the County.
Under the 2016 Conciliation Agreement and Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) between Baltimore County and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Baltimore County committed to supporting and incentivizing the creation of 1,000 affordable rental housing units before March 2028. To date, 908 units have been approved.
