Anne Arundel pushes bill for affordable housing

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Efforts are under way at the State House to make building affordable housing in Anne Arundel, which lacks houses for low-income families, cheaper and easier for developers and nonprofits.

“The need is great, not less, which is very unfortunate,” said Dan Ellis, executive director of Arundel Habitat for Humanity.

“This will allow us to reach deeper into the income bracket and create more affordable housing opportunities.”

County Executive John R. Leopold recently presented a bill before the General Assembly that would grant the county power to exempt nonprofits that build affordable housing from impact fees, money paid for new buildings.

The General Assembly must approve the authority, which would then rest in the county government.

Leopold wants significantly higher impact fees for new residential and commercial projects. For example, he wants to increase the current flat $4,000 charge for a new single-family house to a progressive fee based on the number of bedrooms ranging from $11,000 to $37,000.

Developers say such a move would deter affordable housing by raising building costs, but Leopold said his bill addresses that concern by removing a financial burden.

“The administration and the [County] Council will set the parameters, but this will most certainly encourage work force housing,” Leopold said.

Ellis said Leopold’s bill would help Arundel Habitat for Humanity, which turns away 80 percent of affordable housing applicants because of high demand and short supply.

Another bill favored by the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition would give all counties the authority to decide who would be exempt — either nonprofits or for-profit groups — from impact fees. Currently, state permission must be given to exempt particular groups.

“We need something broad enough to take care of the true affordable housing field,” said Trudy McFall, the coalition’s legislative director.

“We need something to include rental housing, which is not addressed and is a large component of affordable housing.”

“Nonprofits alone cannot solve the affordable housing problem themselves,” Ellis said.

Last year, Anne Arundel was fourth in awards to affordable housing projects, totaling $1.8 million, from the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust, behind Baltimore City and Montgomery and Frederick counties.

jflanagan@baltimoreexaminer.com