With the zoning rewrite work sessions as a backdrop, Councilmembers George Leventhal and Marc Elrich have resurrected their dissatisfaction with the "incentive density point" distribution under CR Zone. The following incentive areas have come under fire: points allotted to transit proximity, through block connections, and Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) beyond the statutory mandate. Concurrent with the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) work sessions is a demand by affordable-housing advocates to increase the 12.5 percent MPDU mandate to 15 percent in the CR zones. PHED Chair Nancy Floreen has directed Council staff to prepare for a December work session on the density point distribution following the zoning rewrite and map public hearings.
In anticipation of the work session, and recognizing that Montgomery County is the only jurisdiction that exacts affordable housing (without incentive density), planning department staff are seeking input from developers on which incentives effectively offset the cost of providing bonus MPDUs above the 12.5 percent mandate. Initial discussions on how best to create bonus MPDUs have addressed the following issues: excluding all MPDU floor areas from FAR calculations when more than 15 percent of the units are MPDUs (currently only the floor area of the bonus MPDUs is not counted); eliminating the building lot termination requirement in CR projects within three miles of Level 1 transit while providing 30 points for those projects providing 15 percent of units as MPDUs; allowing developments that provide more than 15 percent of units as MPDUs to provide public benefits from only two categories; and increasing the number of points when more than 15 percent is provided (currently every 1 percent above 15 percent yields two points).
Discussions with planning staff present an opportunity to recast the discussion on which public benefits cannot be efficiently provided by the public sector and how, with the correct incentives, other benefits could be provided by the private sector.
