The legal limbo of Arlington’s Missing Middle policy could impact other planned housing initiatives.
Members of the county government’s Housing Commission on Nov. 7 were briefed by county staff on new proposals to address housing affordability and to diversify the county’s housing stock.
Among them: A direct partnership providing financial incentives to developers who come up with creative solutions to bringing in more housing.
The effort, which is being vetted in anticipation of later County Board consideration, is designed to offer “a wide variety of different development opportunities,” said Caitlin Jones, a member of the government’s housing staff in the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development.
There is no pre-ordained outcome, said Richard Tucker, the government’s housing coordinator, beyond “asking for developers to shoot us their ideas.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see what we end up receiving,” he said.
Complicating the effort, however, is the recent judicial ruling invalidating parts of Arlington’s Missing Middle/Expanded Housing Options policy that allowed for more housing units to be placed on what had been single-home lots.
County-government leaders plan to appeal, but that’s a lengthy process with an uncertain outcome. Retired Circuit Court Judge David Schell, who issued the ruling, pointedly warned developers who were in the process of building under the Missing Middle policy that if they moved forward and his decision is upheld, they or later owners of the properties might be forced to tear down the structures.
The uncertainty will chill the enthusiasm of developers who might want to partner up with the county government in future efforts via Missing Middle zoning authority.
“Obviously, that’s not going to be an option for us in the short term,” Tucker said.
“The challenge is going to be for the developers to work with the zoning as it exists,” he said at the commission meeting. “It’s going to take some creativity or some legwork to identify sites that are appropriate for multiple units.”
One part of the overall staff proposal that won’t be impacted by Missing Middle’s limbo is a plan to bring back loans to low- and moderate-income homeowners who need to make home improvements but do not have the financial resources.
Such an initiative had been in place until about 2017, Jones said. The planned resurrection will not be identical but rather “a tiered approach,” she said.
While further fleshing out will occur, the package given to the Housing Commission anticipates three options for homeowners seeking support:
- Up to $45,000 per unit for major repairs and accessibility upgrades to properties owned by those earning less than between 60% and 80% of the region’s median income. Loans would accrue interest charges estimated at 1% to 3% per year over 30 years, but repayment would be deferred until a property is sold.
- Also up to $45,000 for per unit major repairs or accessibility upgrades to properties owned by those earning less than 60% of median income or those in what county officials term “priority communities.” There would be no interest charged, repayment would be deferred for up to 30 years, and in some circumstances loans could be forgiven.
- Up to $20,000 per unit for accessory-dwelling properties or condominiums, with no interest charges and repayment deferred until a sale. The loan could be forgiven in some circumstances. Funds potentially could be used to pay any special assessments imposed by condominium associations for major capital repairs.
In addition to the participation of individual homeowners, county staff say the effort could target specific neighborhoods with a high proportion of aging housing stock.
There’s “additional discussion” planned to refine how the program will look, Jones said.
County officials are hopeful that grant funding could provide seed money for the efforts, since trying to shoehorn new initiatives into what county officials project will be a challenging budget year could prove problematic.
“We’re hopeful that we get funding [from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] — we’ll see how things go,” Tucker said.
Absent that, he said, “all of these recommendations can be considered as part of the county’s regular budget process,” he said.
The Arlington government currently provides a number of support systems for renters, homeowners and those who aspire to home ownership.
