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BL2025-1006 - Request for deferral

This discussion topic was requested by Council Member Ginny Welsch regarding BL2025-1006, regarding height restrictions.

From CM Welsch:


Colleagues, 

I would like to my ask that we defer this bill until at least the January 20 meeting. I believe it will result in some consequences that are unintended and that we will come to regret. For if the goal of this bill is to create more opportunities for housing, the height restrictions included will work in the opposite direction.  They will severely limit the home types that can be built and also limit the financial viability of many of the HPR’s the bill is opening the door to. 

The economics of building, especially in attainable price points, are incredibly difficult. More and more lenders are requiring a 20-25 percent GROSS margin in a project in order to underwrite the development. That applies to single family, HPR, multi-family and down the line. 

Those margins are achieved by square footage. When you limit height on small lots, you are limiting your total square footage.  Which is appropriate in many, many cases. But definitely not all, and definitely not as a matter of code. Because at that point it doesn’t matter how noble one's goals might be for affordable housing, which is so dear to my heart, because they won’t be able to get the underwriting for the project and nothing will get built. 

Here are some examples of home types throughout the county that would not be allowed to be built under the height restrictions as currently written.  These examples illustrate why we need to rethink the restrictions, so we can actually get the housing types that we seek.

Thanks.