Priority Housing Districts

This article, prepared by the PRA AHS Committee, describes Priority Housing Districts [PHDs] as proposed in the Attainable Housing Strategies initiative which is being considered by the County Council.  Previous articles by the PRA AHS Committee covered the initiative’s Goals and the Impact on Types of Homes in Parkwood. Please note that our Committee aims for objectivity and neutrality. Therefore, most of the text of this article is composed of direct quotes from the final report on the initiative.

The Planning Board recommends establishing Priority Housing Districts, in which, in addition to duplexes and triplexes, quadplexes would be allowed with reduced parking requirements. The Board recommends “…defining the Priority Housing District using a straight-line buffer of one mile from Metrorail’s Red Line, the Purple Line light rail, and MARC rail stations… “[Emphasis added. See map pp21; dp22**].

Based on the criterion of a one mile “straight-line buffer [i.e., boundary line]…” from Metro and MARC rail stations, at least some portions of Parkwood would be within a Priority Housing District. This has several implications for housing in our community: specifically,  1) quadplexes could be built “by right” and 2) parking requirements would be reduced.  [See explanation of “by right” at the end of this article.]

Standards for quadplexes.  Although quadplexes could be built “by right”, they would have to “…comply with the elements of a pattern book [an article on the Pattern Book is forthcoming]. A primary goal of the pattern book is to facilitate the construction of duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes that maintain a house-scale size and form…The pattern book will also ensure elements like porches, stoops, and lead walks are included to create neighborly homes that encourage social interaction and do not lead to isolating community dynamics.”[pp27-28; dp28-29**]

Here are examples of two different types of duplexes that would be allowed: [pp87&89; dp88&90**].

Parking.  “As part of the AHS, a review of the parking requirements…was conducted [by the Planning Department]. One of the areas of focus was on the required minimum parking that is appropriate for attainable housing dwellings, and whether that should vary based on the dwelling type, or the location of the housing. Part of what informed the Board’s recommendations included the work done in 2018 on Accessory Dwelling Units where the council agreed to reduce parking requirements within a mile of transit or where adequate on-street parking was available (emphasis added). In addition, the priority of facilitating more intensive attainable housing (quadplexes) and generally reducing overall parking near existing and planned transit through the Priority Housing District was considered….A review of professional literature on parking in various other jurisdictions suggests that parking requirements contribute to the high cost of housing” (emphasis added.) [pp42-43; dp43-44]

“Buffer Distances”. The Planning Board reports that “Several people believe that the …distances used to create the Priority Housing District are arbitrary and random – and either smaller buffers or pedestrian network walksheds should be used as a more realistic option. (emphasis added) The Planning Board felt that it was consistent to align the buffer distances with previous guidance from the Accessory Dwelling Unit parking requirements, which included 1-mile straightline buffers.” [pp63; dp64**]

Summary:  Based on the current definition of a Priority Housing District [within one straight-line mile of a Metro or MARC station], at least some portions of Parkwood would be within a PHD.  This would allow quadplexes to be built “by right” and parking requirements to be reduced.  Questions have been raised about the reasonableness of the one-mile boundary, but the Planning Board is currently maintaining its proposed criterion.

The next article in this series will be a description of the proposed Pattern Book.

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Explanation of “by right”:  Property owners can build what and how they want as long as the units are within then-current zoning ordinances without having to apply for a zoning variance, unless it exceeds the restrictions of those ordinances. If the proposed Pattern Book is adopted by the Council, quadplexes, as well as duplexes and triplexes, would also  have to conform its requirements.

 ** Throughout this and subsequent articles, two page numbers will be used as references to the text of the Planning Board’s Final Report to the Council.  The letters “pp” will refer to the printed page number of the report.  The letters “dp” will refer to the digital page number of the report in PDF format.