Consultant will help Sussex draft housing rules

Sussex County will be working with a consultant to revise a 20-year-old affordable homeownership program that has drawn no interest and to draft rules for tiny house developments.

Brandy Nauman, director of the county’s Community Development & Housing Department, explained the plans at the April 21 Sussex County Council meeting.

The Delaware State Housing Authority in October approved the county’s request to participate in a pilot program in which the state funds a consultant to help create local zoning reforms, Nauman said. Sussex County is among the first nine participants.

The county was paired with consultant McCormick Taylor, which coordinated the Sussex County Land Use Reform Working Group last year as it created 20 recommendations to redirect and improve housing development.

Work on the new project begins this month and is scheduled to be completed by March next year. Public hearings on the draft ordinances would be held by county council and the planning & zoning commission before council votes on whether to adopt the ordinances.

The county created its Moderately Priced Housing Unit Program in 2006 in response to nationwide housing turmoil that disrupted development in the county, Nauman said.

“This was in direct response to the national housing bubble of 2005 and 2006,” she told the council.

“Sussex County was at the peak of the bubble at this time, attempting to provide relief to the local workforce who were rapidly being pushed out of the market by an influx of affluent and elderly buyers,” Nauman said. “As we know, the bubble burst and so did the program. The market crash, ironically, made affordable housing even harder to incentivize since developers pulled back from all the construction.”

The county program failed to draw interest from developers, even after revisions in 2007 and 2013, she said.

“It has not been, in my opinion, updated to reflect current market conditions,” Nauman said.

McCormick Taylor will try to determine the reasons why the affordable homeownership program has failed, and suggest changes to make it stronger and create affordable homeownership opportunities, she said.

“At the end of the day, homeownership is the best way to build equity for young families across this nation,” Councilman Steve McCarron said. “Making that a priority in Sussex County is excellent.”

One suggestion of the working group is to improve the Sussex County Rental Program, which has been used only twice by developers since it was created about 10 years ago.

McCarron said he hopes changes to the affordable rental and homeownership programs will help retain young adults who were raised in Sussex County.

“Between the SCRP and this, hopefully in a year we’ll have some good ideas,” McCarron said. “We’re really making some steps forward for Sussex Countians to stay Sussex Countians, versus being pushed out because they can’t afford to live here.”

“It’s critically important to address,” Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum added.

The other focus of the work of McCormick Taylor is to revise county rules involving so-called tiny houses.

County code will be reviewed to determine if there are any barriers to construction of tiny houses, or cottage housing – typically 100 to 400 square feet each and sometimes built in clusters. The consultant will draft new rules for such projects, which offer an affordable housing option.

The Town of Georgetown in December amended a local law to allow development of clusters of small residences known as cottage housing.

County Administrator Todd Lawson said at some point, council will be asked for its suggestions in shaping the new rules.

“These focus areas align directly with the spirit of the land-use reform working group recommendations and represent meaningful near-term opportunities to advance housing diversity and affordability in Sussex,” Nauman said.