Milton council accepts report on affordable housing

Milton Town Council unanimously accepted a report by the planning and zoning commission on affordable/workforce housing Aug. 4, and plans to ask the commission to develop related ordinances to help create more affordable housing within the town.

Milton officials have been looking at ways to create more affordable housing since January 2024, when council formed an ad hoc committee to create a report intended to be a road map for the town moving forward. Addressing affordable housing is part of the town’s comprehensive plan, and council members have expressed the desire to create more housing for working families as the average cost of a newly constructed home in Milton has soared. The 11-page report was received by council in February and assigned to planning and zoning to provide an advisory report and possible ordinance language.

The eight recommendations are:

• Working with nonprofit housing developers to build new units on available individual lots
• Requiring developers who seek to annex or rezone property to provide a certain percentage of affordable units
• Preparing an ordinance to allow for accessory dwelling units in residential areas
• Requiring affordable housing in developments with large-parcel development district overlays
• Working with nonprofit developers to facilitate new affordable units in newly annexed communities
• Providing information at town hall on Sussex County block grants
• Encouraging more mixed-use zoning in the town’s future land-use map
• Reviewing the zoning code to find ways to reduce restrictions that increase development costs, such as setbacks, parking regulations and minimum lot size.

“The need for affordable/workforce housing in Milton is real and it is growing,” the report says. “Proximity to the beach and low real estate taxes have attracted higher-income households, retirees and a growing seasonal use of our available housing stock.”

“There are no incentives for developers to build affordable/workforce housing. Essential workers like teachers, police officers and municipal employees, who do not qualify for subsidized housing programs, cannot afford to live here,” the report said.

After town council accepted the ad hoc committee’s report, it was then sent to planning and zoning for its review. The commission determined five of the eight recommendations could be acted upon, while the rest could be addressed in the comprehensive plan. 

Regarding annexation, the commission recommended that developers seeking to annex should be required to commit to having a minimum of 10% of owned houses or 15% of rental houses be designated as affordable/workforce housing. This 10/15 rule would also apply to large-parcel developments. Affordable housing would be defined as costing no more than 30% of a person’s gross income. 

“The program incentivizes developers to set aside a portion of new housing units as affordable while still allowing for significant market rate development. This consideration would encourage a developer to set aside units to be designated for low- and-moderate income families, helping to create communities where everyone can thrive,” the commission’s report says.

The commission notes the town will not be able to shoulder all the costs and concessions necessary to create affordable housing alone, as the effort will require buy-in from the state, the federal government, non-government organizations, the business community and nonprofits.

The commission also recommended encouraging the development of accessory dwelling units, secondary housing that is located on the lot of a larger, primary home. The planners propose allowing ADUs in all residential zones subject to compliance with all other applicable regulations. Each property would be limited to one ADU, and the unit could either be within a house – such as a basement apartment, garage apartment or an attached addition – or as an external unit. 

The commission acknowledges that opportunities for creating affordable housing largely lie in future growth.

“There are very few parcels of land, within the town limits, large enough to build new residential developments with affordable/workforce housing components. The path to any significant amount of affordable/workforce housing lives in the town’s growth area, as defined in the 2018 comprehensive plan, and will continue in the upcoming Milton 2028 comprehensive plan effort,” the report says.