Frederick Growth Squeezing Residents Out of County

Upchurch, the Interfaith Housing Alliance president, said impact fees now cost more than what the organization recently paid for building lots in Fayetteville, Pa., about 56 miles north of Frederick.

In response to the Affordable Housing Council report, Commissioner Jan H. Gardner (D) proposed changing the impact fee into a tax -- a more progressive way of raising money that hits people who buy more expensive homes harder. It would also give officials flexibility to waive the taxes in certain cases, such as for affordable housing.

But the proposal, which needed approval from the General Assembly, was unanimously killed Friday by the county's legislative delegation in Annapolis.

"Clearly, there was opposition from the builders and the chamber of commerce," Gardner said. "But I won't give up on the larger issue. Someone has to underwrite the cost of building more affordable housing; there's no other way."

Michael L. Cady, (R) vice president of the board, opposed the impact tax and saw it as class warfare.

As an alternative, Cady has proposed creating an affordable housing trust fund with $1 million from the county's $45.5 million budget surplus in fiscal 2005, to pay for impact fees or other costs for modestly priced dwellings. He proposed using money from the county's recordation tax to keep it funded. He also suggested reducing the proportion of costlier, single-family dwellings in new mixed-use developments that also include townhouses.

But Cady, who has been supportive of property rights and impatient with slow-growth supporters, could not even get a hearing for his proposals.

Now, the board is awaiting recommendations from the Affordable Housing Council, which is scheduled to report to the commissioners in March.

By then, Jennings hopes to be gone. County records show his combined yearly city and county tax bill will jump by $1,300 based on his home's recent assessment. He and his wife, Maureen, have already looked in Delaware, where the property taxes are lower.

"When I look at the realities of my financial situation, it's either get out gracefully, or get thrown out down the line," Jennings said.