TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski issued an executive order on December 3, 2024, mandating affordable housing units in new housing developments receiving County financial support.

This means any new or preservation development project that receives county discretionary financial support — which includes loans, grants, payments-in-lieu of taxes, tax credits, TIFs, and bonds — must designate a percentage of units as affordable housing and set them aside to be preserved at specific income thresholds.

According to the executive order (PDF), 20% of units must be set aside for affordable units, with 10% for households at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 10% for households below 80% AMI.

“Access to high quality, affordable housing should be a fundamental right. Leaders have an obligation to do whatever they can to create attainable housing opportunities that allow residents to put down roots and join vibrant neighborhoods,” Olszewski said in a statement. “This executive order builds on our successful market-based, mixed-income approach to housing, and ensures that publicly funded developments assist in addressing our moral and legal obligation to provide housing that meet the needs of families at all income levels.”

The executive order is an effort to tackle the housing crisis by ensuring that new or existing housing units are accessible to essential workers in Baltimore County, including teachers, public safety personnel, retail, and service workers. Olszewski said private developers can proceed with projects lacking attainable housing, but they will not qualify for county financial assistance.

The move comes as the county is trying to reach a goal of supporting and incentivizing the creation of 1,000 affordable rental housing units by March 2028 as part of a 2016 Conciliation Agreement and Voluntary Compliance Agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). So far, 908 units have been approved, according to the county.

“Good housing matters,” said Brian McLaughlin, Maryland’s former Assistant Secretary for Neighborhood Revitalization within the Department of Housing & Community Development and the inaugural CEO of Enterprise Community Development, in a statement. “And regardless of what stage in life we find ourselves, we still need good housing. In calling upon developers to help figure this out — how to make our housing better serve our full community — Baltimore County has raised the bar and said use of public funds means you will also be part of the innovation and trailblazing needed to move our region forward for everyone.”

This executive order represents the Olszewski administration’s latest effort to improve access to quality housing in Baltimore County.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

Photo via Pixabay