Everyone knows local home sales are in a slump. If you are trying to sell an age restricted unit, you know, one of those “active adult” homes, the slump is even worse. In the not too distant past, homebuilders were flooding the market with this product. The inevitable finally occurred, and now supply has far outpaced demand.
Not surprisingly, one the developers of age restricted or active adult housing came up with a solution. Brantley Development Group, developers of three of these types of communities in Howard County sought to amend Section 103.A of the Zoning Regulations to allow up to 20% of the units in an age restricted community to be sold to people under 55.
Last night, the county council said no deal. According to this story by Larry Carson in The Sun, ZRA 108 “was defeated by a unanimous Howard County Council Monday night after strong opposition from older residents.”
I think Councilperson Courtney Watson summed it up nicely when she said “I cannot find any redeeming qualities in this bill.”
Nice try anyway. I guess this proves that developers don’t always get their way despite what some people think.
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