Politics & Government

City Council Recap: Guidance on Affordability Guidelines, Declaring a Vision for Karma Academy Site

The Rockville City Council meets Mondays at Rockville City Hall. Video of meeting is posted on the city’s website, RockvilleMD.gov. Here are a few highlights:

Discussion: Clarity, guidance sought on affordable housing guidelines

The Rockville City Council wants to tighten up its guidelines for affordable housing in the city.

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The discussion was spurred after representatives from Brightview Town Square, an independent living community proposed for Town Square, asked the city to clarify its affordability guidelines for senior communities like Brightview.

The concern is that high service fees, coupled with rental costs, could make these types of independent senior living communities unaffordable for people who would otherwise qualify for affordable housing in Rockville.

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In addition to providing housing, Brightview provides other services like dinning and transportation.

Under Rockville’s code, 12.5 percent to 15 percent of housing has to be rented or sold to low- or moderate-income households if the housing development has 50 or more dwellings.

A person has to make between $22,000 and $45,100 in order to qualify for this sort of housing in Rockville.

That said, people who rent under the city’s affordable housing guidelines can be charged market-rate prices things like amenity fees and parking fees, on top of their monthly rent. But independent living facilities, like the one proposed for Town Square, are more intensive and are considerably more costly.

According to a report from Rockville’s Department of Community Planning and Development Services, monthly fees at independent living communities in Montgomery County range from $2,800 to $4,000 for one-bedroom apartments for a one-person household. The fee generally includes utilities, one to two meals per day, weekly or bi-weekly housekeeping, transportation, and social and wellness activities.

The proposed changes to the city code would cap service fees to 80 percent of either the minimum income level of $22,000, the average income level of $33,500 or maximum income level $45,100 percent.

The city is also proposing a formula that would permit developers to pay a fee in lieu of offering affordable housing, though only under certain circumstances and only if the city council authorizes the request.

The fee is intended to make it a disincentive for developers to try to buy their way out of offering affordable housing.

Under the formula, developers would be charged per unit, the difference between the market-rate price of a dwelling and the affordable-housing rate.

A public hearing on the matter could be scheduled as soon as Jan. 13.

Action: City Puts in Bid to Buy Former Karma Academy Site

In other council news, the City of Rockville will formally ask to buy the former Karma Academy site from Montgomery County, land that the city intends to incorporate into Woottons Mill Park.

In a 4-1 vote Monday night, the Mayor and Council asked city staff to send a letter to Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett expressing the city’s interest in buying the property. 

Councilman Tom Moore cast the opposing vote.

Montgomery County has been trying to figure out what to do with the former Karma Academy, at 175 Watts Branch Parkway, ever since it was destroyed by a fire in February 2013.

The site had been vacant since 2010, when it was a treatment facility for boys. Residents near the site favored incorporating the site into the park.

The property’s value was recently appraised at $760,500.

The city has until Dec. 31 to submit a proposal to the county. 


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