Thursday, June 03, 2010
Garrett building permits increase; not for housing
Construction boost coming from wind project on Backbone Mountain near Eagle Rock
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND — The number of Garrett County building permits issued in the first quarter of the year increased by more than 16 percent over the same period in 2009, even while the county’s housing starts continued to drop.
Jim Torrington, chief of the permits and inspection division of the Department of Planning, said the increase is attributable to individual permits for 28 commercial wind turbines currently under construction atop Backbone Mountain near Eagle Rock. Those permits account for all but 10 of the 38 commercial permits approved.
Overall, the county issued 121 building permits from January through April, with a builder declared value totaling more than $103 million.
The number of permits granted for single-family homes continued to decline, with 23 issued in the first quarter. By comparison, the county issued 28 such permits in the first quarter of 2009, and 60 for the same period in 2008. That amounts to a 62 percent decline between 2008 and 2010.
And just five of those homes are within the Deep Creek Lake watershed, compared with 10 in 2009 and 26 in 2008.
But Torrington said there are some encouraging signs for the local economy.
“We see a trend of things picking up,” he said. “We have a lot of contractors calling, and just in the last week we’ve issued several permits for homes, some large homes.”
Much of the work now being done is to repair the damage of the hard winter on things like porches, decks and accessory buildings, he said. The county doesn’t charge a permit fee for most of those projects.
The number of building permits approved annually has been dropping since at least 2005, down 31 percent between 2005 and 2009. The number of permits for single-family homes has also dropped consistently, by 58 percent in that period.
Torrington said that while construction now appears to be on the upswing, the economic downturn could have a lasting impact on the county’s growth.
“We may never be at the rate we were before,” he said.
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
THE LAKE HILL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Jul. 17, 2008
THE LAKE HILL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT project is being planned by Garrett County Community Action Committee to help low- and middle-income workers buy homes. Located near the proposed McHenry Business and Technology Park and the county airport, the development will feature a variety of housing types and prices on about 50 acres. Adjacent ball fields, trails, and picnic sites will preserved as “green spaces” for Lake Hill and other residents. The Garrett County commissioners recently transferred 50 acres of county-owned property known as the White Face Farm for the development project. This week, Community Action president Duane Yoder provided the architectural renderings pictured and discussed some of the details about the project.
Affordable workforce housing for low and moderate income people may soon be available at a proposed development called Lake Hill. Spearheaded by the Garrett County Community Action Committee, the community will be located near the proposed McHenry Business and Technology Park and the airport.
Community Action president Duane Yoder recently reviewed the Lake Hill development for the Garrett County commissioners, who approved the transfer of about 50 acres of the White Face Farm property for the project.
This week, Yoder provided more details about the project for the media, along with two architectural renderings of the proposed community.
Yoder called the commissioners’ support for Lake Hill “a great demonstration of how teamwork can be used to create affordable workforce housing in the McHenry area, close to where jobs are located.”
The president also noted that despite unemployment dropping in the county, the cost of housing has made it very difficult for young working families and even middle income persons to acquire a home in a market where the median home sales exceed affordability ratios of median household incomes by 10, when generally accepted rates are between two and three.
Yoder also pointed to the fact that existing employers seeking to expand or recruit workers for new businesses are increasingly expressing concern over housing affordability.
“Housing is a critical economic development issue” stated Jim Hinebaugh, director of the Garrett County Department of Economic Development.
He also noted that because of the importance of housing to employers, the Garrett County Development Corporation and the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce have both made housing a priority.
Community Action’s proposal will utilize 40-50 acres and yield over 200 homes, according to Yoder. Approximately 170 additional acres will be placed in a permanent development ban as either a conservancy or a buffer around the airport. Additionally, softball and soccer fields adjacent to the development will be improved, and trail and picnic sites will be preserved as “green spaces.”
Yoder describes the appearance of the Lake Hill development as “an attractive and pleasing small town.”
“The uniqueness of this initiative is that it builds an attractive, sustainable community in an area rich with amenities,” Yoder said. “At the same time it builds a trust fund that will enable sustained work throughout the county.”
He added that the commissioners’ land transfer action was a state model for “Smart Growth.”
The Lake Hill plan calls for a mix of house types and prices, with the primary market being persons earning less than 150 percent of the area’s household median income, which is currently $60,000.
Only persons earning less than 150 percent of the median income will be eligible for reduced home prices. Higher income buyers will pay the full appraised market value, Yoder said.
The county’s land transfer, as agreed upon by the commissioners, will be made into a nonprofit land trust that will hold title to the property and provide land lease agreements to buyers.
“The cost of the land is removed from the price of the house, making the home more affordable to buyers,” Yoder said.
Additionally, development income will go to the land trust to rehabilitate or develop housing in other parts of the county.
The Lake Hill project grew out of local efforts to find solutions to the problem of affordable workforce housing. The Development Corporation and Community Action led a three-year effort through a task force of more than 30 people to devise such a plan, Yoder said.
According to Development Corporation chair Criss Kepple, the core of that plan describes strategies on how the community can work together to build and maintain housing that is affordable to people who work in the county and for young residents getting careers started in the community.
“The plan specifically recommends that the county look for ways it can provide land and infrastructure to achieve that goal,” Kepple said. “I believe Lake Hill provides an almost perfect site for a workforce housing community and clearly is consistent with the plan recommendation.”
She pointed out that the McHenry area is a major employment center, where workers living in the new housing development will not have to travel far to work.
“There is access to public utilities, and the area is designated as a growth zone,” Kepple added. “It also provides our workers who help make Deep Creek Lake a very attractive place to also enjoy its amenities while saving on energy and transportation.”
Yoder said he expects it will take several years to obtain the necessary funding and approvals for the Lake Hill project. He added that he anticipates a number of realtors and builders will participate in the build out and marketing of the development.
“The McHenry Business and Technology Park is expected to eventually attract businesses with higher wages,” Yoder add. “The Lake Hill housing development will not only support the county’s efforts to build the employment center by creating attractive housing for these future jobs, but will also create housing for those already working in McHenry and at Garrett College as well.”
Thursday, July 03, 2008
GC Community Action Requests Land For Workforce Housing Development
Jul. 3, 2008
Community Action Committee president Duane Yoder asked the county commissioners last week to transfer county-owned land to his agency for a workforce/affordable housing project.
The initiative is being planned in conjunction with the proposed McHenry Business and Technology Park, slated for the county’s White Face Farm property near the airport. Yoder noted that the housing site would be a prime location for business park employees to live.
“We are asking for a contribution of approximately 50 acres,” he said. “This is based on discussions with Economic Development (Garrett County) in terms of how much land they will need for the business park.”
The original housing project has been scaled back because of the needs of the park and Federal Aviation Administration, Yoder said.
Community Action’s vice president for development, Cherie Ross, presented the commissioners with a preliminary rendering of the site plan created by architect Doug Devlin.
Between 250 and 300 units would be constructed for people of various income levels. The actual number of units, however, would depend on the county’s planned residential development stipulations (PRD) and the amount of “green spaces” that can be incorporated into the project.
“We’re looking at and exploring various housing types,” Devlin said. “We think modular is going to be a major player in terms of being able to provide affordable housing.”
The units would be a mix of single-family and multi-family homes, duplexes, and, perhaps, “miniature” cottages, ranging from 450 to 1,000 square feet. Some of the residents would own their homes, while others would be renters.
The idea is to create a place with a traditional, neighborhood or village-type of feel. Devlin said, however, that a market study was needed to calibrate the best mix of housing types for the project.
Yoder also noted that the study was needed to see where the business park employees would fit into the housing arrangement.
The president added that one of the main features of the housing project is a parcel on the west side of the proposed site. That area is too steep to be developed, he said.
“We would ask that [parcel] also be added to the contribution by the county for the purpose of allowing us to use it to meet the PRD formula and requirements,” Yoder said.
But ultimately, he said, the parcel would be put into some type of conservation district and never developed.
“Although, we would use it for recreational purposes, trails, and so on,” Yoder said.
Other nearby green spaces that could be used in conjunction with the housing project are two ball fields that were established through Program Open Space. The POS sites, undeveloped parcel, business park, and other places in McHenry could all be connected with public walking trails, Devlin noted.
Yoder said the primarily targets for the homes would be the workforce and for-sale housing markets. Some of those dwellings would be sold/rented through a subsidy program, while others would be available at the market rate.
“Without those subsides, I don’t think we can do it,” he said about providing affordable housing for local workers. “With them, I think we can.”
Under the subsidy program, homeowners and renters would have to meet certain income guidelines.
“I think we all agree that we want to promote home ownership, and, ideally, we’d like to do that through the market,” said Director Jim Hinebaugh, Economic Development.
But, he noted, while local wages have increased somewhat in recent years, they have not kept up with inflation and increased housing costs. As a result, many cannot afford a home at market prices.
“I think Duane’s proposal is one way to get there,” Hinebaugh said about helping workers obtain affordable housing.
Yoder presented the commissioners with a workforce housing proposal, outlining ways to assure that the subsides go to the target population and that they are not misused. The proposal includes creating a land trust to provide sustainable affordable housing for the future and provisions for home sales.
If a home is sold under an appraised market, Yoder explained, a certain percentage of the appreciated value would go toward the land trust, based on the number of years of ownership.
He also told the commissioners that Community Action wants to encourage developers to be a part of the housing project. Yoder indicated that his agency did not have the time that is necessary to finish the initiative in short period of time. To speed up the project, developers could buy three or four lots and construct the homes following Community Action guidelines.
Yoder noted that Economic Development needed to know the basic boundary lines of the housing project so that it could move forward with the business park.
The commissioners discussed the issue further this week and approved the transfer of about 50 acres to Community Action for its project.
“The county is also considering transferring an additional 50-70 acres of property that has less/little development potential into a conservation easement,” Hinebaugh said yesterday. “This would potentially increase the density and number of residential units in the Community Action residential development.”
County administrator Monty Pagenhardt noted yesterday that the county will now benefit from real property tax revenue on the developed land that it most likely would not have received had the transfer not been approved.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Lowes Construction Well Underway
If you have been on Garrett Highway in Oakland in recent weeks, you have no doubt noticed that Beitzel Co. is laying the ground work for the new
Lowes home improvement store. It’s really amazing to me to see how quickly the earth was moved and storm water management ponds were built. I, for one, am excited about the prospects of having a home improvement store with this amount of on-site selections available locally. I know it will have an impact on local businesses, and that is part of competition. Theorhetically, it will drive prices down for consumers here, and that is good news in these tough economic times. The gas we save from driving to Morgantown, WV; Uniontown, PA; or Cumberland, MD (which are the closest stores in the chain) will add up very quickly.
One downside of this is the amount of home improvements I have put off over the years. Now it looks like I will be forced to spend that extra gas money on fixing leaky faucets and replacing older fixtures...
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Decline in building permits puts Garrett in line with national trend
Decline in building permits puts Garrett in line with national trend
Sarah Moses
Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND - Building permits in Garrett County are down for the year to date by almost 10 percent when compared to this time last year, a trend that has continued since the peak of building in 2004."I think it’s following the national trend,” Jim Torrington, chief of the county’s permits and inspections division, told the county commissioners at their Tuesday meeting. “Though I’ve talked to some contractors who think they will be up."Commissioner Fred Holliday commented that each year there has been a decrease, with contractors saying there would be an increase.Torrington said the contractors have been keeping busy despite the downturn.The biggest decline in building permits for the first five months was in residential permits, with a drop of 16.3 percent in single-family homes, 33.3 percent in double-wides and 50 percent in mobile homes.Increases in duplex permits have occurred, with four permits issued as opposed to one by this time last year.Commercial and industrial properties are also on the rise, with 36 permits issued from January to May. This is 14 more than last year, and 17 more than in 2004, when overall building permits were at their highest.Despite the increases in commercial and industrial properties, like other permit areas, the average declared value is considerably less than previous years, with the average at $98,789, where it was $351,522 last year.The largest amount of the total value of the properties to be built remains at Deep Creek Lake, with 67 percent of the total $29,854,301 to be constructed. About half of the homes to be constructed in the county and a like amount of the total square footage will be at the lake. This puts both the percentage of value and permits higher at the lake than it has been in five years."Things have gone down considerably from where we were,” John Nelson, director of planning and land development, said. “Hopefully, things will turn around.”
Contact Sarah Moses at .
