The grand plan for how downtown Columbia will be reshaped in the coming decades is advancing through the public review process and like almost any complicated development scheme, the questions are coming fast this summer.
Among the most scrutinized aspects of the proposal advanced by the county executive are providing a financial incentive for developers and building so-called affordable housing.
Years of discussions – which have included Howard Hughes Corp. developers, planners, community housing advocates and the County Council and executive – have produced a massive blue-sky document, full of sweeping pronouncements about job and business creation, visions of harmonious neighborhoods with the best schools and public services, abundant shopping, easy-to-use transportation networks and a cornucopia of housing choices.
Even taken in small bites, the plan is a lot to swallow, much less digest. That's why the county needs to call a timeout and adjust approval timelines to allow further study, addressing in depth any misinformation, rumors and innuendo. A 40-year deal, as proposed, in ever-shifting economic conditions, is certain to undergo changes, perhaps with unintended consequences.
Of utmost importance is getting the affording housing component right the first time. The affordable-housing need has long been acknowledged, with the questions now centering on how much to build and where to put it. Next door in Baltimore County, complaints about housing discrimination prompted a federal investigation and years of settlement talks, after which the county agreed to make changes in where it puts low-income housing and provide other incentives.
Howard County, one of the most affluent communities in the nation, can learn from Baltimore's missteps, notably by ensuring affordable units are equitably distributed in new housing developments and neighborhoods across the county.
The county executive and council are also moving to issue bonds in a tax-increment financing deal to pay for roads, parking and other public amenities in the redeveloped central district.
Known as TIFs, the financial plans have drawn their share of controversy but have also been an effective way to jumpstart and sustain redevelopment. Any TIF needs to contain an enforceable provision that the county's taxpayers are protected if future tax collections, used to repay the borrowed money, aren't adequate. Developers have to assume the risk. The Howard plan has built-in protections. Explaining these clearly will go a long way toward cementing public confidence.