EASTON — A potential affordable multifamily housing development project on the east side of Ocean Gateway took a step forward at Monday night’s Town Council meeting.
Council members approved a resolution for the town to annex around 17 acres of land following multiple public hearings.
The land is to be annexed from Talbot County and into the town of Easton. It contains vacant property east of U.S. Route 50, between the Royal Farms and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Council members approved the annexation request 4-1.
Ward 4 Council Member the Rev. Elmer Davis was the sole no vote, stating that he wanted to see a plan from the developers, Corrigan & Trippe Ventures.
“If this project has a plan, present the plan, present it now,” Davis said. “And then we should look at it, not just piecemeal us, and something turns into something we totally did not think was coming our way.”
Earlier in the meeting, attorney Zach Smith spoke on behalf of Corrigan & Trippe, saying that upon successful annexation, developers will conduct designs and traffic analysis before presenting a planned unit development project to the council.
“We don’t yet know what the ultimate project will be,” Smith said. “But … we will propose a project that provides multi-family apartment rentals, and specifically partnering with the Talbot County Housing Authority to propose units at rental rates … for the folks that organization serves.”
Davis, though, was not ready to vote yes without a plan or a guarantee that the project will contain 100% affordable housing.
Developers have said they are committed to the 100% mark. The annexation agreement says at least 50% of the project must be attainable, defined as housing attainable to households “making 60% or less of the Easton Median Family Income adjusted by household size.”
“If we’re going to do a project, it should be 100%,” Davis said. “That’s where I’m at.”
Ward 3 Council Member David Montgomery expressed full support for the annexation at Monday’s meeting.
“If anyone is serious about affordable housing and has meant what they’ve been saying over the last year, two, five years,” Montgomery said, “I don’t see how they could possibly vote against this annexation.”
Council President Frank Gunsallus, Ward 1 Council Member Maureen Curry and Ward 2 Council Member Don Abbatiello joined Montgomery in approving the annexation.
NUMBER OF UNITS
Despite their approvals, Curry and Abbatiello each stated concerns about the project’s density.
Smith said developers initially thought “proposing the maximum density” — around 240 units — “would be well-received” by the council. He said he understands the message that “there needs to be balance” in the project.
“We still don’t yet have a density to present, and I think that will really be determined through the design process,” Smith told the council. Determining the number of units will depend on what the site can “reasonably accommodate” and “what’s needed for a feasible project,” Smith added.
Abbatiello said he would have preferred a “concrete number from Mr. Smith,” and that he’s “closer to 100 than 240” based on town zoning limits. However, he voted yes while stressing that the guarantee of 50% attainable housing must be kept.
The Ward 2 council member said his yes vote on the annexation does not guarantee he’d support a planned unit development proposal. Curry agreed with the density concerns.
“When the PUD comes, I want to see 100% attainable (or) workforce … housing, and no more than 150 (units),” Curry said.
OTHER INPUT
Jim Bent, chair of the town’s Affordable Housing Board, and Don Bibb, executive director of the Talbot County Housing Commission, both spoke to support the annexation request during the public hearing.
“The need is here,” Bent said, noting that he calculates around 37 current attainable housing units in progress in the town. “And the other thought that comes to mind as far as annexing property: If not this location, where?”
Matt Pluta, Choptank riverkeeper for ShoreRivers, said he hopes developers and the town can take a closer look at who would be responsible for maintaining a wetland east of the property. That wetland serves as a buffer for the Tred Avon River.
“Our experience is that once development goes that close to a waterway, you tend to see negative impacts on water quality and erosion,” Pluta said.
Other commenters asked that the town address abandoned downtown buildings or lead affordable housing projects. Davis echoed that sentiment.
“We do, I believe as the town, have resources to deal with affordable housing,” Davis said. “I think personally, that we should go buy a piece of land and build affordable housing.”
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