HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021-10-25_StaffMemo_Discussion_Affordable Dwellings and Accessory Housing (002)
Date of Council Meeting: October 25, 2021
TOWN OF LEESBURG
TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Subject: Affordable Housing and Accessory Housing
Staff Contact: Susan Berry Hill, Director, Department of Planning and Zoning
Council Action Requested: Council held work sessions on the topic of affordable housing on
November 23, 2020 and April 12, 2021. After the April work session, Council asked for another
work session to continue discussion of these topics.
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that Council provide direction on whether to amend
the Zoning Ordinance now to consider allowance of accessory dwelling units as one means of
addressing affordable housing or to wait until Council discussion of the affordable housing polices
and strategies in the draft Legacy Leesburg Town Plan.
Commission Recommendation: None. The Planning Commission has completed their discussion
of affordable housing topics in the draft Legacy Leesburg Town Plan. Action on the draft is anticipated
in December.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Work Plan Impacts: There are six active Zoning Ordinance text amendments that have been
initiated and are in the Department of Planning and Zoning work queue. Work proceeds on
amendments in the order that they are initiated unless Council assigns a priority to an amendment.
Executive Summary: On April 12, 2021 Council received a presentation about the Town of Round
Hill’s accessory dwelling unit ordinance. A presentation was also provided on affordable housing
in general. Council requested another work session on these topics.
Background: An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a smaller, independent residential dwelling
unit located on the same lot as a stand-alone detached single-family home. ADUs go by many
different names throughout the U.S., including accessory apartments, secondary suites, and granny
flats.
Internal, attached, and detached ADUs all have the potential to increase housing affordability
(both for homeowners and tenants), create a wider range of housing options within the community,
enable seniors to stay near family as they age, and facilitate better use of the existing housing fabric
in established neighborhoods. Consequently, many cities and counties have signaled support for
ADUs in their plans and adopted zoning regulations that permit ADUs in low-density residential
areas.
Types of ADUs can include detached and attached units; interior units in upper level or attic space
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or basements; and above garages or garage conversions. The illustrations below are from the
AARP publication The ABC’s of ADU’s.
At the April 12th work session the Town heard from the Town Administrator for Round Hill
regarding an ADU ordinance approved for the community. Other localities that have approved
ADU ordinances or are reviewing a draft ADU ordinance include the Town of Herndon, Fairfax
County, Loudoun County and the City of Alexandria.
In the Town of Leesburg there is a provision in the Zoning Ordinance called the Extended Family
Residence which is an option in the R-4, R-6 and R-8 districts. It was intended to be used to allow
relatives of the homeowners to live in the accessory unit. It is a permitted use when all use standards
are met. If the use standards cannot be met, the applicant can seek approval though a special
exception application. The Town could revisit this approach. It could be extended to non-relatives
through approval of a special exception and this use could be extended to other residential zoning
districts in the Town at the direction of Council.
Some zoning considerations for an ADU ordinance include:
• Size of ADU. Typically the size of the ADU is limited to a percentage of the square footage
of the primary structure or a maximum square footage, whichever is smaller. The size of the
lot is also a consideration.
• Occupancy Standards. Ordinances will often address a maximum occupancy for the ADU.
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• Conversion. Ordinances sometimes address situations for conversion of the ADU if the
property owner decides to stop renting an ADU.
• Parking. Some ordinances require on-site parking. Others allow on-street parking and some
offer a mixture of the two.
• Short term rentals. One consideration when developing an ADU ordinance is whether to
limit the use of an ADU to exclude short term rentals. While use of an ADU for short term
rentals can be lucrative for a property owner, it can also defeat the objective of trying to
provide affordable housing in a community.
• Permitting. Allowing ADU’s as a by-right use may incentivize home owners to develop or
convert space for an ADU thereby increasing the number of affordable options in town.
Allowing ADU’s through the Special Exception process would give Council more control
about allowances for ADUs and to factor how each proposed ADU will fit within the
proposed neighborhood.
• Owner Occupied. Maintenance is typically higher for owner occupied units. Requirements
to maintain owner-occupancy can result in higher levels of maintenance for both the primary
structure and the ADU.
The April 12th work session also included discussion about affordable housing in general. Council
particularly wanted to understand work force housing. Staff provided a definition of work force
housing as that which is priced for middle income persons and families earning typically between
80-120% of average median income. In Loudoun County 100% average median income (AMI)
for a family of four is $126, 000 and the AMI for a single person is $88,200. In Leesburg, housing
affordability is a problem for about 50% of renters and 25% of homeowners who are spending
more than 30% of their incomes on housing.
Staff noted that one of the five Guiding Principles in the draft Legacy Leesburg Town Plan
emphasizes the need for the Town to encourage diversity and affordability of housing. Under this
Guiding Principle, the Plan offers a few individual strategies such as an accessory dwelling unit
ordinance. It also suggests developing a long term comprehensive set of strategies to address
affordable housing that would address unmet housing needs of Leesburg residents while factoring
in Town resource capabilities. Council could initiate individual strategies such as an Accessory
Dwelling Unit ordinance. Alternatively, or in addition to, Council could opt to do a
comprehensive plan that lays out a comprehensive set of strategies over the long term. This can be
discussed when the Town Plan is being reviewed by Council.
In Leesburg, staff anticipates that there are many ways to address affordable housing. Here are a
few.
• Construction of affordable units by the private sector. This is a traditional approach that
could expanded in Leesburg. Different approaches within this strategy offer different
results. For example:
o Inclusionary Zoning. The Town’s zoning ordinance currently requires provision of
affordable units with approval of market rate units for projects over 24 units. To date,
developers have provided a modest number of affordable units through application
of the Town’s inclusionary zoning ordinance. This ordinance provision requires a
percentage of affordable units along with market rate units. An example is the
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Market and Church application for a total of 116 units of which 6 are affordable.
This strategy will provide incremental increases in affordable units over time as
development and redevelopment occurs and as such, continued use of this strategy is
at the base of Leesburg’s affordable housing strategic approach. However, there may
be incremental changes that could reduce the cost of providing affordable housing
such as eliminating recommendations for mitigating capital costs for schools,
reducing parking requirements, fee reductions for applications, or increased density
bonus provisions.
o Accessory dwelling units. If adopted into the Zoning Ordinance, this tool would be
implemented by single family homeowners in Leesburg and it would likely be a
small-scale tool. It’s usage by homeowners would depend on a number of variables
such as whether requests for ADU’s would be entertained through a legislative
process or a by-right process. ADU’s can be controversial because residents perceive
them as infill that result in ‘densifying’ the neighborhood. As such, some
communities have allowed them but only through a legislative review process.
ADU’s are not a panacea for addressing affordable housing, but they offer a small
scale solution to addressing the problem.
o Provision of higher numbers of affordable units. Developers who specialize in
affordable housing would address affordable housing on a larger scale through
development of apartment buildings that are built specifically to address affordable
housing. There are multiple larger-scale developers who have expressed interest in
building in Leesburg. They typically finance development of affordable housing
using Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) as administered by Virginia
Housing. Housing provided through LIHTC serves low and moderate income
families that are at or below 60% AMI.
• Education/Outreach. Other affordable housing strategies could be simple and low cost
such as information and outreach efforts to inform Leesburg residents about housing
programs and opportunities that are offered by Loudoun County or the Commonwealth.
This would raise awareness of housing assistance that already exists.
• Fee Waivers/Proffer Guidelines. Other approaches could include land development and
permitting fee waivers for projects that include affordable housing. The Town could also
consider proffer guidelines that reduce or eliminate proffers for schools thereby helping to
mitigate soft costs associated with these projects.