North Penn Works on Housing Attainability

In the North Penn area, two communities continue discussions about strategies to boost workforce, attainable housing. 

Lansdale Borough officials and the public continue conversing with Chris Canavan of WB Homes about a proposal for 74 townhomes on Church Road near the Pennbrook train station. As reported in March, members of Borough Council would like a portion of those townhomes, if approved, to be priced at “workforce” levels (below market-rate). Meanwhile, advocates for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure are asking for the inclusion of commercial space in tandem with the townhomes. 

At the April 20 Planning Commission meeting, Canavan laid out two potential approaches: 

• The inclusion of 6,000 square feet of commercial space in a mixed use proposal with the 74 market-rate townhomes (priced over $500,000 apiece). 

• Alternatively, six homes priced in the “high $300s” could be incorporated, albeit with slightly smaller residential footprints for those six homes. This would amount for 8% of the new development as workforce, attainable housing. 

Council Vice President Rafia Razzak, who attended the Planning Commission meeting, wants to see a third option that incorporates both the mixed used component (commercial + residential) alongside the attainably priced homes. 

The negotiation is expected to continue at the May 18 Economic Development Committee meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. (borough hall). 

Meanwhile in neighboring Towamencin Township, 17 percent of renter households spend more than half of their income on housing costs. 

The Montgomery County Planning Commission recently completed an analysis titled “Zoning for Housing Attainability” for Towamencin. A public presentation of the analysis is planned for June 10 at the Board of Supervisors meeting (7 p.m.) 

Final Memo Towamencin.pdf

Download PDF • 859KB

A few excerpts from the memo are highlighed here: 

There is no easy fix to Towamencin’s (or the county’s) current housing challenges. Staff at MCPC understand that current residents may not want to see new construction or the changing look of the place they call home. At the same time, Towamencin is slated to continue to gain population. Increasing housing supply and offering a greater diversity of housing types are indirect strategies to create more housing opportunities for residents and do not require subsidies or affordable housing financial investments. The township needs taxpayers to financially support local improvements, places for volunteer EMTs and firefighters to live, and households who can coach afterschool sports and run a Girl Scout troop. It’s harder to have a community of these folks if they cannot afford to live in the township (or need a second job and give up that free time to afford to stay). The township can take actions itself and can collaborate with its neighbors, the county, and others to address this challenge.

Recommendations include: 

1. Towamencin requires large lots (25,000 square feet or more) in much of the township, even in areas that are close to Towamencin Village and Lansdale. Large minimum lot sizes drive up the cost of housing by requiring new housing units to be built further apart, which require longer roads and other expanded infrastructure (as well as more land being used per house). 

We recommend that the township review and, where appropriate, modify dimensional requirements to make housing development more feasible and aligned with the character of existing neighborhoods. In some cases, the required minimum lot size, setbacks, and other dimensional requirements may disincentivize the development of attainable housing by restricting how much of a lot can be built on and reducing the amount of land that can be used for new housing development.

2. Reevaluate parking minimums, where several zones call for three spaces per dwelling unit. 

3. Revise ADU regulations: Currently, Towamencin permits Accessory Apartments for Family Members (A-1 use) as a Special Exception in the largest single-family zoning districts (R-200, R-180, R-175, and R-125), an ideal setting for ADUs. However, the ordinance greatly restricts the conditions under which they are permitted. The use requires significant township oversight over these units and additional hurdles for property owners to navigate. 

Accessory Apartments are permitted to have separate cooking, sleeping, living, and bathroom facilities, but must be no larger than 800 square feet and must be a part of the principal residence but not located in a basement or accessory building, and must be occupied only by a family member.

We encourage the township to modify its regulations to allow for

ADUs to be lived in by the primary property owner and to allow for more flexibility in the configuration of the units (such as allowing for detached ADUs, a second story over a detached garage, a small unit placed to the rear of the primary unit, etc.). These accessory units could become a permanent part of the township’s housing inventory, rather than a temporary fix. ADUs could also be allowed by right in large lot zoning districts such as R-125, R-175, and R-200, as the township sees fit (or in any district as they see fit).