As Carroll County’s older population grows, some county leaders are pushing for stricter zoning regulations on homes meant for residents age 55 and older.
In recent years, Carroll has seen an influx of developers looking to build age-restricted housing. By 2030, people 65 and older are projected to make up nearly a quarter of Carroll’s population, prompting more demand for appropriate housing.
Some of the county’s commissioners, who have called for a temporary moratorium on permitting for new age-restricted homes, are worried that these high-density housing units don’t provide enough open space or enough pathways for first responders to access them. Commissioners and zoning officials debated these concerns at a Thursday work session.
“The reason I believe you allow more density is because you get more things out of it,” said Commissioner Susan Krebs, who represents the Eldersburg area. “My frustration has been, what does that mean? Because we’re seeing higher density in these than in cluster subdivisions, and they’re not getting anything out of it.”
Housing developments meant for seniors are allowed to have higher density, with a maximum of 3.5 units per acre. Since they’re restricted to older adults, they also aren’t subject to some of the requirements under Carroll’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, which ensures that new housing doesn’t lead to population growth that overburdens schools and other public infrastructure.
That can make senior housing easier for developers to tackle. In Eldersburg, an unincorporated area also known as the Freedom Area, there are several assisted-living communities and senior housing developments already built, with at least five awaiting a permit.
“The Freedom Plan recognized that, as people age, they want to have less property to maintain, they want to move toward these types of communities where those outside areas are taken care of for them,” said Christopher Heyn, the county’s director of land and resource management.
But after Krebs raised concerns about uncontrolled population growth and development in the Freedom Area, the county has started looking at revising its zoning code that governs several types of development, including homes for older adults.
Several commissioners said they’ve heard concerns from local firefighters and paramedics that some of Carroll’s higher-density neighborhoods have narrow roads and limited parking, making them difficult to access in an emergency. Bryan Van Fossen, an emergency services specialist for the county’s Department of Fire and EMS, brought a letter from Sykesville’s fire department that called for the county to enforce requirements that roadways are at least 20 feet wide and accessible to fire trucks.
“While I understand that there are these minimum requirements, I think we ought to be more restrictive,” said Commissioner Joseph Vigliotti, who represents the Taneytown area. “I’ve spoken with a number of firefighters and EMS workers over the last couple weeks and there are some locations in the county where even though the building may technically meet code, it still is a cumbersome job for them to get around to the rear of these buildings in an emergency situation.”
Commissioner Ken Kiler, who represents Hampstead and Manchester, said he didn’t want excessive requirements to slow Carroll’s permitting process for new development.
“That letter was whining, and it had no dimensions in it, it had no answers,” Kiler said. “Maybe I’m just an old construction guy, but I would tell a foreman, ‘What are you whining about?’”
Krebs also encouraged the county’s zoning officials to propose new regulations that would explicitly require more active green space, more parking and overall design consistency with surrounding neighborhoods.
The discussion comes as Carroll moves toward a public hearing on a temporary development delay, which would pause permitting on several types of developments in the Freedom Area — including age-restricted housing — for three to eight months. Though the proposal has been met with significant pushback from developers, Krebs has insisted that the potential delay would give Carroll more time to review and update its zoning code so that population growth in Eldersburg is controlled and orderly.
Based on Thursday’s discussions, county zoning staff said they would draft recommendations for updates to the zoning code on age-restricted housing.
“The density usage is not the issue,” said Commissioner Michael Guerin, who represents Sykesville and Mount Airy. “You want to see a purpose, you want to see design standards, and you want to see them defined by the county.”
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