SALISBURY — To offset the burden of impact fees and spur the development of single-family housing in Wicomico, the County Council is considering a new grant incentive program for developers.
“We’ve talked a lot about economic development, and we’ve talked about putting additional funding into the budget for economic development, and I’m thinking perhaps what we should do is create a fund for that purpose,” said Wayne Strausburg, director of administration.
Strausburg presented the council with an idea Tuesday to offer grants to developers who are considering building single-family units in the county but hesitate because of the expense of the impact fees they face. The grants would therefore serve to offsets those fees somewhat and Councilman Bob Culver reported that he is hearing some interest from the private sector for just such a program.
“[Developers] were very enthusiastic about that. I got word from at least three builders that they were willing to start two or three homes in Wicomico County,” he told the council.
There was consent among the council that the idea had potential but was vague at this point.
“How much do you think this is really going to stimulate the economy?” asked Councilwoman Stevie Prettyman.
Strausburg couldn’t make any guess to that but some early numbers thrown out might be a total of $100,000 in grants available for the first 20 or so projects that qualified. The actual economic impact of each new home built can be hard to gauge between tax increases and temporary construction jobs generated.
Prettyman pressed about what the qualifications for the grants would be, another question that Strausburg was unable to field at this time.
“And that’s the muddy waters I’m talking about,” Prettyman said.
The “thought process” behind the program seems sound, according to Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes. However, she had similar questions to what Prettyman was asking. Specifically, Sample-Hughes worried without ironclad protections developers could use the grants unevenly.
As an alternative to the grant program, the council could try to address the impact fees directly, suggested Matthew Creamer, council administrator. Those fees have not been re-evaluated since they were adopted and a hard look at those could call for a change. Prettyman agreed but was wary of taking that route since any re-evaluation might have an undesired effect on the fees.
The council agreed to work with staff on drafting a new, similar plan during this spring’s budget process.