MCA recommends that the Board of Supervisors endorse Staff's proposed amendment to its Workforce Dwelling Unit (WDU) homebuyer program because it fully supports the amendment’s three primary provisions.
--Replacing the top WDU bracket of 120% Average Median Income (AMI) with a bracket for 70% AMI and below: This recognizes both the difficulty of selling units that compete directly with market-rate units as well as the need for more affordable units.
--Increase the availability of affordable family-sized (three bedroom and up) units: This will make the program more likely to meet the needs of families.
--Expand the WDU program beyond designated mixed-use centers to those with similar density: This is a sensible expansion, since there are many developments with 8 dwelling units per acre located near mixed-use centers that could easily be part of the program.
MCA wishes to note that it also supports Staff’s recommendation that the Merrifield plan restriction on accepting monetary contributions in lieu of providing WDUs be extended to apply to the Tysons plan. MCA feels strongly that cash contributions should only be accepted from a developer proposing to build in Tysons if the developer can show that the provision of WDUs is not feasible.
The letter is available here.