The following opinion was written and submitted by Ken Dufty of Wardtown.
By the summer of 2025, the Northampton County Board of Supervisors (“BOS”) knew they were in deep trouble. County Revenues were way down from the year previous, costs were way up, the population and school enrollment were tanking, and they were awash in red ink because they failed to maintain the Northampton High School building when the north wall needed fixing in 2013-15. That project was spinning out of control and now the cost overruns have ballooned to $105 million sinking us further into debt. The poverty rate was..and remains 17.5% with annual household incomes ringing in at $55,000.
But the BOS looked on with admiration as Cape Charles’ black ink skyrocketed in concert with the population and increased real estate tax revenue..while the town’s poverty rate shrank. So the BOS leaned into the Bay Creek model of high density (houses per acre) development catering to wealthy retirees who did not need the services nor the schools the county provides and wondered…”how can we do that in the rur I areas of Northam ton
Thus the “Town Edge Residential” plan was birthed. Cluster developments, mandatory Homeowner’s Association enrollment, recreational areas (golf?), open space (driveways?), condos, high rises, multi-families, and commercial use allowed and encouraged. Definition: “Planned Unit Developments” and where better to do that than around the towns on land with county zoning control called the “Town Edge” .To wit, the county gets the tax revenue, the towns get zero.
The problem the county faced was that any changes to land use in TE areas, according to pgs 39-41 of the prevailing Comp Plan, required the county to fully involve the towns and their residents, and it required alt development to match the density, character, and aesthetics of the host town. Clearly that was not going to work as town leaders knew that Bay Creek development on their doorstep would send real estate assessments through the roof, gentrify neighborhoods, and over tax their infrastructure and services including police, fire, EMS, sewer and water, and roads- resulting in choked highways.
So the BOS hatched a plan. First, they would not tell the towns what they planned. Second, they sidelined the Comp Plan which dictated that all future development in rural areas had to be served by sewer and water if available…allowing through a text amendment thousands of houses to be served by private wells and septic so their water use would not be monitored. Finally, they would tell the unsuspecting public they were going to turn their adjoining lands into the Bay Creek model because those dwelling units that were going to be in those HOAs were going to be “affordable housing” and 10-15% of those 20 units per acre (current TE limits that to 5/acre) would serve our workforce and teachers, offering them $1500/mo.rents and $100-200,000 houses with HOA fees.
SEE THE REVERSE SIDE FOR THE “REST OF THE STORY”
THE “REST OF THE STORY”
After the Planning Commission started to balk at this plan (hatched without town involvement) and questioned the intent of this change to the Comp Plan, the BOS snatched it away even though the Commission wanted to finish their review. The first thing the county did when it was in their court was to declare that teachers and our workforce in that $30-60,000 income/yr did not need any houses or apartments afteraU!. They have alt they needed. How convenient.
As you will see below on the handout the county inked when the Planning Commission was barred from looking, now they claim the need is for the higher end of the workforce making $61,000 to $90,000/yr. What that means is that the developers can reap their density incentives (lower construction costs) by building 15% of those homes at $300,000..and calling THEM “affordable housing”. That leaves the million dollar question: “Affordable FOR WHO?”
If you do not think that this is in the best interest of the county..PLEASE STAY ENGAGED! Contact “Northamptonissues @aoLcom” to get on our mailing list.
About the Author
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