Mayor submits plan to increase affordable housing

Under the resolution, any new development of more than 50 units would have to offer a number of Moderately Priced Dwelling Units — price-controlled homes and rentals spread throughout a housing development and available through the city government to those in certain income brackets.

The council has yet to decide the income brackets that would determine who qualifies for the program.

Laurel’s proposal closely mirrors that of Rockville, said Bob Manzi, the city attorney who helped write the proposal.

Unlike workforce housing, in which criteria has to do with an applicant’s profession, the criteria for who qualifies for an MDPU are based solely on income.

The city would offer a density credit, which would allow the developer to build more units on the residential development than the permit allowed. A developer could build up to 10 percent more units if 6 percent of the units built are considered moderately priced.

Details of the proposal, including what qualifies as moderately priced and for how many years prices would remain constant, would be determined by the council before a final proposal goes to vote.

Laurel’s proposal would keep rental and sale prices constant for 30 years.

As the only municipality in Prince George’s with zoning authority, the city can implement such a measure within its municipal boundaries.

The proposal would affect both homes and rentals. There are certain exemptions a developer could apply for, such as offering to contribute to an MPDU fund or building MPDUs in other parts of the city.

In the 1980s Manzi helped draft a moderately priced housing resolution for Prince George’s County. MPDU requirements in the county were abolished in 1996 when the County Council voted on a comprehensive growth policy to encourage development within the county.

Montgomery County, Rockville, Baltimore city and Annapolis currently have MPDU laws in effect.

According to the proposal, MPDUs would be spread throughout a development, and are undistinguishable from the outside. Developers are encouraged to use cost-saving measures and cut back on amenities within the units in order to reduce their price.

The council has already approved Hawthorne Place, a five-building, mixed-use development, which includes a 16-foot tower, and has plans to approve residential units for the new Laurel mall complex.

Bill Shipp, an attorney representing the developer of Hawthorne Place, said the firm would be paying close attention to the MDPU proposal as it advances.

Hawthorne Place is set to include a number of work-force units, a feature the developer added after hearing comments from the city.

‘‘I don’t think there’s many of us here who wouldn’t agree with [the mayor that] with housing, in particular new rental housing, that people are sort of priced out,” council President Frederick Smalls (Ward 2) said. ‘‘So making some allowances is definitely a step in the right direction.”

Manzi said the resolution probably won’t be ready for voting for a couple of months, after the public has given input and the council has reviewed and made changes to the proposal.