The many lower-wage service jobs expected to come to Howard to support the federal base realignment at Fort Meade could further complicate the county?s concern over affordable housing, officials said.
“BRAC will further challenge two areas, for sure: affordable housing and transportation,” said Kent Menser, executive director of Howard?s Base Realignment and Closure office, speaking at a conference Tuesday hosted by the county?s Chamber of Commerce. “That?s a very tough issue.”
Although the average salary of a relocated military position is $85,000 to $88,000, many of the support jobs ? from restaurants to retail ? could be making significantly less, officials said.
Many workers will be making in the $11- to $20-an-hour range, said Schools Superintendent Sydney Cousin, speaking on the conference panel.
This could add to woes of Howard workers already unable to afford living in the county. Only 60 percent of the county?s teachers can afford to live in Howard, and less than 50 percent of new teachers live in the county, Cousin said.
Howard?s General Plan, which guides the county?s growth, limits the creation of new housing units to 1,850 per year through 2015, said Marsha McLaughlin, director of Howard?s Department of Planning and Zoning.
This limit is intended to control growth because the amount of available land is shrinking, she said.
“It?s a problem, because people still want to live here,” she said at the conference.
The General Plan is updated every 10 years, and the next review in 2010 will likely include the impact of BRAC and the need for more affordable housing, McLaughlin said.
The Howard BRAC task force, as well as its regional partners, will be studying land use and the housing needs for workers at all levels, from the upper income level defense jobs to the support service workers, Menser said.
More than 5,700 positions will be relocating to Fort Meade by2011 based on the federal government base realignment measure, Menser said. Another 3,000 to 5,000 contractor positions are expected to come to the area, plus thousands more created to support the growth.
