Cliffton on the Potomac Residents and Affordable Housing in Newburg

August 3rd, 2010 // filed under: Charles County, MD, Newburg, Southern Maryland

Charles County has a problem with affordable housing. A big problem. The fact is, it’s nearly impossible to find. With home values high, there’s very little incentive for builders and developers to create affordable new construction.

It would make sense for the County government to find a way to help encourage the growth and development of what they call “affordable, work force housing”. The Commissioners have done that, agreeing amongst themselves that the perfect place to do this would be in the Cliffton On The Potomac Subdivision in Newburg, MD.

Cliffton On The Potomac?

To the average Charles County resident the plan makes sense, at least at first glance. The county owns the land, so the land purchase costs can be avoided, (small) homes can be built for $130,000 and affordable housing is created in Charles County. There was only one minor problem that the County Commissioners seemed to overlook. They forgot to discuss the plan with the hundreds of people who already live in the community. Oops.

When the announcement was made that plans for breaking ground on the project, current Cliffton residents were livid, and rightfully so. Who wants to find out that their community is about to be filled with significantly smaller, cheaper homes? The residents of Cliffton are worried about already fragile home prices, and creating this sort of development within a pre-established neighborhood could be very risky.

There’s Nothing Affordable About Being In The Middle of Nowhere

Don’t get me wrong, I like Newburg, and I would personally love to live as far from the rat race that is Waldorf as possible. That being said, Newburg is in the middle of nowhere. It’s going to cost you $3 to get to King George, VA and a minimum of 15 minutes to get to La Plata. There’s nothing affordable about having to burn the sort of gas and money it requires in order to live in a place like Cliffton.

If you’re going to build a community of affordable housing in Charles County, I’m all for it. It’s a sorely under-served portion of the County residents, and the need is evident. It’s unfair, however, to characterize “affordable housing” as merely the price point of the home. Walkability, access to amenities, cost of transportation, etc. should all be factored collectively in any venture to create affordable housing. Unfortunately, living in Cliffton does not provide public transportation, nearby shopping, or even nearby jobs for Charles County residents.

The Bottom Line

If you’re going to create an area for workforce housing, it needs to be built in an area that has easy access to jobs, shopping, and services. Cliffton doesn’t fit the bill. The County Commissioners own literally thousands of acres spread throughout the County. Surely there’s a better location to consider a project of this type that would better serve the current residents of the area and the future buyers of these homes.

The County Commissioners have agreed to meet with residents on August 4th  at 7pm at the Newburg firehouse at 12265 Rock Point Road in Newburg.  It’s vital that Cliffton residents be there to make their voices heard!

Photo Courtesy of J.W.Photography Via Flickr CC

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posted by Jonathan Benya // Leave A Comment

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 at 9:01 am and is filed under Charles County, MD, Newburg, Southern Maryland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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