The County has areas designated for a mix of housing and businesses, but current rules limit where and how much housing can be built there.
Ground-floor commercial requirements and density caps make housing in mixed-use districts financially difficult. In several commercial and transit-friendly districts, housing is either prohibited on the ground floor or limited to upper floors only, while businesses are required at street level. Add in low density caps (as low as 15 units per acre in some areas), and it becomes hard for developers to make these projects work financially.
Adding housing in commercial and office areas triggers extra hurdles. In Office Commercial districts, adding homes requires a high level of review that includes a public hearing and limits housing to no more than half the building. In some transit areas, including the required commercial space creates a more complex approval process. These extra steps discourage building in areas already close to jobs and transit.