MILFORD, DE- Affordable housing concerns took center stage in Milford Wednesday night as the City Council hosted a workshop on development, land use, and strategies to address growing housing demand.
Last night, the Milford City Council hosted housing officials from the Delaware State Housing Authority and Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, who shared insights on development trends and ways to expand affordable housing options.
Growth in Milford is visible across town, with new homes, cleared land, and construction equipment dotting the landscape. But city leaders say what isn’t rising fast enough are homes that people can afford.
Milford Mayor Todd Culotta said many neighbors are spending too much on housing.
“The rule of thumb is 30% of your income should be spent on housing. No more than that. And one out of three Sussex County people spend more than that on housing.”
A recent city report shows Milford is adding roughly 200 new homes a year. At that pace, it would take 17 years to finish all approved projects and about 20 years to complete everything approved and proposed. City data estimates it would take 36 years to fully develop all currently vacant residential land within the city limits at the current rate.
However, Culotta said the issue isn’t growth — it’s affordability.
“We do not have an overgrowth problem in Milford. In fact, we have a housing crisis. And it’s not just affordable housing. It’s a housing crisis for everybody.”
Slides presented to the council by Matthew Heckles of the Delaware State Housing Authority illustrated what affordability really means for families at different income levels, highlighting the limited options available to lower-income households.
“I’m talking about 30% of AMI, or we focus a lot on 50% of the area median income… that’s about a $30,000-a-year income for a family. Which means you can only afford about $800 in rent in Milford. And there just aren’t enough units like that.”
Heckles said Milford is making strong investments and doing a good job, but the city still needs a wider mix of housing types to meet demand.
“This is something that the council asked about, too… what kind of housing and what price point should we be looking at? And the answer is all of them.”
With Delaware facing a shortfall of roughly 50,000 homes, Heckles said new construction must prioritize affordability.
“I think what we need to do is think about how to develop more smartly, and make sure that the types of development that are going through are affordable homes.”
After the workshop, Culotta said the city plans to revisit its master plan, review its layout, and make adjustments where needed, with a focus on mixed-use development.