DAPHNE, Ala. — Coming businesses such as  Bass Pro Shops in Spanish Fort raised concerns about affordable housing for the work force during Wednesday’s Daphne Planning Commission work session.

Bob Pitts, director of the Baldwin County Housing Alliance, spoke to the commission about adding a section on townhomes to the land use ordinance.

Condos currently serve the purpose of smaller residences but they usually cost around $175,000 and are a burden for developers because they can’t be financed until 51 percent of the project is sold, Pitts said.

Townhomes can be financed as soon as one building is completed, he said.

The difference between them is that with a townhome, the owner “owns the exterior walls, roof and the ground underneath,” he said.

Condo owners have rights to only the interior rooms. and walls, he said.

Commissioner Larry Chason said now is a good time to include a townhome section since the commission is making changes to the land use ordinance.

“There’s no change in the development, it’s just a change for better financing,” he said.

Mayor Fred Small, a planning commission member, agreed with the  premise.

“This to me is probably one of the best concepts that’s come up,” he said. “Now we have the opportunity to have them live here where they work.”

Pitts said that lenders would “never exceed the house payment by 30 percent of the gross income.” This would ensure affordability for lower income families, he said.

He plans to hold seminars — such as a July 30 fair at the Daphne Civic Center — on the financial workings of the housing market.

Also Wednesday, Ray Moore of Hutchinson, Moore and Rauch eased commissioners’ concerns about the lots in Yancey Branch Unit II.

“There’s no unbuildable lots, it’s just a matter of money,” he said.

Commissioners had been concerned about the slope and the small lots’ sizes.

Moore explained that the lots have a 10 percent grade and there will be 12 lots in the nearly 5-acre parcel.

Chason asked that buyers be warned about possible difficulties building on slopes since many people in Alabama are unfamiliar with the process.

However, Commissioner Ed Kirby thought the commission neared overstepping their bounds.

“We don’t deal in the financial dealings of the developer,” he said.

Chairman Jeff Carrico said they should balance home buyer and developer needs.

“We just need to make sure at some point the home owner doesn’t say, ‘here’s an issue and here’s how you (the city) fit into it,” he said.