Dear Friends:
This week I want to address two proposals by the Planning Board before the County Council: the Attainable Housing Strategies initiative and the Growth and Infrastructure Policy (GIP).
I want to first address my concerns about the Attainable Housing Strategies and then I address the GIP, which must be adopted by November 15, and which will be a revenue loser for the County and pass more costs on to residents. The GIP is related to the Attainable Housing Strategies because it is supposed to be the tool to provide adequate public facilities that must accompany development.
Attainable Housing Strategies Raise Resident Concerns
The Attainable Housing Strategies (AHS) would rezone 82 percent of the County where single-family detached homes are designated. Over the last few weeks, the Council has held a series of listening sessions about the plan, which raised a lot of concern from residents all around the County.
These rezoning strategies are presented as essential to addressing the County’s housing needs, and other areas around the nation are pointed to as an examples of how we should proceed. However, that analysis is not correct. Unlike some places in the country, including nearby jurisdictions, we are not a city that has been fully built out. Our master plans have enough zoned capacity to house more people than are projected to come here through 2050. Below is a slide from a 2019 Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments report that points this out. As the slide notes, the capacity already exists; while there may be a need for some zoning changes, it does not call for a wholesale rezoning.
As I mentioned earlier, our existing master plans address the growth needs of this County for the next 30 years and longer. We already have the plans in place and the space needed to accommodate the anticipated growth. In future weeks, I will more fully explain why rezoning is not needed but for this week, I want to focus on four major problems with the Attainable Housing Strategies.
First, this plan does not address housing affordability. People have different ideas of what we mean when we talk about affordability – some are talking about home ownership, and some are talking about renters and tenant issues. Unfortunately, this plan provides no help on either front.
In fact, the Planning Board has acknowledged that this plan is not about affordability. The graphic below comes from the AHS “Explainer.” AHS-Explainer-2024-Final.pdf (montgomeryplanning.org)
Additionally, in a study three years ago, the Planning Board concluded that new townhouses in Silver Spring would cost between $700,000 and $855,000, and townhomes are already well exceeding those prices in downtown Silver Spring. The average income of Black and Hispanic residents is about $75,000. This is a clear indication that those homes are not affordable to our communities of color. In fact, those communities are facing possible displacement with this proposal.
More recently, a townhome in Bethesda is on the market for $3.65 million. It was built on a lot that previously had one single-family home; that home was sold for $1.6 million, and a developer has now built three townhomes on that property. While a $3.65 million home may make the homes down the street that sell for $1.5 million to $2 million look less expensive, it does nothing to address affordability – that $2 million home is still out of reach for many.
Because Attainable Housing is housing policy that does not have an affordable housing component and does not increase the amount of affordable housing, it raises the question of what is Planning Board trying to accomplish?
Second, people need clear notice of AHS. These large turnouts at the public listening sessions reflect only a small percentage of who is affected, and if it were to be approved as currently proposed, these residents would have no say in the process because the development would be “by right.” Most people had no idea that the bulk of the single-family communities in the County could be rezoned if Planning’s recommendations were wholly adopted. While Council President Andrew Friedson has been clear to explain that there is no legislation currently before the Council, the Planning Board has recommend this and sent it to the Council for their approval.
Third, the Planning proposal is premature. It is based on theory, not solid plans based on real-world assessments. This plan undoes most of the master plans around the county, and it is the master plan process that affords an opportunity for residents to weigh in and for careful review of impacts on neighborhoods and infrastructure.
And this brings me to my fourth and final (for now) point: there has been no review of the impacts to the infrastructure and the environment.
No studies have been done on AHS’s impact on the environment—what will happen to trees? Will there be an increase in impervious or paved surfaces, and what will that mean to potential flooding?
With climate change, our neighborhoods are already facing increased flooding and overflowing storm drains. Additionally, what about parking the cars for all the additional residents? And what about other transportation impacts on nearby roads; there is no study of transportation adequacy. If all these units are added not near a metro station, the desired ridership will not be realized, which means that a lot of people will be on the roads. And there is also no study about the impact on the schools. A master plan process considers the impacts in a much more deliberative manner.
These very real costs are tied to theGrowth and Infrastructure Policy that I discuss below. We need adequate infrastructure to accompany development. This initiative has no evaluation of what we need and what it will cost.
A few years ago, the Planning Board recommended to the Council a revision to the County’s General Plan, called Thrive 2050. As part of the Council’s review of Thrive, the Executive departments had to provide cost estimates as part of the review. Those estimates were in the billions of dollars, far beyond our normal spending. Alarmingly though, the then-Planning Board Chair and a then-Councilmember dismissed the study by simply saying, ‘We don’t believe it.’ No analysis, no study, just we don’t believe it and we’re not considering it. That is not meaningful planning.
AHS is a massive rezoning that could affect about 164,000 homes, and yet a thorough and careful analysis of this proposal is missing. That is absolutely not fair to our residents
We all agree that housing affordability is a major concern, both for people wanting to become homeowners and for renters. Unfortunately, this proposal does not help them and threatens to damage our beautiful and diverse County. Further below in this letter, I discuss some of the work we are doing to preserve and produce affordable housing.
For now, if you are concerned, please express your concerns to Councilmembers before they make any decisions through this form.
“Do no harm” to revenues in the Growth and Infrastructure Policy
Every four years, the Planning Board and then the Council review and approve a new Growth Policy and accompanying legislation. The Growth and Infrastructure Policy is a tool that comes fromthe Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. The name has been changed several times - it used to be the “Subdivision Staging Policy” and before that it was the Growth Policy. In this case, the name matters because it clearly stated that growth policy had to be tied to a commitment to provide adequate public facilities: schools and transportation. In other words, the intent was that as the county grows, the roads, other transportation and schools are adequate to support the increased development.
One of the myths tied to the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance was that it was designed to block development. It did cause moratoriums on development at times but that was because the Planning Board and previous Councils refused to fund and provide adequate public facilities and to make development pay its fair share. Moratoriums could have been lifted any time the Council committed to building infrastructure. It was the on-going refusal of previous councils to provide the infrastructure our residents need and deserve.
Had infrastructure needs been addressed, there would have been no moratoriums. Infrastructure costs were supposed to be paid by development – the companies were expected to pay their fair share, and not put the burden for improved roads and transit, schools and, better stormwater solutions on to residents.
Without their payments of their fair share, one of two things happen:
- The costs get shifted to residents in the form of taxes, or
- The infrastructure simply doesn’t get built and it leaves us with inadequate schools and transportation
I want to clarify that it is not this Council that has cut the revenues. But now this Council has an opportunity to stop undermining the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and to stop shifting costs to residents.
The Planning Board has sent the Council a Growth and Infrastructure Policy that would again reduce revenues – revenues that are desperately needed to provide adequate transportation and infrastructure. Our Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has estimated that their recommended changes would reduce revenues for the County by approximately $28 million over six years. You can watch testimony from OMB’s Capital Improvement Program Coordinator Rachel Silberman in front of Council this week or read the transcript.
I agree that the current mechanism of assessing upfront taxes on new residential and commercial buildings – impact taxes – are not the right tool for raising the revenue to pay for adequate facilities, but what I am urging is that the Council “do no harm” – that is, do not further reduce the revenues until there is an alternative mechanism in place.
For years, I have been proposing some version of special taxing districts that could replace impact taxes. This would be similar to what exists in Northern Virginia, which has been very successful. However, the Planning Board continues to recommend reducing impact taxes without a replacement revenue source.
I offered to meet with the Planning Board chair and staff while they were developing this policy, and they declined. While I acknowledge that they do recommend a future study to replace the revenues, they should not further reduce revenues until we have a plan in place to replace them. At the same time that the Planning Board is proposing potential huge impacts to neighborhoods via the Attainable Housing Strategies, they are also recommended reducing the revenue available to help mitigate some of those impacts.
I am hopeful that this Council will put the brakes on the Planning Board’s misguided approach with the Growth and Infrastructure Policy and that they will agree that “do no harm” to revenues is the best approach for the Growth and Infrastructure Policy.
Lots happening around Affordable Housing
Last week we welcomed Maryland Secretary of Housing and Community Development Jake Day to Montgomery County. We were pleased to be able to show him some of our work on affordable housing, including:
- The newly opened Leggett in Silver Spring – a mixed-income development for older adults adjacent to our new aquatic center.
- ArtSpace, in Silver Spring, which offers both ownership and rental units as well as artist studios. It was designed and developed in collaboration with the community.
- Allium Place on Randolph Road that we initiated that will be all affordable (195 units) and will have 85 hard-to-find family size 3- and 4-bedroom units. It will also have ownership opportunities for low-income families and is being developed in partnership with with Affordable Homes & Communities and Habitat for Humanity.
- Three different developments in North Bethesda very close to the metro, including a 166-unit building with 24 3-bedroom units with a wide range of affordability and a mixed use development that will be part of a major life sciences center.
- Hillandale Gateway, led by the Housing Opportunities Commission, in East County. This will be all-electric, mixed-use, and mixed-income. More than half of the rentals will be affordable to families earning 30-80 percent of the AMI.
And our work on affordable housing projects continues. We released our Affordable Housing Pipeline Report, which is a quarterly report of County-financed affordable housing projects. We closed two loans in the first quarter of FY25 with development partners that will help produce or preserve 334 affordable apartments: Amber Commons in Gaithersburg and the Montouri site in North Bethesda.
For the remainder of FY25, we anticipate closing loans for several other development projects in our pipeline that will produce or preserve an additional 1,424 affordable units for a total of 1,758 affordable units for the year. For context, in FY24, we closed 17 projects that produced or preserved 1,133 affordable units, and in FY23, we closed 13 projects that produced or preserved 975 affordable units.
I would consider these figures a success and a big win for thousands of families across Montgomery County. These are just the affordable units preserved and produced over approximately three years.
Troubled Properties Report Released
Creating and expanding affordable housing opportunities is one of our toughest and most complicated challenges. I have ensured that we continue to be aggressive in seeking every advantage we must make preserving existing properties a priority.
When I was a County Councilmember, I led an effort to focus on rental properties with serious housing code violations. That resulted in the publication of the annual Troubled Properties Report. This list divides the multifamily properties inspected that year into three categories based on the number and severity of housing code violations discovered: Compliant, At-Risk, and Troubled.
We recently released the FY24 report, you can see in the chart above more than 75 percent of multifamily apartment buildings inspected were designated Compliant. A little over 10 percent were determined to be At-Risk of being designated as Troubled, while close to 13 percent of the properties inspected were listed as Troubled.
The FY23 report found that 83 percent of inspected properties were Compliant, nearly 8 percent were At-Risk, and just under 9 percent were Troubled.
We put these lists together to help keep property owners accountable. Property owners play a vital role in the community as they are responsible for providing and preserving one of the most basic human necessities—shelter. We ask that renters concerned about a property alert our Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The County's 311 phone line took over 10,000 requests last fiscal year for safety and maintenance upkeep concerns for all types of residential and commercial properties as well as vacant lots.
One state law relevant to dealing with disrepair in rental units went into effect October 1; it is the Tenant Safety Act of 2024, and is explained HERE and HERE.
This law empowers tenants to hold landlords accountable for conditions of disrepair that threaten their life, health or safety. The new law clarifies that tenants in the same building with similar defects may join together in one case. This is important because going through a legal process can be quite intimidating and now multiple tenants can work together with a single lawyer. Additionally, the landlord may have to pay for the tenant’s attorney, if the tenant wins.
I want to thank Del. Vaughn Stewart and Senator Sara Love from our state delegation for their work on this bill. I believe that this law will help our efforts to ensure safer housing units and communities. I believe the law will increase landlord accountability for treating their tenants with the respect and dignity they deserve and give us the teeth we need to ensure that buildings are safe and habitable.
Two County Projects Are ‘Ones to Watch’
I’m excited to share the news that two local economic development projects made the Washington Business Journal’s list of 10 noteworthy projects to watch heading into 2025 – our North Bethesda Metro Station development that is being anchored by the University of Maryland – Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC) and our Viva White Oak project in East County.
Viva White Oak, located off Cherry Hill Road, could see 3,000 new residences and up to three million square feet intended for companies, retail, a hotel, and senior housing. This is the same property that sat dormant for years, waiting for the owner to move forward with a project. Since new owners got control of the property earlier this year, plans are being formed, and they anticipate the first groundbreaking in 2025. the groundbreaking should be in 2025.
Our North Bethesda Metro Station redevelopment, which we announced earlier this year in partnership with WMATA –will be the permanent home for the UM-IHC. This graduate-level research hub focused on life sciences is expected to draw in companies from around the globe to work with graduate-level researchers. It is the kind of project that will increase our stature as a national center for life sciences, and will host a new community with housing, retail and public space.
Just this week I attended a lunch with university system leaders. It is the first of many planned ‘lunch and learn’ opportunities hosted by the UM-IHC to help life science and biohealth businesses use this asset.
I look forward to updating you on progress made on these two projects and others we are working on.
Active Aging Week
I want to recognize Active Aging Week and the work done by Recreation and the Department of Health and Human Services to welcome older adults to the Nancy H. Dacek North Potomac Community Rec Center on Monday. It was the kick off event of a week filled with a variety of activities. It gave an opportunity for everyone to learn about the County’s safety programs and take part in workshops focused on physical and mental wellness.
Gardening is one of many ways to stay active, and I enjoy doing it when I have time. I also like to play the guitar and spend my weekend mornings cooking an omelet with peppers from my garden.
Many times, exercise or yoga is recommended but the important thing is to do something that you enjoy that engages your body and mind. You can journal or spend more time cooking healthy meals. Getting enough rest is also important, The Sleep Foundation recommends that people over 65 get 7–8 hours of sleep per night.
Montgomery County is committed to supporting our older adults with programs that encourage movement, creativity and connection. Almost every day, the calendar is filled with games, activities and workshops that keep energy up and minds alert throughout the County.
I encourage anyone 55 or older to find an activity that fits their lifestyle through our Rec programs and Active Montgomery. Our calendar of events is available at montgomerycountymd.gov/senior.
Health Report: Vaccination Time
On Wednesday, I joined Councilmember Kristin Mink and other elected leaders, Novavax executives and other community leaders to get the updated COVID-19 vaccinations Thank you to Giant for hosting the event.
We received the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, a protein-based option that’s easier to store and offers an alternative to mRNA vaccine technologies. It provides strong protection against COVID-19, as do other vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna. All of these vaccines are highly effective in reducing the spread of the virus, as well as lowering hospitalization and death rates. The best way to prevent long COVID-19 is to avoid infection, and vaccination is key in helping stop the spread.
If you have more questions about the difference between the Novavax version and other COVID-19 vaccines follow this link. It is an honor to have Novavax, a leader in healthcare and in the fight against COVID-19 in our community.
I believe that all vaccines are safe, effective and critical to stay healthy. However, there are those who have been reluctant because of how the mRNA Covid vaccine was produced, and I hope this option will convince them to now get vaccinated.
I also think it is important to highlight that this life-saving work is being done right here by Montgomery County-based Novavax.
COVID-19 vaccines were a big reason our nation was able to end the emergency phase of the pandemic when we did. In the years since vaccines were introduced, we have seen deaths from COVID-19 decrease significantly. I am proud that our community saw more than 90 percent of our more than 1 million residents receive that initial protection. With each updated vaccine, though, fewer people have received their shot or gotten one for their children.
Keeping up to date with an annual COVID and Flu shot is the best way to avoid a serious illness and possible hospitalization from these two common diseases.
Please visit vaccines.gov to find out where you can get your shot.
Walktober and Walk and Roll to School
As you watch the leaves fall and now that we are in October, I want to encourage you to participate in Walktober. It is a statewide initiative led by local transportation agencies to promote pedestrian safety and commuting options. Walktober also gives us the chance to highlight our commitment to enhance pedestrian safety and make walking a real option for more people.
Walking is one of the simplest and most accessible ways to improve your health, connect with neighbors and reduce our reliance on cars.
Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation has advanced a number of projects to make the pedestrian system more accessible, including building new sidewalks and protected bike lanes.
Just this week Montgomery County was awarded $520,000 in Federal funding to update the County’s Vision Zero 2030 Action Plan, a series of improvements and activities meant to end serious injury and death on our roads. About half of the money will help implement the Safe Turns Demonstration Project, which will test the use of temporary, quick-build materials to sharpen driver turns to reduce unsafe turning speeds at 100 crash-prone intersections. The Federal funds will be complemented by a $130,000 County match. We are grateful for the support from the Biden-Harris Administration and our Congressional delegation in securing this critical funding to make our streets safer.
Wednesday also marked the 11th annual Walk Maryland Day. I encourage you to explore some of the trails near your home sometime this month. If you search social media with the hashtag #WalkMD2024 you’ll see everyone showing off the beautiful shores, farmland and trails that make up Maryland.
Next Wednesday, Oct. 9, I hope as many families as possible can participate in Walk and Roll to School Day. All our area schools are encouraged to sponsor a Walk to School event and register their event at walkbiketoschool.org.
On Thursday, Oct. 17, MCDOT will continue the emphasis on pedestrian safety by joining the Maryland Highway Safety Office and Howard County’s DOT in a ‘walkinar.’ It will focus on getting kids to and from school safely. The more walkable we make our paths to school the more it encourages children to walk or roll to class, encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age. You can register for the event here.
You can always visit Montgomery Parks for a list of walking trails throughout the County and plan a walk this October.
Rosh Hashanah
Wednesday through Friday was Rosh Hashanah, a holiday celebrating the Jewish new year. I wish every family observing Rosh Hashanah a “shana tovah.” I hope we all have a peaceful new year.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive