By Artie Harris and Jason K. Sartori

This blog is also published in Greater Greater Washington as a guest opinion column.

A duplex in Friendship Heights. Photo courtesy of Greater Greater Washington.

Over the past three years, Montgomery Planning and the Montgomery County Planning Board have heard a lot of passion from people in Montgomery County who are eager to find solutions to the county’s housing crisis. We also heard a lot of misconceptions regarding the Planning Board’s recommendations to relax single-family zoning, also known as Attainable Housing Strategies. That’s why we’re sharing these frequently asked questions about them.

Back in June, the Planning Board issued its Attainable Housing Strategies (AHS) recommendations, which would give property owners more choices in the types of structures they can build on their properties in traditional single-family neighborhoods. These structures would include duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and other types of Missing Middle housing. Work on this project began in 2021 when Montgomery Planning received a request from the Montgomery County Council–who has the final say over zoning–to recommend “zoning reforms that would allow greater opportunities for Missing Middle housing in Montgomery County.”

When we started this project, we knew we couldn’t develop sensible recommendations without input from the community and other key stakeholders. Over the past three-plus years, we have been meeting and having meaningful conversations with community groups, elected officials, industry experts, and developers, and held public meetings and work sessions. Here’s a list of the community engagement that’s been done since 2021:

• 40+ stakeholder meetings with civic associations and community groups
• 6 countywide community listening sessions
• 25+ newsletters with regular project updates
• 2-page explainer in 8 languages
• 1 “social media” day with historically high engagement rates
• 4 external stakeholder group meetings
• 6 virtual public office hours
• 4 Planning Department-hosted community meetings
• 4 expert panel discussions
• 2 informational videos
• 3 Planning Board listening sessions
• 11 work sessions with the Planning Board

The housing attainability issue is one that requires bold action, and we recognize that not everyone will be on board with our recommendations. Most recently, as mentioned in the list above, we partnered with the County Council to hold a series of six listening sessions to hear residents’ thoughts on the draft recommendations.

We think the public would benefit from some clarity on this important project for the future of Montgomery County. You can click on the questions to jump down to the answers.

• Are the Attainable Housing Strategies about income-restricted affordable housing in Montgomery County?
• Isn’t there enough zoning capacity in approved master plans to meet our housing needs? Aren’t there 30,000+ units in the county’s development pipeline that have not been built but just need to get their building permit?
• Will AHS create incentives for outside real estate speculators to purchase single-family homes for redevelopment?
• How does AHS address the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (MWCOG) latest forecast, which reduced the number of anticipated households compared to 2030?
• Does AHS address the environmental consequences of increased land coverage from the larger building footprints of higher density development, resulting in increased imperviousness, stormwater runoff, and loss of tree cover?
• Won’t additional housing units cause more traffic congestion due to the increased number of vehicles?<
• AHS recommends reducing parking requirements. Won’t this overcrowd our streets and make parking less convenient in neighborhoods?

Are the Attainable Housing Strategies about income-restricted affordable housing in Montgomery County?

The AHS recommendations are a complement to – not a replacement of – the county’s ongoing affordable housing efforts. We need more housing at all price levels to ensure that all who want to live in Montgomery County can. AHS proposes one option of modifying land use regulations so more types of houses can be built that are attainable to more income levels. AHS is focused on giving more housing opportunities to middle-income earners who are leaving Montgomery County (26,000 between 2005 and 2022) because they can’t find a home that fits their family’s needs and financial feasibility. Middle-income earners include households making anywhere from $83k to $138k a year for a family of four in 2022. Read our Research and Strategic Projects Division’s research brief for a closer look at what middle income means in Montgomery County.

We recognize that Missing Middle housing would have different price ranges in different neighborhoods. But in all neighborhoods, these new types of units will be more affordable than a new single-family home, which is all that is allowed today when an existing home is replaced. Doing nothing to allow more options in our neighborhoods will continue to make homeownership difficult to achieve in the county and continue the trend toward exclusivity that we’ve seen for decades in single-family neighborhoods in the county. The housing types proposed through AHS could help to slow the growth in home prices and help ensure neighborhoods remain accessible to a broader range of incomes by increasing supply and introducing smaller housing types in our neighborhoods.

Isn’t there enough zoning capacity in approved master plans to meet our housing needs? Aren’t there 30,000+ units in the county’s development pipeline that have not been built but just need to get their building permit?

Existing zoning capacity is an important consideration in reaching our housing targets defined by theMetropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG). But even if zoning capacity exists, it doesn’t mean that the zoning capacity will be converted to homes built and in fact, it has not. Zoning capacity may be unused for a variety of reasons. We should continue to zone for housing we want, knowing that zoning is not a guarantee of future housing.

While the county’s development pipeline represents potential construction of residential projects within the next few years, a project’s development approval is not a guarantee that those units will ever be realized. A Montgomery Planning evaluation of projects that have been in the pipeline since 2018 found that only 50% had been constructed six years later in 2024. Furthermore, of the 30,000 unbuilt housing units currently in the pipeline, over 10,600 (or 36%) were approved more than 10 years ago. Many of these units will never be built but will remain in the pipeline count until their approvals expire. Approved projects don’t move forward for a variety of reasons, including financing issues, changing market conditions, and changes in property ownership.

It’s also important to note that 87% of the unbuilt units in the pipeline are in the form of large multifamily rental buildings. While this housing is important, it does not help us meet the current and future need for a diversity of housing options, including ownership opportunities, in the county.

Will AHS create incentives for outside real estate speculators to purchase single-family homes for redevelopment?

The current single-family redevelopment process is already speculative. An industry of builders—which are not individuals, but rather small companies sometimes backed by investors—routinely purchase older single-family homes and build much larger and more expensive homes in their place. These homes are nearly always built “on spec,” meaning that the builders initially do not have clients lined up and speculate that the home will be bought on the open market. An analysis by Montgomery Planning found that for a sampling of 683 replacement homes constructed after 2011, “original homes averaged 1,500 gross square feet, while the replacement home averaged 3,730 gross square feet” (p. 74 of the AHS final report). Replacement homes also sold for an average of over $1.6 million, or more than 2.5 times the value of the original home. It is difficult to anticipate if AHS will spur additional speculation but in general, AHS is intended to allow for smaller units as opposed to larger ones.

How does AHS address the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (MWCOG) latest forecast, which reduced the number of anticipated households compared to 2030?

MWCOG’s latest region-wide household forecast shows very little change from the previous forecast (from 422,300 to 416,600 – a difference of 5,800 households). In fact, both forecasts project that the county will have about the same number of households by 2040.

Even with a reduced forecast, growth—and the need for housing—is still anticipated regardless of which forecast is consulted. 2040 is only 16 years from now; the county must start finding ways to encourage more housing now.

Does AHS address the environmental consequences of increased land coverage from the larger building footprints of higher density development, resulting in increased imperviousness, stormwater runoff, and loss of tree cover?

Increased land coverage is an existing issue as teardowns are being replaced with units that are at least twice their size. The multi-unit structures envisioned in AHS would occupy the same footprint as what is allowed for single-family homes.

AHS recommends updating the stormwater management provisions of the county code to incorporate attainable housing. Page 45 of the AHS final report specifically discusses updating stormwater management provisions for detached units, duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes. In this way, the replacement of existing single-family homes (whether with another single-family home or a multiplex) could provide an opportunity to enhance stormwater mitigation.

Montgomery Planning Director Jason K. Sartori (pictured), Planning Board Chair Artie Harris, and County Council President Andrew Friedson hosted six listening sessions across Montgomery County in fall 2024 to answer questions and receive feedback from community members about the Attainable Housing Strategies recommendations.

Won’t additional housing units cause more traffic congestion due to the increased number of vehicles?

Multi-unit housing types will most likely be built slowly and incrementally. It is anticipated to occur in our existing teardown and replacement home market areas. The county averages about 200 demolition permits for single-family detached units a year (out of more than 180,000 single-family lots). This incremental pace will allow monitoring of its impacts through regular check-ins with the Planning Board and the County Council to understand the impacts AHS may be having on our infrastructure and plan for mitigation, if needed. County Council legislation would determine how often the check-ins would occur.

Secondly, every four years, the county updates the Growth and Infrastructure Policy, which analyzes the capacity of public facilities to see if they are keeping pace with new development. These public facilities include our roads, transportation systems, and schools.

Finally, evidence from academic studies consistently shows that compact development reduces the need for driving, even when transit is not available. Based on this research, we believe that the infill housing that AHS will allow will make future bike, pedestrian, and transit infrastructure more feasible as more people have the chance to live closer to their jobs and to services to fulfill their daily needs. The AHS recommendations do, in fact, promote smart and sustainable patterns of growth.

AHS recommends reducing parking requirements. Won’t this overcrowd our streets and make parking less convenient in neighborhoods?

The AHS report recommends reducing parking minimums to increase the feasibility of fitting duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes on what are currently single-family zoned lots. However, it does not mandate this, and property owners would still be able to build more parking spaces if they deem it necessary. Furthermore, reduced parking minimums are appropriate for walkable communities with access to services, amenities, and multiple modes of transportation.

New technologies such as ridesharing as well as investment in pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure leave us better positioned for a future with fewer vehicle trips. Planning for communities where jobs, services, and amenities are closer to where people live can also reduce our dependence on vehicles.

About the authors
Before his appointment as Planning Board Chair in 2023, Artie Harris was the vice president of real estate at Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc. (MHP), a nonprofit real estate development organization based in Silver Spring, MD, that creates affordable communities in Montgomery County and surrounding jurisdictions. Previously, Harris was a vice president at Bozzuto Development Company, where he led teams developing market-rate and mixed-income housing projects across the Washington, DC region and beyond. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University.

Jason Sartori joined Montgomery Planning in January 2016 and served as the Chief of the Countywide Planning and Policy (CPP) Division from 2019 to 2023 before his appointment as Planning Director in 2023. Jason previously served as the Associate Director of the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland. While there, he led numerous projects related to affordable housing, transportation modeling, opportunity accessibility metrics, economic development, and growth visioning and scenario evaluation.