Housing

Answers to questions (and misconceptions) about Attainable Housing Strategies

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By Artie Harris and Jason K. Sartori

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

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 … Continue reading

Attainable housing is a win for all ages

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By 2034, there will be more adults who are 65 or older than children under the age of 18 for the first time in our nation’s history. People over the age of 80 will surpass 10% of the national population for the first time. In Montgomery County, estimates are that before 2040, 1 in 5 residents will be 65 or older and today, 1 in 3 are 55 or older with 9,000 people turning 65 each year. At the same time, the number of young adults without children is also growing. Although many residential zoned neighborhoods near and outside our urban centers might have benefits, they often present some challenges for aging in place with oversized houses and yards, … Continue reading

Century of change: Where we are after 100 years of homebuilding in Montgomery County

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An analysis of Montgomery County’s property assessment database over the past century shows homebuilding consistently increased before peaking in the 1980s and has since slowed substantially. The data also show how the composition of the housing stock has changed over time, from overwhelmingly single-family to many more townhouses and apartments.

From before the 1920s through the 1980s, each successive decade saw more homes built than the decade before, except for the 1970s. Then, starting in the 1990s, the trend reversed, with a sharp drop-off in new homes from the 1980s. The decline continued through 2019. Data for 2020 to 2022 suggest that the county may be on pace for another decade of decline.  

FAQ: Curious about our proposal to relax single-family zoning? We’ve got answers.

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By Montgomery Planning staff

This fall, the Montgomery County Council will consider modifying single-family residential zones to help address the county’s severe housing shortage. In June, the Planning Board offered a set of recommendations to the County Council that would allow duplexes, triplexes and other small multi-unit buildings in neighborhoods now restricted to single-family homes. Called Attainable Housing Strategies, the recommendations are an effort to meet the county’s growing demand for housing at different price points and types for all.

The County Council is seeking community feedback at a series of community meetings as part of its review of the recommendations.

Montgomery Planning developed Attainable Housing Strategies. Here are answers to some of the questions we’ve heard most since … Continue reading

A Productive 2024 Legislative Session on Housing

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By Artie Harris, Montgomery County Planning Board Chair

Montgomery County has not been immune to the nation’s housing crisis. Addressing this multi-faceted issue requires interventions at every step — from project review through construction.

The Planning Board has sought to accelerate housing development through a variety of avenues. Among the thousands of bills introduced this legislative session, four bills stand out to us that will help us address the housing crisis.

Accelerating early project stages

Accelerating the development review process is one way to help get new residences built in the county.

Two bills, both sponsored by Delegate Lesley Lopez, HB 0989 Montgomery County Subdivision Plats – Conditions and HB 1003 Montgomery County Clerk of the circuit Court – … Continue reading

Parking lots to livable spaces: Infill development and its impact on housing in Montgomery County

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By Lisa Govoni and Jason Sartori

One of Montgomery Planning’s mantras of late has been this idea of turning “parking lots to places.” In other words, let’s make better use of underutilized developed land and transform it into something more vibrant with multiple uses for residents and visitors. Inherent in “parking lots to places” is the thought that the “easier” parcels to redevelop – like surface parking lots – will be developed first, given the complexity and time involved in redevelopment of sites with existing uses.

Turning a parking lot into a place is infill development, which takes place on vacant or underutilized developed parcels within an area that have access to existing services. Infill development is beneficial to … Continue reading

Addressing the housing affordability gap

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By Lisa Govoni and Jason Sartori

Today we introduce a new series of blog posts on the housing market in Montgomery County, a series we hope will address some misconceptions, and clarify Montgomery Planning’s position on how to address one of the county’s most difficult challenges: the high price and limited availability of high-quality housing to serve our county’s racial equity/social justice, environmental, and economic needs.

We thought it would be helpful to start this blog series by discussing Montgomery Planning’s position on housing and sharing some of the core tenets that guide our work program.

Montgomery County is a leader in housing policy, but we can and should do more. Montgomery County has long been a leader in … Continue reading

Growing inclusively is possible…if we build enough housing

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By Benjamin Kraft and Casey Anderson 

The conventional story about development and displacement goes something like this: new luxury housing gets built in a neighborhood, driving up rents for existing residents who then must leave to find less expensive housing elsewhere. To be sure, displacement does happen and it can be a serious problem, but our Neighborhood Change research shows that this conventional story of displacement doesn’t correspond to what is happening in Montgomery County. Specifically, the study shows that displacement of lower-income residents is not inevitable, and that where it occurs is not driven by new housing development. In fact, displacement is associated with the failure to build new housing in neighborhoods experiencing an increase in demand. Our … Continue reading

Key insights from “Lessons learned: A conversation on expanding housing types from across the country”

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By Jason Sartori, Lisa Govoni, and Karen Blyton

It has been widely reported that Montgomery County is facing a shortage of housing options that meet the size, price, and location needs of our increasingly diverse population. This issue is not specific to Montgomery County—places across the country are looking to expand housing types in their area.

To better understand what other regions have done to make homeownership more attainable for their residents, Montgomery Planning held a virtual event during the Montgomery County Planning Board’s February 24 meeting featuring an esteemed panel of housing experts. Called “Lessons learned: A conversation on expanding housing types from across the country,” it featured former Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender, HUD’s Regina C. … Continue reading

Small increases in density make homeownership more attainable: A case study of Habitat for Humanity’s Garland Avenue Duplex project in Takoma Park

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By Sarah Reddinger, Vice President of Community Development, Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland

In September 2020, Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland was approached by the City of Takoma Park to partner on the redevelopment of a single-family home into an affordable homeownership opportunity. The home happened to be located in a zone that allowed for duplexes, which is rare in Montgomery County, so we saw this as the perfect chance to demonstrate how duplexes can fit into existing single-family neighborhoods while also driving down the cost per unit. The City assigned its Right to Purchase to Habitat and generously provided $200,000 to from its Housing Reserve Fund to help subsidize the project. And so, the Garland Ave Duplex … Continue reading