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Montgomery County Council Passes New Bills to Enhance Flexibility of Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit Regulations

New legislation modernizes the moderately priced dwelling unit program and increases the percentage of MPDUs in higher income planning areas of the county

Silver Spring, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, participated in County Council committee work sessions to change the county’s moderately priced dwelling unit (MPDU) law. The resulting new bills were both passed unanimously by the County Council on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.

Bill 34-17, Housing – Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) – Amendments, was sponsored by Councilmember Nancy Floreen and co-sponsored by Councilmember Craig Rice, and was

introduced on October 31, 2017 to address the need to increase housing opportunities for low and moderate income residents.

“Bill 34-17 modernizes our MPDU program so it can provide even more affordable homes to meet our ongoing and growing demand,” says Councilmember Floreen who chairs the Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee (PHED).

Bill 38-17, Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) – Requirement to Build, was sponsored by Council President Hans Riemer and co-sponsored by Councilmember Sidney Katz. Under current law, the minimum MPDU requirement countywide is 12.5 percent, unless expressly increased by a master plan such as Bethesda that has a 15 percent minimum.

The new law increases the MPDU minimum requirement to 15 percent in any planning area in which at least 45 percent of the United State Census tracts have a median household income of at least 150 percent of the countywide median household income.

Public hearings on the bills were held in December 2017. PHED Committee work sessions, when Planning Department staff participated, were held in March and June 2018.

Planning Department’s Rental Housing Study Influence on Bill

Findings and recommendations from the Planning Department’s 2017 Rental Housing Study influenced the changes in the MPDU law. The study found that 68 percent of households with incomes between 50 and 80 percent of area median income pay more than 30 percent of income for rent and 15 percent report being extremely rent-burdened, paying more than 50 percent of income for rent.

New Changes to MPDU Law

The bills make several changes to the county MPDU law to enhance administrative flexibility and clarify provisions of the law. These changes will take effect on October 31, 2018 and include:

For more information, contact Lisa Govoni at lisa.govoni@montgomeryplanning.org or 301-650-5624.