Sessions will focus on changes to moderately priced dwelling unit regulations and new strategies to achieve higher levels of affordable housing
Silver Spring, MD – Representatives of the Montgomery County Planning Department and Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, will participate in the annual summit hosted by the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County on Friday, May 11.
In addition to the Makeover Montgomery 4 conference, co-sponsored by the Planning Department and National Center for Smart Growth, and held at the Silver Spring Civic Building, planners organized and will be part of sessions at the annual summit hosted by the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County.
This housing event will be held on Friday, May 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center (5701 Marinelli Road, Rockville, MD). Sessions will address issues related to housing, healthcare, transportation and the economy. Register online to attend.
The session titled “Retooling MPDUs for Tomorrow” will feature a panel discussion about potential revisions to the law governing moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs). These revisions are currently being considered by the Montgomery County Council and include recommendations from the Planning Department’s recently completed Rental Housing Study.
Councilmember Nancy Floreen’s Bill 34-17 “Housing – Moderately Priced Dwelling Units” aims to increase the availability of affordable housing by updating the MPDU program to better serve the demand for affordable units. This session will discuss the current proposed changes to the MPDU program including an FAR-based method for calculating MPDUs, payment to the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) for some smaller developments not currently subject to MPDU requirements, modifying the current bonus density system, and creating flexibility for the acceptance of alternative payments and off-site locations.
“The problem is obvious: the rent is too high,” said Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson. “The solutions are not quite so easy to identify, but we hope this summit will help to generate ideas that the government and private sector can put into action.”
Panelists include Councilmember Nancy Floreen; Stephanie Killian, Acting Housing Chief of the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs; Development Manager Alisa Rosenberg of the Bozzuto Group; and Harold Huggins from the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors. The session will be moderated by attorney Barbara Sears of the Bethesda law firm Linowes and Blocher, LLP.
Another conference session will be moderated by Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson and will examine a new toolkit for addressing the county’s affordable housing issues. The discussion will focus on Montgomery County’s changing demographics and how zoning and financing can adapt to support the county’s growing housing needs. Panelists will include planner Emily Tettelbaum of the Montgomery County Planning Department; Jeannette Chapman, Deputy Director and Senior Research Associate at George Mason University’s Stephen S. Fuller Institute; Alan Goldstein, Director of Multifamily at AHC, Inc.; and Rich Devaney of EagleBank.
Planning board vice chair Norman Dreyfuss is a co-chair of the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County. Planning department staff members Pamela Dunn and Lisa Govoni are on the board of directors for the conference.