Category: Affordable Housing

Housing Priorities Coalition

Housing Priorities Coalition

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

The Housing Priorities Coalition is: Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) 🞄 Coalition for Smarter Growth 🞄 DC Fiscal Policy Institute 🞄 Enterprise Community Partners 🞄 Greater Greater Washington 🞄 Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) 🞄 Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) 🞄 Somerset Development 🞄 United Planning Organization (UPO)

About the DC Housing Priorities Coalition

The Housing Priorities Coalition formed in 2016 to help update the DC Comprehensive Plan, the land use policy that guides development decisions in the District. (Learn more from DC Office of Planning on the DC Comprehensive Plan amendment process at: plandc.dc.gov). See the full Housing Priorities Coalition amendment package here. The Housing Priorities Coalition’s guiding principles for amending the DC Comprehensive Plan are: 

  • Meet the housing demand
  • Equitably distribute housing
  • Best utilize areas near transit
  • Include families: ensure homes for people of all income levels and of all household sizes, including families. 
  • Prioritize affordable housing as a community benefit
  • Preserve existing affordable housing
  • Protect tenants
  • Support neighborhood commercial corridors
  • Clarify zoning authority
  • Improve data collection and transparency

Testimony & factsheets

HPC Comp Plan February 2021 DC Council LetterDownload

Housing Priorities Coalition Testimony Workshop Materials

Housing Priorities Coalition urges Chairman Mendelson & DC Council to pass Comp Plan this year (Sept. 30, 2020)

Housing Priorities Coalition Support for Expanded Inclusionary Zoning

Housing Priorities Coalition

View more here

A big step toward ending Montgomery’s housing moratorium!

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Yesterday, the Planning Board voted to update the county’s draft growth policy (aka the Subdivision Staging Policy), which seeks to time public infrastructure like schools and transportation with population growth. Among other changes, the Planning Board draft would eliminate the counterproductive housing moratorium throughout most of the county, while adjusting fees and taxes to ensure adequate funding to meet increases in school demand.

This decision is thanks, in large part, to you! CSG’s supporters sent over 50 letters to the Planning Board, and our supporters and allies showed up strong at the Planning Board’s public hearing. Check out CSG’s public testimony for more background.

This isn’t the end though — the County Council has the last say. They will review the Planning Board’s recommendations and vote on a new growth policy by November. We’ll keep you updated on actions you can take!

Until then, please consider making a donation to sustain our work advocating for more housing in Montgomery County!

Other changes proposed by the Planning Board:

  • Developers would be required to pay Utilization Premium Payments when a school’s projected utilization three years into the future exceeds 120 percent
  • Impact taxes would be lowered from 120 percent of the cost of a seat to 100 percent, and further lowered to 60 percent in certain areas with high-capacity transit and employment centers
  • Recordation taxes at the time of home sales, would be progressively increased to the to provide additional funding for school construction and affordable housing
  • Any development located in an Opportunity Zone would be exempt from impact taxes
  • Multiple updates to transportation tests would prioritize walking and biking as transportation modes and improve safety
  • And more! If you’re interested, you can find the most up-to-date information here.

Again, thank you to all those who sent in letters or testified! In September, we’ll update you on the Council’s review and hearing schedule so you can join us again in supporting this progressive update to the county’s growth policy.

Webinar: Understanding ADU Zoning in DC

Webinar: Understanding ADU Zoning in DC

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Want to build an accessory dwelling unit in DC, but unsure of the zoning review process? 

Watch our July 29, 2020 webinar on the zoning code with Mamadou Ndaw, Supervisory Engineering Technician, DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). 

View Mamadou Ndaw’s, DCRA, powerpoint presentation here.

View Cheryl Cort’s, Coalition for Smarter Growth, powerpoint introduction to DC zoning for ADUs and second dwellings here.

CSG Letter on Proposed Property Tax Changes

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 27, 2020 

The Honorable Sidney Katz

Montgomery County Council

100 Maryland Avenue

Rockville, MD 20850 

Re: Property Taxes 

2020.07.27-CSG-Letter-on-Proposed-Property-Tax-Changes-Final-1Download

Dear Council President Katz and Councilmembers: 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposals to alter the rules for property tax increases. Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the DC region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. 

We support a fix to the artificial constraints imposed by the current property tax cap, and want to ensure that the Council and County Executive have the authority to budget in a way that meets the community’s needs, particularly for social services, affordable housing, and public transportation. The county requires improved flexibility to meet unexpected challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the increased need it has created. 

At the same time as needs rise, Montgomery County has not been able to benefit from growth in the tax base, growth which is supported by a history of successful public investments in infrastructure, schools, and transportation. Continuous public investment and services are vital in order to maintain a high quality of life, spur further economic development, and battle external threats, including public health and climate crises. 

Therefore, we support proposals to remove the property tax cap and to require a supermajority of at least two-thirds of the council to raise the general property tax rate, not a unanimous vote as is now the case. We also support setting equal limits on rate increases for owner-occupied residential properties and for residential rental properties, since landlords pass property tax increases onto tenants in the form of higher rents. Homeowners and renters should be treated equally – renters should not face a higher pass-through cost of tax increases than homeowners. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Jane Lyons

Maryland Advocacy Manager

Coalition for Smarter Growth 

CC: Montgomery County Councilmembers County Executive Marc Elrich

Event: Understanding DC Zoning for Accessory Apartments & Second Dwellings

Event: Understanding DC Zoning for Accessory Apartments & Second Dwellings

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

Homeowner’s ADU Zoning Webinar

Wednesday, July 29, 2020 @ 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, Via Zoom

RSVP

Attention DC homeowners! Want to understand what DC zoning regulations permit on your lot so you can build an accessory apartment or second unit? Join us to learn from Mamadou Ndaw with the Office of the Zoning Administrator at Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Mr. Ndaw will provide a presentation of DC’s zoning rules followed by Q & A. 

Photo credit: Erin Kelleher, see: www.ileanaschinder.com

View event materials here.

CSG Testimony Supporting Montgomery County Bill 13-20

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 8, 2020 

Montgomery County Council Council Office Building

100 Maryland Ave.

Rockville, MD 20850 

Bill 13-20, County Property – Disposition – Affordable Housing (Support) 

Public Testimony 

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager 

2020.07.07-CSG-Testimony-for-Bill-13-20-County-Property-Disposition-Affordable-Housing-Final-1Download

President Katz and Councilmembers, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony on Bill 13-20. Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We strongly support any efforts to make better use of our public land for affordable housing. 

Bill 13-20 would require any disposition of property that will be used primarily for housing development must be 30 percent income-restricted, with 15 percent as moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs) and the other 15 percent for households earning 50 percent of less of the area median income (AMI). 

For too long, the county has not used its public land for its full potential. With many county properties located near high-capacity transit and land being a significant cost of construction, subsidized land costs makes deeper levels of affordability possible. At a time when we need 75 percent of new housing in the region to be affordable for low and middle income households, this legislation is common sense. 

We would like to see this legislation go a step further. If county land dispositions meet certain requirements, such as being a certain distance from transit, it should be required for that land be used for affordable housing. There is nothing under current law prioritizing or requiring certain uses to be considered, or giving preference to experienced affordable housing developers as partners. 

We need to re-imagine how we use public land, when being disposed of and when redeveloping. Libraries, community centers, and other public facilities should all be co-located with housing. Our region already has several examples of housing co-located with public facilities. We hope this legislation will be a first step for better using public land for the public good. 

Therefore, we urge you to support Bill 13-20 and seek provisions to make it even stronger. Thank you for your consideration.