Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar featuring transportation officials and advocates in the Northern Virginia region discussing how they are working to create safe streets for all. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation. Stay tuned for our Active Transportation Summit in Spring 2021!
Category: Resources
CSG Letter on Proposed Property Tax Changes
July 27, 2020
The Honorable Sidney Katz
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Re: Property Taxes
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
CSG Testimony Re: Montgomery County Complete Streets Design Guide
July 21, 2020
Montgomery County Planning Board
8787 Georgia Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Item 12 – Complete Streets Design Guide (Support)
Testimony for July 23, 2020
Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager
Good evening and thank you to Chair Anderson and Planning Commissioners. My name is Jane Lyons and I’m speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We enthusiastically support the Complete Streets Design Guide.
Thank you and congratulations to the staff who worked on this project – who has yet again solidified Montgomery Planning as a national leader in creative suburban planning. We are pleased that the Complete Streets Design Guide is clear in prioritizing safety, sustainability, and vitality, and provides a roadmap for how to balance competing needs. When we prioritize street space correctly, streets can become an engine for healthy people, a healthy economy, and a healthy environment.
The biggest challenge in actualizing safe, green, vibrant streets is reengineering the county’s arterial roads, especially in lower income neighborhoods where traffic fatalities are more common. The vision in Thrive 2050 is for these arterials to become safe, green, multimodal boulevards, and this document will be a critical guide for those changes.
A few constructive comments:
• Page 55: We’d like it to be clear that a sidepath is always preferable to bikeable shoulders.
• Page 57: We recommend that bikeways be listed as a high priority for downtown boulevards, downtown streets, town center boulevards, and town center streets.
• Page 82: Bus shelters, in addition to BRT stations, should consider opportunities to provide additional passenger amenities such as seating, local area information, wayfinding, and real time traveler information.
• Page 88: We urge the county to update its policy for snow events. Especially in downtowns and town centers, the county – not the building owners – should be responsible for clearing snow on sidewalks, sidewalk ramps, and sidewalk-level bicycle facilities.
• Page 232: Public engagement should also include on-the-street direct outreach strategies, as well as strongly encourage paid community focus/advisory groups to ensure diverse input for major decisions.
• Finally, we ask that the design guide be open to amendment upon the completion of the Pedestrian Master Plan and Vision Zero Action Plan.
Implementing the Complete Streets Design Guide is key to achieving the county’s Vision Zero goal, as well as improving connectivity and helping shift mode-share away from single occupancy vehicles. We look forward to the comprehensive update of the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways that is necessitated by the guide, along with its implementation throughout new projects, resurfacing, construction, and maintenance. Wherever possible, we encourage the Planning Board, MCDOT, DPS, and the Council to codify the guide into law and regulation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Keep transit moving by wearing a mask!
Public transit has been a lifeline for essential workers who keep our society and economy moving. Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that masks work to keep people safe. Reports from countries like Japan and France suggest that public transit is relatively safe, so long as passengers wear masks, don’t talk, maintain distance, and agencies maintain regular cleaning.
Be sure to wear the mask correctly on your face, and avoid touching it whenever possible. Avoid N95 masks with vents, as they do not prevent virus transmission.
All transit agencies in the DC region require masks. For those in Montgomery County, Ride On buses are equipped with limited supplies of disposable masks available to riders without masks, but please do your best to bring your own!
By wearing a mask, you will be protecting your fellow passengers, your transit operators, and yourself! As CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield recently announced, transmission will decrease sharply if we can all commit to wearing a mask for the foreseeable future.
We know, masks aren’t always comfortable, especially in the hot summer months in the DC area, but masking up is a relatively easy way to make a positive impact in your community and keep transit moving. So wear your mask, travel with hand sanitizer, and please continue to stay safe and healthy. We will get through this together!
Active Transportation Webinar: Active Transportation during COVID-19
Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar featuring transportation officials in the Northern Virginia region discussing how they are responding to COVID-19. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation.
Event: Understanding DC Zoning for Accessory Apartments & Second Dwellings
Homeowner’s ADU Zoning Webinar
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 @ 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, Via Zoom
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.
495/270 Update | July 2020
Last Friday, the Maryland Department of Transportation released an 18,000 page draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on Governor Hogan’s plans to expand the Capital Beltway (I-495) and I-270 with private toll lanes. The study details the impacts on air, water, parks, noise levels, traffic, and more. The DEIS is available to read here.
More than 140 acres of public parks and historic sites, as well as 70 acres of wetlands and 1,400 acres of forest canopy, could be affected. We’ve said from the beginning that Governor Hogan began with the conclusion, and failed to consider a comprehensive transit, demand management, and land use option. Maryland has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, yet toll lanes will fuel more long-distance living and commuting.
It’s overwhelming, but there’s still plenty that you can do to help. Here are three easy ways:
1. Sign up for a virtual or in-person public hearing.
2. Tell Maryland to extend the comment period to 120 days.
3. Sign up to be a community reviewer — no experience required!
At first, Governor Hogan claimed the project wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime due to the public-private partnership (P3) structure. Now, the DEIS finally admits that the project could require a government subsidy up to $1 billion. Imagine if Maryland invested $1 billion in sustainable transit and transit-oriented development instead. That cost doesn’t even include the costs imposed directly on residents: water bills could nearly triple in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties due to water and sewer relocation.
We’ll continue to keep you updated and work on this issue with our partners, including the Maryland Advocates for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) coalition. You can visit MAST’s website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.