Category: Testimony & Letters

CSG Testimony Re: Subdivision Staging Policy

Posted on by Emily Maurer

June 5, 2020 

Montgomery Planning Board

8787 Georgia Ave

Silver Spring, MD 20910 

2020-2024 Subdivision Staging Policy (Item 7) 

Testimony for June 11, 2020 

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager 

2020.06.01-CSG-Testimony-for-6-11-20-FullDownload

Chair Anderson and Planning Commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to testify. This testimony is on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the DC region advocating for more walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. Please see below for our comments on the 2020-2024 Subdivision Staging Policy (SSP) working draft. Generally, we urge you to support policies that encourage sustainable growth patterns and maintaining a high-quality school system. 

Schools & Taxes: 

1. We strongly support the elimination of automatic housing moratoria throughout most of the county. The staff recommendation to create School Impact Areas correctly takes into consideration the distinct development contexts of different areas and how those contexts impact school enrollment growth. 

The current moratorium policy assumes that the majority of new student generation comes from new development. However, we now know from the data that stopping development does not actually solve school overcrowding – less than 30 percent of school enrollment growth can be attributed to new development. Most new students come from young families moving into existing single-family homes – not from new apartment buildings. 

The working draft also correctly identifies the other negative impacts of the current housing moratorium policy, including worsening housing affordability, hindering economic development, and preventing sustainable growth patterns. Rather than locating in a transit-oriented neighborhood, households and businesses alike are pushed into less desirable areas for growth. We should do all we can to encourage new housing in major transit and job hubs, not ban it – especially during a recession. 

2. We support reducing the school impact tax to 100 percent of the cost of a seat, maintaining the current rate at 120 percent in the Agricultural Reserve, and further lowering the rate to 60 percent in Activity Centers. This recommendation correctly recognizes that impact taxes are a tool to either incentivize or disincentivize economic development. In some cases, it may be worth lowering impact taxes in order to expand the overall, long-term tax base and promote growth in the places we want to see it. Although, we’d like to note that some of the identified Activity Centers in outer areas lack transit and are overly large. 

Montgomery County has one of the highest school impact taxes in the region. Even at this comparatively high rate, school impact fees only funded approximately 8 percent of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) capital budget in both FY19 and FY20. For FY21, impact taxes are only 6 percent of the MCPS capital budget, while recordation taxes fund nearly 24 percent of the budget. In short, reducing the school impact tax for areas where we desire growth will not make or break the MCPS capital budget, but impact taxes do play a significant role in whether new home projects pencil out. Even if a project can move forward at the existing tax rate, the increased cost is ultimately passed onto buyers through higher housing prices. 

3. We are concerned by the proposed Utilization Premium Payments. 

We should not charge developers for impacts not caused by their project. If a school is already overcrowded, it is because of past student enrollment growth and points to a larger funding failure within the county to raise and allocate enough resources to adequately fund schools’ capital needs. A future project will add to the overutilization, which is why future projects should contribute to the school impact fee pool to fund the seats of any students that project generates. 

This recommendation will not build schools, just as the past School Facility Fees provided marginal funding at best – Utilization Premium Payments will only deter economic development. However, we would support increasing the school impact tax from 60 percent to 100 percent for projects located in Activity Centers with overcrowded schools. 

4. We support progressive increases to the recordation tax. 

While we do not think the Utilization Premium Payments have a strong nexus, the recordation tax does. Since over 70 percent of new students come from neighborhood turnover and recordation taxes account for nearly a quarter of the MCPS capital budget, it makes sense to target home purchases to fund school capacity projects. 

We especially support an increase that is progressive, thus raising prices more on homes over $1.5 million, with an expansion of the first-time homebuyer exemption. Staff estimates that these changes would have raised roughly $20 million more for school construction in FY19. Nevertheless, if increasing the recordation tax is not feasible, we recommend instead adjusting the distribution of the revenue to increase the share going to schools and affordable housing. 

5. We oppose ending the impact tax exemption for downtown Silver Spring. 

As previously stated, impact taxes are a tool to either incentivize or disincentivize economic development, and it’s important to consider the short-term tradeoffs for longer term benefits. The Silver Spring impact tax exemption is a perfect example of this: between 2006 and 2016, the exemption only cost the county $5.8 million. Although Silver Spring is the only Enterprise Zone to successfully graduate from the program, its future success is far from guaranteed, especially in the current difficult economic environment. 

A few things that weren’t mentioned: The working draft does not reference the capacity relief that boundary changes would bring system-wide, reducing the need for some expensive capital projects. Utilization is one of the three factors being examined by the current boundary analysis. We also urge the staff to make note of the effect that flexible school siting and creative project financing techniques could bring on the MCPS capital budget. 

We recognize that these recommendations fall under the jurisdiction of MCPS and the Board of Education, not the SSP. Still, we believe those ideas warrant mentioning. Furthermore, it is apparent that there needs to 

be a better dialogue between MCPS, the Board of Education, Planning Board, and the County Council. Schools issues are greatly interconnected with housing, health, transportation, and more, and should be treated as such by the county’s various institutions. 

Transportation: 

We appreciate and strongly support the move to better incorporate Vision Zero into the Subdivision Staging Policy, as well as the recommendation to increase intersection delay standards along Purple Line and BRT corridors. This small adjustment would save lives and support walkability around these future transit nodes. 

We understand the objective to look at policy area transportation impacts for Master Plans, but are unsure why this should require a mandate within the SSP. If this recommendation moves forward, we believe that there should be higher standards than the baseline requirements to help us work towards our mode share, climate, and congestion goals. For example, we should set more equal standards for average time per trip. 19 minutes for auto trips and 52 minutes for transit encapsulates the transit inequities ingrained into our land use and transportation planning. We must do better. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Open Streets Letter to Montgomery County Officials

Posted on by Emily Maurer
Open-Streets-Letter-FINALDownload

May 9, 2020

To: The Honorable Marc Elrich

Montgomery County Executive

101 Monroe Street, 2nd Floor

Rockville, MD 20850

Mr. Michael Riley, Director

Montgomery County Department of Parks

9500 Brunett Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20901

Re: Opening Streets to Pedestrians/Cyclists and Closing them to Vehicles    

Executive Elrich, Mr. Riley and Members of Council:

We would first like to express our gratitude for the County’s recent opening of some streets within its parks system to pedestrians/cyclists and to close those road segments to cars. We urge you to consider expanding this “open streets” concept to address the needs of citizens during the COVID-19 lockdown.

We appreciate how hard it is to manage public spaces during the recent global pandemic. Around the world, park managers and elected officials have struggled to find the right balance between public access to open space and public health and safety concerns. We welcome Montgomery Parks’s decision to open parts of Sligo Creek Parkway, Beach Drive and Little Falls Parkway to people on foot and bicycles during April of this year. Exercise is essential to maintain a strong immune system, and many people lack a yard or outdoor private space where they can run and play or bike. It is also essential for people to get sunshine, Vitamin D, fresh air and a change of scenery. Getting out of one’s home, especially if one’s living space is small, is also vital for mental health.

In the weeks since those park-adjacent streets were opened to people three days a week, the public has generally followed public health recommendations and used the extra space to spread out from one another and stay six feet apart. We also note that response to the street openings has been overwhelmingly positive.

Given that COVID-19 and its related social distancing may be with us for a prolonged period, we would like to ask that the county expand the open streets concept.

Specifically, we would like to ask for the following:

1)  That the Montgomery County Parks Department to confirm that the three roads will continue to be open to non-vehicular traffic for the duration of the pandemic. The original announcement was only for April.

2) Allow for more hours of open street time each week.  Currently, those are open to pedestrians and cyclists each Friday through Sunday from 9am-6pm.  We request that they be open all day, seven days a week during the pandemic

3) That the entire length of Sligo Creek Parkway – from New Hampshire Avenue to University Avenue – be open for non-vehicular traffic on the open street days. We would also like to have Beach evaluated for a longer span of closure. Currently there are gaps in the closures, even on “closed” weekend days, despite the fact that adjacent neighborhoods can be accessed from other entrance points/arteries. This should not be a concern given the lockdown dictates that no one should be driving unless it is deemed essential.

4) We understand that the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (DOT) and Montgomery County Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) is currently evaluating closing to through traffic some of the designated “Neighborhood Greenways” as listed in the county’s Bicycle Master Plan. These closures to vehicles could be part of a special event, one that connects several neighborhoods as a long, one-day-only walk or ride that would still honor social distancing but provide people with a way to exercise safely, away from high speed traffic. Or, closures could be done on some regularly scheduled basis, such as once a month or each Sunday during COVID lockdown.

4) DOT and MCPPC should consider “hybrid” solutions to meeting the need of the public not near any of the larger parkways currently being closed off.  These solutions would provide for more access to the outdoors so that social distancing during exercising, as well as social interaction are feasible for all. In the time of COVID we all want to discourage congregating, but neighborhoods could ask to have some streets made into bike and pedestrian-only routes for exercise with social distancing. Permits could be applied for, and citizens would be the ones to close off the streets during particular days and hours, just as they do during block parties.

We appreciate your time and consideration of these requests and look forward to working with you on implementing workable scenarios that will help residents in the most crowded parts of the county stay healthy during COVID lockdown.

Sincerely,

Paul Goldman, President, Action Committee for Transit

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager, Coalition for Smarter Growth

Alison Gillespie, President, Forest Estates Community Association

Kristy Daphnis, Chair, Pedestrian Bicycle Traffic Safety Advisory Committee

Peter Gray, Vice President, Board of Directors, Washington Area Bicyclist Association

cc: Montgomery County Council

Open Streets Letter to MD SHA

Posted on by Emily Maurer
Open-Streets-Letter-Slater_SHA-May-20-2020Download

May 20, 2020 

To: Greg Slater 

Maryland Secretary of Transportation

7201 Corporate Center Drive

Hanover, Maryland 21076 

Mr. Tim Smith, Administrator

Maryland State Highway Administration

707 North Calvert Street Baltimore, MD 21202 

Re: Opening Streets to Pedestrians/Cyclists and Closing them to Vehicles 

Secretary Slater and Administrator Smith: 

We urge you to consider implementing an “open streets” concept under which SHA would partially close certain State Roads to address the needs of citizens during the COVID-19 lockdown. This concept was noted in an April 8, 2020 Q&A session with Secretary Slater and Maryland Advocates For Sustainable Transportation . In that session, Secretary Slater acknowledged the possibility of an “open streets” implementation on some State roads as long as the neighboring households and businesses were consulted. 

We appreciate how hard it is to manage public spaces during the recent global pandemic. Around the world, state agency managers and elected officials have struggled to find the right balance between public access to open space and public health and safety concerns. Such strategies have been implemented in Bogata, Columbia; Paris, France; Oakland, CA; and other places around the World. Closer to home, in Maryland, we applaud Montgomery Parks’s decision to open parts of Sligo Creek Parkway, Beach Drive and Little Falls Parkway to people on foot and bicycles during April of this year. 

Exercise is essential to maintain a strong immune system, and many people lack a yard or outdoor private space where they can run and play or bike. It is also essential for people to get sunshine, Vitamin D, fresh air and a change of scenery. Getting out of one’s home, especially if one’s living space is small, is also vital for mental health. Additionally, having such safe space on our State roads for using alternatives to cars in order to do shorter trips (under 3 miles in length) to work and other essential trips, is also vital. It therefore is critical that the creation of such space be done on an equitable basis in which streets are chosen that will serve all communities, particularly lower income and more diverse communities. We also note that the response to the street openings has been overwhelmingly positive. 

Given that COVID-19 and its related social distancing may be with us for a prolonged period, we would like to ask that the State Highway Administration engage in implementing the open streets concept. 

Specifically, we would like to ask for the following: 

1) MD SHA, in cooperation with County/Municipal departments of transportation draw up a list of State roads which would be eligible for partial closures of car traffic lanes for use by pedestrians and bicyclists. 

2) After drawing up such a list, MD SHA move to implement such lane closures, perhaps with a small number of pilot roads designated, with a larger number being designated for such lane closures and implementation of those plans. 

We appreciate your time and consideration of these requests and look forward to working with you on implementing workable scenarios that will help residents in the State stay healthy during the COVID lockdown. 

Sincerely, 

Paul Goldman, President, Action Committee for Transit 

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager, Coalition for Smarter Growth 

Alison Gillespie, President, Forest Estates Community Association 

Kristy Daphnis, Chair, Pedestrian Bicycle Traffic Safety Advisory Committee 

Peter Gray, Vice President, Board of Directors Washington Area Bicyclist Association 

cc: Chris Conklin, MCDOT 

Marc Korman, Maryland State Delegate

Jared Solomon, Maryland State Delegate

Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive

Montgomery County Council

Letter to MDOT on Purple Line Negotiations

Posted on by Emily Maurer
2020.05.20-Letter-to-MDOT-on-Purple-Line-Negotiations-FinalDownload

Secretary Greg Slater

Harry R. Hughes Department of Transportation Building

7201 Corporate Center Drive Hanover, MD 21076 

May 20, 2020 

Re: State Negotiations with Purple Line Transit Constructors (PLTC) 

Dear Secretary Slater: 

Thank you for your and the State’s dedication to the Purple Line light rail project. The Purple Line is a transformational project that will bring increased economic opportunity to Maryland residents in the DC region. The State’s continued support is vital for the project to be completed in a timely and financially responsible manner. 

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is extremely concerned by Purple Line Transit Constructors’ (PLTC) threat to walk away from the project due to delays and cost overruns. We take no position on the dispute, but strongly urge you to quickly come to an agreement that prioritizes a timely completion of the Purple Line. 

The project is already a year behind schedule due to many factors, including some that have now been resolved. However, failing to negotiate an agreement and having to find a new construction team will undoubtedly result in even more delays and costs. The state should explore all of its options to ground negotiations in realistic cost and time expectations, with a high-level negotiator empowered to make a deal to keep the Purple Line on track. To remain true to its public commitment to the Purple Line, Maryland must take action. 

We also recognize that this is a particularly difficult time for transit and we appreciate the steps the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) has taken to protect transit operators and riders. Transit, including the Purple Line, will be a key part of our post-COVID-19 economic recovery and growing Maryland with less congestion, safer roadways, and cleaner air. 

In conclusion, we urge the State to do all it can to negotiate an agreement that keeps the Purple Line’s construction on track. The Purple Line remains of great value for the over 230,000 Marylanders who live along the corridor, and public investment in this project will be repaid many times over by the economic activity it supports. Thank you for your work on this important project. 

Signed, 

Stewart Schwartz Executive Director 

CC: Governor Larry Hogan 

Maryland Transit Administrator Kevin B. Quinn, Jr.

Purple Line Transit Partners

County Executive Marc Elrich 

County Executive Angela Alsobrooks

Montgomery County Council

Prince George’s County Council

CSG Testimony Regarding the DTSS Master Plan Boundary

Posted on by Emily Maurer

Chair Anderson and Planning Commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the DC region advocating for more walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We support expanding the boundary of the Silver Spring Downtown Plan, in line with option D.