Category: Transit-Oriented Development

CSG Testimony to County Council in support of ZTA 20-07 and Bill 52-20

Posted on by Emily Maurer
2021.02.03-CSG-Testimony-on-ZTA-20-07-Bill-52-20-County-Council-Public-Hearing-FinalDownload

February 8, 2021 

Montgomery County Council 

Stella Werner Council Office Building 

100 Maryland Ave 

Rockville, MD 20850 

Zoning Text Amendment 20-07, R-60 Zone – Uses and Standards (Support) and Bill 52-20, Landlord-Tenant Relations – Protection Against Rent Gouging Near Transit  (Support with Amendments) 

Testimony for February 11, 2021 

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager 

Council President Hucker and councilmembers, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony  on both ZTA 20-07 and Bill 52-20. My name is Jane Lyons and these comments are on behalf of the  Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the  DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all. 

Montgomery County has a housing crisis, a crisis that stretches from those with the lowest incomes  to even those of upper-moderate incomes. There are too many people who spend over half their  income to keep a roof over their and their loved ones’ heads, and fear that next year’s rent increase  will force them to find a new home. There are also too many people who feel that they cannot  comfortably age-in-place in the communities they’ve called home for decades and too many young  families who find it impossible to put down roots. 

Montgomery County is a great place to live, which is why so many people want to be here, but we do  not have enough housing to meet the high and growing demand, especially in walkable, transit oriented neighborhoods. Wealthier households are able to out-bid others, pushing teachers,  healthcare workers, and other essential workers to farther and farther out, undermining our economy  and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. 

There is no easy answer to solve our housing challenges, but the two proposals before you this  evening are a step in the right direction. Neither proposal is perfect, but both are the beginning of  critical conversations about making sure the county’s housing opportunities are more inclusive,  sustainable, and affordable. 

First, ZTA 20-07: From various studies, reports, and plans over the past several years, missing  middle housing typologies such as duplexes and townhomes have emerged again and again as a 

Coalition for Smarter Growth smartergrowth.net 202-675-0016 

key tool that we continue to constrict. Building duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings  near transit needs to be much less onerous. To do this, they need to be allowed by-right with  appropriate requirements, although those requirements must ensure that middle housing types are  actually feasible to construct.  

We would also like to see this initiative expanded to include both R-60 and R-90 zones near Metro,  Purple Line, and along major transit corridors. However, targeting zoning reform only around transit  does not undo the legacy of inequitable land use policies and segregation. We encourage zoning  initiatives such as this to also enable a diversity of housing options in areas of high incomes and job  clusters. To that end, we also urge you to consider creative approaches for incentivizing affordability  in middle housing developments. 

Secondly, Bill 52-20: We support legislation to restrict rent gouging, but such legislation must be  carefully crafted to make sure that rent controls do not result in a reduction in new housing or  disinvestment in existing housing. To achieve a more balanced policy, we propose the following  amendments: 

1. Set the rate of allowed increase to three percent plus the rate of inflation. The voluntary rent  guidelines, while useful, are essentially just the rate of inflation – the most restrictive type of  rent control policy. The cost of labor, construction, and climate change mitigation/adaptation  measures are often rising faster than the rate of inflation. 

2. Apply the provision countywide so that all renters are protected and transit-oriented  development is not disincentivized. 

3. Increase the exemption period for new buildings to 15 years. Properties need to produce the  highest rate of return for the first 10-17 years in order to pay off construction loans. Without  an expanded exemption period, new construction is unlikely. 

4. Consider different treatment for small multi-family buildings (10 to 50 units) and exempt  buildings less than 10 units. Smaller buildings often have a more difficult time with capital  maintenance because financing costs are typically higher due to a lack of economies of  scale. 

5. Exempt already rent regulated units until that regulation expires. For example, overlaying  another rent regulation on top of existing ones could discourage Low Income Housing Tax  Credit (LIHTC) investments, resulting in lost lower-priced units. 

In conclusion, we urge you to take up the complementary issues of rent stabilization and missing  middle housing to help Montgomery County become more affordable, equitable, and sustainable. Thank you for your consideration.

CSG in the News: Prince George’s Zoning Rewrite Stalls Over Unique Ethics Rule

CSG in the News: Prince George’s Zoning Rewrite Stalls Over Unique Ethics Rule

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

UPDATE 4/12/2021: The revised bill, HB 980, passed both the Maryland House of Delegates and the Senate. Thanks to all those who took action! The final bill was amended (changes we supported) to address concerns and ensure broad support. View final bill here.

“First on FOX 5: Prince George’s County has spent millions of dollars over six years on a massive countywide rezoning plan. Leaders say it’s crucial to make the county more competitive and business friendly, but after all that time and money, the process has hit a hurdle.” View FOX 5 story here.

CSG testified in support of the state bill because adjusting the County’s unique ethics rules for the Countywide Zoning Map amendment will be the final step in implementing the years-long update to the zoning code. Adopting the modern, updated zoning regulations is a once in a generation opportunity. Montgomery County and Baltimore City do not have this ethics rule, unique to Prince George’s, and have already adopted their next-generation zoning regulations.

View CSG’s testimony in support of completing the Countywide rezoning here. View our action alert here. The proposed legislation can be viewed here and final bill is here.

Photo Credit: C. Cort

CSG Testimony in Support of PG 416-21: Finish the Countywide Rezoning

CSG Testimony in Support of PG 416-21: Finish the Countywide Rezoning

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

RE: Testimony in Support for PG 416-21: Prince George’s County – Public Ethics – Definition of Application

Click here for CSG testimony in support of PG-416-21Download

At the Virtual Delegation Bill Hearing on Local/Bi-County Legislation By The Prince George’s County House Delegation, February 2, 20201

By Cheryl Cort, Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth

Dear Members of the Delegation:

Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization working locally in the Washington, DC metropolitan region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish.

We are pleased to provide testimony in support of PG 416-21. This bill provides a legislative adjustment needed to complete the Prince George’s County Zoning and Subdivision rewrite. A uniquely Prince George’s County ethics law has tripped up the Countywide Zoning Map Amendment (CMA), which is the last step in the zoning rewrite process. This ethics law doesn’t exist anywhere else in the state including in Montgomery County or Baltimore City which has already updated their zoning regulations.

The County’s zoning rewrite was adopted by the Prince George’s County Council in December 2018. After the late 2018 adoption, the Countywide Zoning Map Amendment (CMA) process was initiated. The CMA is the final stage where the rewritten zoning regulations are implemented by applying the new or updated zones to the County’s zoning map.

Over the course of a number of years, we worked with stakeholders and community activists to engage in the public process to update the county’s outmoded zoning and subdivision regulations. We have advocated for the adoption of the modernized regulations through various public fora, and hearings by the County Council.

We made this a priority because this zoning rewrite is a significant advance for the county. The zoning rewrite and CMA are worth the effort because they replace the county’s current obsolete and cumbersome zoning regulations which are holding back the county. Here are some of the ways the zoning and subdivision process will improve:

  • Design and building form standards: the document establishes transit-oriented zones at the local and regional scales to support the goals of walkable urbanism, creating walkable, and bikable areas that are well-connected to transit;
  • Parking standards for urban and transit-oriented areas: the zoning rewrite reduces excessive minimum parking requirements in transit-oriented centers in order to support more multimodal designs and uses.
  • Street designs: the revisions require interconnected streets, shorter blocks, and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. It implements newly adopted urban street design standards that support walk and bike friendly streets.  
  • Transportation demand management: the regulations also establish progressive traffic reduction measures that emphasize encouraging more people to ride transit if available, bicycle, share rides and walk.
  • Ease of use: The zoning and subdivision regulations are presented in a more readable format providing tables and graphic illustrations to better understand and visualize the standards.
  • Ending perpetual approvals: The zoning rules establish limits on approvals after a number of years. Today, approvals are allowed to live on forever, despite significant changes that may occur after initially projected conditions. While some of the provisions seem overly generous, setting the proposed limits would be a big step forward for the county.

The proposed legislation is clear — this is specific to the CMA, not for everyday zoning and development review matters that come before the Council. For all these reasons, we urge the delegation to adopt the bill to accommodate the Council’s role and responsibility in adopting the CMA. We believe implementation of the zoning and subdivision rewrite is a tremendous improvement for the county and the community. It is a once in a generation opportunity.

Thank you for your consideration.

CSG Comments to TPB on Climate Action

Posted on by Emily Maurer
2020.10.21-CSG-Comments-to-TPB-re-climate-land-use-transportationDownload

October 21, 2020 

Hon. Kelly Russell  

Chair, National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board 

President Pro Tem, Frederick Board of Aldermen 

Re: Comments on need TPB climate action steps, travel survey, and transit-oriented centers  Dear Chair Russell, 

We are deeply concerned that TPB staff are not committing to VMT-reduction strategies in their input to  the update of the COG climate plan. We have submitted comments to the CEEPC that apply equally to  our input to the TPB Visualize2045 update. 

TPB’s climate approach, as outlined in the October 15 memo by director Srikanth, is to focus on fuel  efficient car standards, vehicle electrification, and the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI). Of the  “bold, system-wide actions” the memo says are needed, there is no mention of regional strategies to  reduce VMT. As detailed in the Driving Down Emissions report by SGA, EVs are not enough, and land use,  urban design, and transit are essential for reducing VMT and transportation emissions, meeting our  climate targets, and achieving equity, public health, and livability. 

COG is setting a very ambitious goal for electrification in its draft climate plan, assuming that 34% of  light passenger vehicles on the road in 2030 will be electric. California’s analyses show that even with  significant adoption of EVs, rising VMT will cause rising emissions. Therefore, the CEAP and TPB need  additional bold actions:  

1. Set even stronger targets for housing and job growth in High-Capacity Transit (HCT) station  areas by prioritizing close-in, walkable, mixed-use Activity Centers with high-frequency transit,  and addressing the E-W economic and racial divide. 

2. Make affordable housing in TOD locations a key part of the land use strategy, with specific goals  and strategies. 

3. Set clear targets to significantly reduce total and per capita VMT below the 2030 and 2050  baselines and increase non-auto mode shares well above baselines.  

4. Include strategies to price existing lanes in congested travel markets rather than adding more  HOT lanes and price parking across the region. 

Your Travel Survey highlights the benefits of transit-oriented communities. The Core and Activity  Centers have very high commute walk, bike, transit mode share, and very good non-commute mode  shares. But major suburbs still have far to go on TOD, and recent road expansions are not helping. 

We commend your Transit-Oriented Communities initiative, but urge you to place overwhelming priority  in Visualize 2045 on transit, local street networks, and bike/pedestrian infrastructure, while slashing  new highway capacity. We have just one decade to act on the climate crisis. 

Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director