Montgomery County officials have launched a legislative housing effort to tackle the region's deep affordability crisis. This package, dubbed More Housing N.O.W. (New Options for Workers), intends to expand housing opportunities for critical workforce members such as educators, first responders, and healthcare professionals. Spearheaded by Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Natali Fani-González, the initiative offers five key proposals to shake up the current housing landscape.
"More Housing N.O.W. represents the most consequential workforce housing proposal we have ever put forward in Montgomery County to provide more housing options where they're most needed and most likely to be built," Councilmember Friedson told reporters in a statement obtained by the Montgomery County Government website. The plan aims to build along corridors with access to crucial job markets and amenities. Councilmember Fani-González was quoted emphasizing the urgency of the matter, stating, "Our county is getting less and less affordable to the working folks who, day in and day out, make our community go. We must act boldly to make our housing market work for more people. There is no time to wait."
The package's approach includes strategies such as the Workforce Housing Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA), which would allow for more residential development types along specific corridors with a workforce housing requirement, and the Workforce Housing Opportunity Fund aimed at spurring the construction of workforce units. The plan also involves an interesting twist on re-purposing space: converting high-vacancy office buildings into residential housing through expedited approval and offering payment instead of taxes (PILOT) for such transformations. Furthermore, the More Housing N.O.W. initiative plans to double the county's investment in the Homeowner Assistance Program.
The push for more housing is backed by the council members who introduced it and other political figures within the county, like Council President Kate Stewart and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke, Marilyn Balcombe, and Laurie-Anne Sayles. They've also secured support from members of various community and professional groups, all present at the package's announcement in Rockville, MD. The initiative was prompted, in part, by alarming statistics from the Comptroller of Maryland's 2024 State of the Economy Report. With home prices outpacing income gains – average home prices hiking up 6.5% against a mere 1.5% rise in wages – the need for a viable solution has become increasingly clear.
