Montgomery County Approves Plan to Add 10,000 Homes By 2030

• November 7th 2019

by Nena Perry-Brown

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This week, the Montgomery County Council passed a resolution to add 10,000 homes in the county by 2030. The resolution is part of a wider goal from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) to add 320,000 housing units in the region over the next 11 years. 

The resolution also supports MWCOG's priorities of concentrating 75 percent of new housing near transit hubs and in "Activity Centers", and for 75 percent of the new housing to serve households with low, very low and middle income. 

Roughly 7,000-8,000 of the new units would be in unincorporated areas of Montgomery County, and the target specifies 1,000 additional units each for Gaithersburg and Rockville. Although the city of Takoma Park has not identified a specific target, the council has specifically affirmed its desire to increase housing there, and has separately adopted a housing and economic development strategic plan.

Data from the Urban Institute released last month bolstered the need for new housing in the county. By 2045, 119,000 households in the lowest two income bands are expected to need housing priced at under $1,300 per month, according to the report. The county is expected to add 31,000 households by this time: 23,000 in unincorporated areas, 5,000 in the city of Rockville, and 3,000 in the city of Gaithersburg. Meanwhile, between 2015-2030, the county could lose nearly 12,000 affordable units with federal subsidies, 600 public housing units, and 22,000 naturally affordable units.

The resolution also cites various recommendations from the Urban Institute report, including expanded fair housing protections, emergency rental assistance, rapid rehousing for those experiencing homelessness, home purchase assistance, rent stabilization, restrictions on short-term rentals, proactive housing inspections, and shared equity models like land trusts and co-ops.

While most MWCOG jurisdictions have yet to set specific targets, DC released production targets by planning area last month.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/montgomery-county-council-approves-10000-housing-unit-production-target/16113.