Housing proposals:  Summary of Council Hearings and Next steps for NOW

This is an update from the Committee on Housing, a collaborative effort of the Parkwood Residents Association, the Kensington Estates Civic Association, and the  Byeforde-Rock Creek Highlands Citizens Association.

The Council has concluded its formal hearings on NOW, the group of proposals for addressing the County’s housing challenges.  Notes summarizing some of the residents’ pro and con statements at the hearings are here. 

Briefly stated, at the hearings residents who support NOW pointed to the significant need for more, and especially more affordable housing.  Opponents said that while the proposals may result in more housing, they have doubts that they will achieve the goal of affordability.  They also have concerns about the impact on the County’s schools and on its infrastructure for dealing with stormwater, increased traffic, and environmental impacts.

The County Executive and County Vice President Jawando have also expressed the need for more community engagement, such as occurs in the master planning process.

With six members of the Council already signed on as sponsors or cosponsors, it appears likely that some version of the current proposals will pass.  However, the Council is about to deal with the 2025/26 budget, which will undoubtedly take considerable time, especially given the uncertainties surrounding the impact of state and federal actions.  It is possible, therefore that final action on NOW might be deferred to later this year, possibly even into the fall. 

But for the moment, we should anticipate final action by the Council sometime in April or early May. 

NEXT STEPS

• On March 24 at 6:30 p.m., the Montgomery County Civic Federation will host Councilmember Andrew Friedson for further discussion of More Housing NOW and housing future plans; the meeting is open to all.

• The Zoom link is here.

Meeting ID: 823 1689 7559
Passcode: 424109 

• On March 24 and 31, the County’s Planning, Housing, and Parks Committee [PHP] will hold work sessions on the proposed ZTAs and legislation.  More information about these work sessions is here.  When viewing this page, it is necessary to scroll down to see the agenda for the PHP committee on these dates.  Committee meetings are televised live on County Cable Montgomery or streamed live via this link .  Videos are archived and available on-demand 24 hours after the meeting concludes.

The PRA Housing Committee will post summaries of these sessions in PRA News on the listserv.

• After the PHP work sessions are concluded, the committee will [presumably] pass the measures to the Council for final action.  This may include a Council work session before a final vote.