SILVER
SPRING, MD – To help address the scarcity of affordable housing
in Montgomery County, Planning Department research staff has proposed a series
of presentations to the Planning Board that will create a detailed picture of
the local housing stock.
Understanding the county’s existing houses – what’s
affordable and where – will help the board determine how to both preserve and
create more moderately priced homes. On Thursday, the board will decide on the
scope and details of a housing education program, which it asked staff to
develop as a way to scrutinize housing affordability and other housing issues in
a county where median prices recently have skyrocketed.
Between 1995 and 2005, about 35,000 single-family
detached homes in Montgomery County previously deemed affordable to median-income
households vaulted into the unaffordable range. Households were defined as
families of four, and in 1995, a median family income was $62,700; in 2005,
median income reached $89,300.
The proposed Planning Board presentations are part
of a plan to expand the housing section of the county’s General Plan, a forward-thinking
document first published in 1964 and amended several times since that establishes
policies to guide growth. The board likely will schedule a series of public work
sessions throughout the spring on housing issues, then finalize a General Plan amendment
by early summer.
Throughout the educational initiative, research
staff will cover housing affordability and the preservation of affordable
neighborhoods, among other issues. On Thursday, planners will provide a report
on the existing housing supply and analyze recent demand for homes. The
presentation will include the size, location and assessments of homes, in
addition to rental properties.
A primary goal is to help understand why some
neighborhoods stay affordable. To that end, staff have identified common
characteristics of homes in affordable areas and analyzed neighborhoods where
homes have become more costly.
Thursday’s report also will provide a snapshot of
the stock of mandated affordable housing, including moderately priced dwelling
units and workforce housing designed for public agency workers and others.
WHO:
Montgomery
County Planning Board
Affordable
housing presentation
WHEN:
Thursday, February 14, approximately 2:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Park and Planning Headquarters
8700 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD