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(a) The County Executive and County Council adopted on October 20, 1981, Joint Resolution No. 9-1503, "A Housing Policy for Montgomery County, Maryland in the 1980's." That policy made certain findings which are incorporated by reference herein.
(b) The need for housing in the County for moderate- and low-income households has become more severe since 1973, when Chapter 25A, "Housing, Moderately Priced," was adopted. Even though the private sector, the County government, the Housing Opportunities Commission, and nonprofit sponsors of housing projects have made substantial progress in financing and constructing affordable homes, and in the full use of federal and state programs, there remains a severe shortage of homes that are within the means of families of low and moderate incomes. Given economic trends and conditions projected through the year 2000, land and construction costs, inflation, diminished federal tax incentives, and high interest rates will increase rents to a level that will cause the problem to intensify, particularly for newly formed households, older people, handicapped individuals, those living in substandard housing, those subject to discrimination, and those with low or moderate incomes. These trends and conditions, if unabated, will frustrate the County's goal of a full range of housing choices, conveniently located throughout the County. The County should devote special attention to the provision of assisted-family housing and identify actions that the County may take to provide or stimulate production of additional units of assisted-family housing.
(c) Rising costs, when combined with the changes in the size and age of households in the County, compel a higher priority than has heretofore been given on planning for, zoning for, and constructing a larger proportion of smaller, less costly and more energy efficient homes located in more compactly formed communities and, where possible, capable of being served by public or shared transportation. Where feasible, energy and transportation conservation can be better advanced by mixed use development which closely relates housing, employment and other activities in well-planned communities.
(d) Notwithstanding the clear evidence of this present and future need, there is concern among the public over the effect on established neighborhoods, communities and services of any increase in the densities and supply of housing. However, these community concerns can be addressed in a variety of ways. Smaller, energy-efficient homes can be attractively designed and developed to be compatible with their environment from the perspectives of density, appearance and use of services and facilities, so long as reasonable standards are followed. Well-designed elderly housing, low- and moderate-income housing and group homes can enrich the overall quality of community life, making it possible for people to remain in their home community throughout the entire cycle of life. Similarly, the elimination of unlawful discrimination in housing has the effect of enriching community life while promoting broader opportunities and better personal relations.
(e) Wide distribution of affordable, including assisted-family, housing throughout the County is a desirable objective of public policy in order to provide for a balance of housing choices in any one community to avoid over concentration of assisted-family housing in any community, and because communities that are racially, ethnically, chronologically, and economically heterogeneous are preferable to those which do not reflect the broad diversity of people who live in the County.
(f) The County has well-developed processes for determining the need for facilities and amenities. These processes, which provide for extensive public participation, include the capital improvements program process, the master plan and sector plan processes, zoning, the development approval process, including subdivision regulation, adequate public facilities ordinance, growth policy, site plan review, and special exception and variance procedures. Nevertheless, stimulating public advocacy and participation in the development of affordable and assisted-family housing can have a beneficial effect on public understanding and support for such housing. (1982 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2.)
(a) Affordable housing: Any dwelling unit or other form of housing constructed for sale or rent at a price equal to or less than that provided in Chapter 25A, and any assisted elderly housing.
(b) Agency: The Department of Housing and Community Affairs or any other governmental entity which receives any part of its funding or other resources from or through the County government.
(c) Assisted-family housing: Those units of affordable housing which consist of privately or governmentally owned rental units for which the owners receive subsidies from the federal, state or local government in the form of rent supplements or mortgage interest subsidies, except
(1) units designated for occupancy by persons 62 years old or older; and
(2) units which benefit from tax-exempt financing but receive no other government subsidy.
(d) Person: Any individual, partnership, corporation, joint stock association, or any city or state or any subdivision thereof; and any trustee, receiver, assignee or personal representative thereof.
(e) Scattered site unit: A single-family detached or attached dwelling acquired by an agency for assisted-family rental housing, but which is not in a subdivision or development that is primarily assisted-family housing. (1982 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1; 2024 L.M.C., ch. 19, § 1.)
The following measures are intended to implement, in part, the housing policy of Montgomery County as that policy is amended from time to time, and to increase the number and proportion of affordable, including assisted-family, housing in the total housing supply of the County in order to provide a full range of housing choices, conveniently located throughout the County.
(a) The County Executive must:
(1) Review public land declared surplus to determine its suitability for affordable, including assisted-family, housing;
(2) Review and implement opportunities for use of publicly owned land by the County, acting alone or jointly with others, in central business districts, transit station development areas, and other locations which meet the standards established under this Chapter for affordable, including assisted-family, housing; determine where joint development including such housing is feasible; and develop programs to produce such housing where feasible;
(3) Encourage and assist production of affordable rental and sales housing, including market rate rental developments with a small percentage of assisted-family housing units;
(4) Use state and County funding sources to provide short- and long-term financing for site acquisition or construction of additional affordable, including assisted-family, housing;
(5) Revise or recommend revisions, under method (2), to regulations which add unnecessarily to the cost or delay of housing construction;
(6) Use available County resources and programs to encourage the retention, including the rehabilitation, of the county's stock of moderately and lower priced rental and owner-occupied units;
(7) Encourage the establishment of tenant cooperatives or other forms of tenant ownership where such action is likely to maintain a supply of affordable, including assisted-family, housing that otherwise would be lost;
(8) Provide through County programs for the maintenance and extension of needed community facilities, including all elements of the neighborhood infrastructure required to sustain a desirable living environment in low- and moderate-income communities;
(9) Develop incentives to encourage the private sector to provide affordable ownership and rental housing for the citizens of Montgomery County;
(10) Give due consideration to the contribution that the provision of a public facility would make toward the provision of additional affordable housing;
(11) Plan for the provision of public facilities and amenities adequate to serve the needs of communities which receive affordable housing;
(12) Develop a coordinated program to implement the standards in the housing policy for the production, occupancy and maintenance of assisted housing;
(13) Investigate creative financing plans available in the private sector and provide official encouragement for the use of those plans deemed most suitable for making housing more affordable in Montgomery County;
(14) Report on the distribution of affordable housing units throughout the County and the programs and activities that the County has engaged in to enhance the stock of affordable housing; and
(15) Explore the potential for private developers of employment centers and employers to play a more active role in producing affordable housing.
(b) Local area master plans or amendments to them should:
(1) provide all reasonable opportunity for the use or reuse of land in ways that can facilitate the development of affordable, including assisted-family, housing by planning for suitable densities, mixed uses and public facilities, and
(2) plan for sufficient developable land to permit development of mid-rise or garden apartments, attached units and smaller detached units, while striving to maintain the character of existing neighborhoods.
(c) Montgomery County and each relevant agency should use available resources to ensure that the County receives and uses the maximum possible amount of housing assistance funding from federal and state sources consistent with good governmental practices and financial management.
(d) The County must take steps each year to increase the supply of affordable housing in those areas where the proportion of affordable housing in the entire housing stock is below the County-wide average proportion of affordable housing. To help achieve that goal, the Council, the Executive, the Planning Board, and other appropriate agencies must give the policy of locating a fair share of affordable housing units in each area of the County high priority in all planning, zoning, and land use decisions. As each of these bodies reviews changes in the County's general, master, and sector plans, it must attempt to increase the number of suitable locations for affordable housing. (1982 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 28A; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1.)
(a) The County Executive, after consulting with each relevant agency, must periodically submit a consolidated report to the County Council, describing the state of the County's demand for and supply of affordable, including assisted-family, housing.
(b) The report must include:
(1) the number of sales and rental units produced, and units converted to other patterns of ownership or lost by demolition, since the last report;
(2) activities undertaken since the last report to achieve the goals and purposes of this Chapter, and an evaluation of the extent to which goals have been achieved;
(3) recommendations for actions or programs to be pursued to enable the County government and other agencies to meet or exceed housing goals, including financial planning requirements;
(4) an evaluation of existing laws and public policies affecting the availability and price of housing and developable land; and
(5) amendments to the housing goals the Executive finds to be appropriate, and specific goals for the forthcoming ten-year period.
(c) The report must recommend a goal for the number of affordable, including assisted- family, housing units to be constructed in forthcoming years.
(d) Each relevant agency concerned with housing should cooperate with the County Executive in the development of information and studies relating to this report. (1982 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 28A; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1.)
(a) Before approving a proposal to sponsor the development of a site for assisted-family housing or to acquire a developed assisted-family housing facility, except scattered site units and moderately priced dwelling units acquired for assisted-family housing, an agency must hold a legislative, not an adjudicatory, hearing. Notice of the public hearing must be given by at least one publication in one newspaper of general circulation in Montgomery County not less than 15 days before the public hearing. The notice must contain the date, time and location of the hearing, and the location and description of the proposed site and facility. In addition, the approving body must make reasonable efforts to give similar notice by mail to civic bodies or associations within the area in which the facility is to be located. The approving body may use the list of civic associations maintained by the Planning Board as a basis for providing this notice.
(b) After considering the hearing record and all other information before it, the agency must approve the proposal, as submitted or with modifications, if it finds that the nature and location of the housing are consistent with the policy adopted under this Chapter and not inconsistent with other applicable laws and regulations, and must disapprove the proposal if it finds that the nature and location of the housing are inconsistent with the policy adopted under this Chapter or with other applicable laws and regulations. However, the lack of sufficient affordable housing at another location is not a reason to disapprove a proposal.
(c) Nothing in this Chapter prohibits an agency from taking title or control of the site before the public hearing.
(d) Applicability. The requirements of this Section do not apply to the Housing Opportunities Commission. (1982 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2024 L.M.C., ch. 19, § 1.)
Note-Formerly, § 25B-6; former § 25B-5 was repealed by 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1.
The County Executive and each relevant agency may adopt regulations under method (2) necessary to administer this Chapter and to implement the County's adopted housing policy. (1982 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 28A; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 20; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1.)
Note-Formerly, § 25B-8; former § 25B-6 was renumbered § 25B-5, and former § 25B-7 was repealed by 1993 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1.
(a) Definitions. As used in this Section:
Affordable housing feasibility study means an analysis of applicable capital projects that includes an evaluation of affordable housing at a library, recreation center, police station, fire station, or any other general services building.
Applicable capital project means any proposed building project administered by the Department of General Services or the Parking Management Division of the Department of Transportation.
Department means the Department of General Services.
(b) Affordable housing feasibility study. For an applicable capital project, prior to the completion of facility planning, the program of requirements, site selection, or land acquisition, the Department must prepare and submit an affordable housing feasibility study to the Council.
(c) Contents of the feasibility study. The study must include the following:
(1) a description of the proposed capital project;
(2) outreach efforts and stakeholder input;
(3) proposed program of requirements, if available;
(4) site and environmental constraints;
(5) programmatic elements or efficiencies associated with colocation;
(6) the projected total cost for construction, including, if available, costs of colocation of affordable housing;
(7) a statement of whether colocation is feasible and potential impacts to the proposed capital project; and
(8) any other related components used for consideration to determine project feasibility.
(d) County Council review.
(1) Within 30 days after the Council receives the affordable housing feasibility study under subsection (b), the Council must:
(A) review the feasibility study; and
(B) determine by a vote whether to approve or disapprove the analysis provided in the feasibility study.
(2) An analysis approved by the Council under subparagraph (1)(B) permits the project to proceed in its normal course of planning, design, and construction.
(3) Capital project plan. If the Council disapproves of the analysis under subparagraph (1)(B) and determines that colocation of affordable housing is feasible, the Department must, within a reasonable timeframe, develop and transmit to the Council a plan where the capital project identified in the study includes colocation of affordable housing.
(e) Review of the capital project plan. Before appropriation in the Capital Improvements Program, the Council must review and approve the capital project plan submitted by the Department under subsection (d)(3). A plan that does not include colocation must contain a written explanation describing the circumstances as to why the requirements for colocation could not be fulfilled and the reasons for a waiver.
(f) Waiver. The Council may waive any requirement under this Section if the Council determines the project would:
(1) result in a loss of a site;
(2) require emergency appropriation; or
(3) may experience further delay not in the best interest of the public.
(g) Affordable housing assessment. For each applicable capital project in the Capital Improvements Program during facility planning, the Office of Management and Budget must include in or transmit with the CIP an evaluation of:
(1) the feasibility of including a significant amount of affordable housing in the project;
(2) the effect of the project on the supply of affordable housing in the immediate area;
(3) what capital or operating modifications, if any, would promote and maximize affordable housing in the project and the immediate area; and
(4) what operating budget modifications, if any, would be needed to build and maintain affordable housing in the project.
(h) The affordable housing evaluation submitted by OMB should discuss at least the following issues related to the capital project:
(1) compatibility of affordable housing with the underlying project;
(2) conformity of affordable housing to applicable zoning and land use plans;
(3) proximity to public transit, and availability of other transportation options; and
(4) proximity to other community services.
(i) In performing its analysis, OMB should consult the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Planning Board, the Housing Opportunities Commission, and any other County department or agency with expertise in affordable housing.
(j) The Council may in the capital budget resolution, and the County Executive may by Method 1 regulation, exempt from this Section a category of capital projects which by their nature do not require an affordable housing analysis. (2013 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 2, §1.)
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