For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Council Vice President Riemer Introduces
Bill to Increase Affordable Housing
at Council Meeting on Tue., Nov. 14
ROCKVILLE, Md., November 14, 2017—Montgomery County Council Vice President Hans Riemer introduced Bill 38-17, Housing – Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) – Requirement to Build, during the Council’s legislative session at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 14. Bill 38-17 would increase affordable housing in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) High School Service Areas that have low poverty rates. Councilmember Sidney Katz is a cosponsor.
Bill 38-17 would increase the minimum percentage of moderately priced housing units (MPDUs) that are required to be built in new residential developments from 12.5 to 15 percent in a MCPS High School Service Area with an eligibility rate for free and reduced meals (FARMS) of 15 percent or less. The Planning Board would make the determination about the number of affordable homes required at the time an applicant submits a preliminary plan of subdivision.
“Over the years, the County’s affordable housing requirements for new development have been recognized as among the best in the nation. By requiring affordable housing be built with every new development, we ensure that affordable housing is available throughout the County. However, we haven’t been able to keep pace with the need,” said Council Vice President Riemer. “This bill will result in more affordable housing in the communities where having it makes the biggest impact and where the market can best absorb it. We need more housing options for working families, young people who want to establish roots in our community, and seniors who are living on fixed incomes.”
The Council enacted the County’s moderately priced dwelling unit law in 1973 with the objective of providing a full range of housing choices for all incomes, ages and household sizes. The MPDU law was designed to meet an important need for low and moderate-income housing, and ensure that moderately priced housing was dispersed throughout the County.
In 2010, a Century Foundation study called “Housing Policy is School Policy” examined academic outcomes among low income students in Montgomery County who had been moved from traditional public housing and placed in MPDU’s in low poverty areas. The study found that by the end of elementary school, the lower income students who lived in higher income communities as a result of the MPDU program “far outperformed” their peers in lower income communities. Read the full study here: https://tcf.org/assets/downloads/tcf-Schwartz.pdf
Students can qualify for Montgomery County Public Schools Free and Reduced Price Meals program based on household size and income, as well as eligibility for Food Supplement Program or Temporary Cash Assistance benefits. Individual student’s eligibility status is held strictly confidential, but MCPS reports an aggregate rate of FARMs eligibility annually for each school. More information about the FARMs program is available here:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/foodserv/farms/default.aspx?id=385162
The staff report on Bill 38-17 can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7212&meta_id=145788 .
For more information or questions, please contact Ken Silverman in the Office of Council Vice President Riemer, at 240-777-7830.