On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council will hear from the public on proposed legislation and zoning text amendments that aim to increase workforce housing along transit corridors.
The council will also hold a public hearing on legislation that would allow certain charitable and cultural organizations to use vacant office space for self-storage, as well as additional community schools funding.
The council will meet at 9:15 a.m. in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
More Housing N.O.W. hearing
The council will hear from the public on the More Housing N.O.W. (New Options for Workers) legislative package.
The legislation aims to allow more residential building types – including duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and apartments – along the county’s transit corridors, with a requirement that 15% of the housing serve the local workforce. The goal of the legislative package is to increase access to more affordable workforce housing through two zoning text amendments (ZTAs), a subdivision regulation amendment and one bill that would change how developers of specific affordable housing projects are taxed.
The legislation was formally introduced by councilmembers Andrew Friedson (D-Dist.1) and Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) in early February. It is co-sponsored by council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and councilmembers Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7).
According to the sponsors, the legislation was inspired by public conversations concerning the Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative proposed by the county Planning Board in 2024, but not based on that proposal. The Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative outlines recommendations to the council for zoning changes in some single-family home zones in targeted areas of the county.
The proposal has received praise from housing advocates for its aim to increase the county’s housing supply, but critics are concerned that more development would encroach on existing neighborhoods.
The hearings will be held at 1:30 and 7 p.m.
Street Activation and Vacancy Elimination (S.A.V.E.) ZTA
The council will hear from the public on the Street Activation and Vacancy Elimination (S.A.V.E.) ZTA, a proposed zoning text amendment that would allow certain charitable and cultural organizations to use vacant commercial office space for storage.
The legislation would allow self-storage above the ground floor in buildings in the county’s
“commercial residential” zone in which a charitable, philanthropic, or cultural institution occupies space on the ground floor. Currently, self-storage is only allowed in the “commercial residential” zone in basements in certain circumstances.
If passed, the zoning text amendment would allow self-storage for qualifying organizations so long as the existing building is an office building that have had a 90% vacancy rate for at least two years and improvements to the existing building would not “cause practical difficulty or undue hardship for conversion” to a future commercial or residential use, according to the legislative report.
The legislation is sponsored by Stewart, Fani-González, Friedson, Luedtke, Sayles, Sidney Katz (D-Dist 3), Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5), Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large), and council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large).
The goal of the legislation, according to its sponsors, is to limit office vacancies in the commercial residential zone and encourage existing qualifying institutions to use the space.
The hearings will be held at 1:30 and 7 p.m.
Additional community schools funding
The council will hear from the public on a resolution to approve a $2.2 million supplemental budget appropriation for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to help fund its community schools program.
According to the legislative report, MCPS submitted the request for more funding to County Executive Marc Elrich (D) in December. The school system would use the funding for Community School staffing and services, which include workshops, extracurricular activities, professional learning, at district schools designated as community schools. The funding also would be used to provide supplies for family resource centers at the community schools.
The recommended supplemental appropriation is funded by unspent state funds for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future from the MCPS Restricted Fund Balance from fiscal year 2024, so it does not impact the county’s budget reserves.
The hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m.
