The Montgomery County Council will vote Tuesday on proposed legislation that would hold landlords to the same consumer protection standards as retail merchants.
The council will also vote on expanding eligibility for the county’s homeowners tax credit and take a straw vote on the Bethesda Downtown Minor Master Plan.
Also, the council will hear from the public Tuesday on proposed legislation that would give an advantage to displaced federal workers in the county government hiring process, as well as a proposed zoning change for development in downtown Bethesda.
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:
Vote on landlord standards legislation
The council will vote on a bill that would hold landlords to the same consumer protection standards as retail merchants.
The legislation, sponsored by councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5), would remove an exemption for landlord and tenant issues under county consumer protection laws, making it easier for the Office of Consumer Protection and the Office of the County Attorney to enforce compliance when landlords fail to correct housing code violations.
“We know that many renters have faced challenges regarding unfair or deceptive trade practices by landlords, including unfit rental housing amenities which were not advertised, failure to repair essential building services and chronic housing violations,” council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), a co-sponsor of the bill, said during a press briefing Monday. “The purpose of [the legislation] is to implement stronger protections for renters under the county’s consumer protection laws.”
The legislation received a mixed reception during a March 4 public hearing. Supporters said the bill would hold landlords accountable for not fixing ongoing health and safety concerns in their buildings, while critics argued that existing state and county laws already protect tenants.
Vote on expanding homeowners tax credit
The council will vote on whether to expand an existing county tax credit for homeowners. If the proposed legislation is approved, it would allow more homeowners to qualify for the county’s supplemental program to the state homeowners tax credit.
The state credit is a progressive tax credit administered by the Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation that allows lower-income households to receive a larger credit on their property taxes.
The county bill would increase the combined income eligibility level from $60,000 to $75,000, and it would increase the net worth criteria from $200,000 to $250,000, so that more households could qualify for the county’s supplemental tax relief program.
“This bill will help residents who have limited incomes or are on a fixed income and are cost burdened because of the rising property assessments,” Stewart, the bill’s lead sponsor, said during Monday’s press briefing.
Property assessments are up an average of about 20.1% from three years ago across the state, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. That number is slightly lower for Montgomery County at 17.7%, according to Michael Coveyou, the county’s finance director.
“As we know, many of our seniors are on [a] fixed income,” Stewart said. “So we do anticipate that this will help people as they get older in our community and are on fixed incomes, and also help those who are on limited incomes.”
Public hearing on federal workers job legislation
The council will hear from the public on proposed legislation that would provide displaced federal workers with an advantage when applying for county government jobs.
The bill, sponsored by council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large), would allow the county to give preference to displaced federal workers when hiring for government jobs.
To qualify, federal workers would have to be county residents who lost their jobs with the federal government on or after Jan. 1, 2025, and who could demonstrate a loss of income because of their separation from federal employment.
According to Jawando, the legislation would ensure that any displaced federal worker who applies and meets the qualifications for a county position would receive an interview prior to other candidates. Federal workers who apply but aren’t qualified for a specific job would not receive preference in the hiring process, Jawando said at a March 18 press conference introducing the bill.
Proposed Bethesda zoning changes
The council will take a non-binding, straw vote on amendments to the Bethesda Downtown Minor Master plan, including a proposal to remove an existing cap on development. The Planning Board’s draft of the Bethesda Minor Master Plan Amendment updates the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan.
In June 2023, county planners began the process of amending the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan, a 20-year vision that includes a cap on “total development in the downtown area, including existing and approved new development,” according to the Montgomery Planning website.
The 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan resulted from a four-year collaboration among residents, property owners, Montgomery Planning staff, the Planning Board and the council, according to the planning department. The plan encompassed the planners’ vision for affordable housing, new parks and open spaces as well as pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements in the downtown Bethesda area.
The proposed minor master plan amendment provides an update of the existing downtown plan “with a more narrow focus, either in terms of geography or the topics to be covered,” according to the Planning Department website.
The council will also hold a public hearing on the proposed Bethesda Overlay Zones, a proposed change to zoning rules that would remove an existing cap on new development in downtown Bethesda. The proposed amendment would change the rules governing a designated section of the downtown area, known as the Bethesda Overlay Zone, by implementing recommendations included in the proposed Bethesda Downtown Plan Minor Master Plan Amendment. It’s sponsored by Stewart at the request of the Planning Board.
In addition to removing the development cap, the proposed ZTA would add incentives for developers to help the county build a new recreation center in Bethesda and provide more “family sized and deeply affordable” moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs), according to planning documents.
