Legislation Introduced to Create More Affordable Homes - Bill 34-17, Housing -Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs)

Today I introduced Bill 34-17, Housing - Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) - Amendments, which is the first major revision to the MPDU law in 13 years. This legislation would add flexibility to the MPDU program. Our County's future depends on a robust economy. This bill will set the stage for many new housing opportunities to support a growing workforce. Here's the full press release:

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 31, 2017—Today, Councilmember Nancy Floreen, Chair of the Planning Housing and Economic Development Committee, introduced the first effort in thirteen years to update the County’s rules to increase the supply of affordable homes. Significant revisions to the Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program, which Councilmember Floreen proposes in Bill 34-17, Housing – Moderately Priced Dwelling Units – Amendments, hold the promise of increasing the number of affordable homes for families who need them.  

Councilmember Floreen’s bill will add needed flexibility to this landmark program, to bring it in line with current needs. It would confirm the Council’s authority to increase the required percentage of MPDUs on a community by community basis during each master plan review. Master plans guide development and land use in the County.  The Council reviews, revises, and approves master plan recommendations made by the Planning Board.  Currently, County law requires at least 12.5% of housing developments to be MPDUs, but, in some areas, the Council has determined that 15% is a more appropriate minimum requirement.  

“Our County’s future depends on a robust economy. This bill will set the stage for many new housing opportunities to support a growing workforce,” said Councilmember Floreen.  

In a break from the past, Bill 34-17 extends the requirement to contribute to our housing needs by requiring a payment to the Housing Initiative Fund for all new housing developments including those below the current threshold of 20 units. It also broadens the authority of the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) to accept Housing Initiative Fund payments in lieu of including MPDUs in a development. Experience has shown that the County can achieve more MPDUs in certain circumstances if affordable homes are provided in a different location. The funding can be strategically used to increase needed rental units in place of condominiums with unaffordable fees. Restrictions apply so that the off-site location remains in the general vicinity of the original development. These new sources of revenue will add badly needed support to the county’s efforts to add more affordable units for the folks who need them the most.  

Also, the bill would authorize the Director of DHCA to calculate the MPDU obligation by square feet if the result is more homes or homes better sized to meet the needs of our low and moderate-income residents.  

Councilmember Floreen’s bill contains many other provisions designed to update the MPDU program, make it more responsive to the needs of today’s residents, and, most importantly, produce more homes for families.

Rental Housing Study Briefing

In response to concerns raised about affordable housing, and particularly market-rate affordable housing, during discussions of the Long Branch and Glenmont Sector Plans, Park and Planning proposed and the Council funded a county-wide Rental Housing Study. The Planning Department provides this background on the purpose of the study.

The economic trends of Montgomery County and the Metropolitan DC region have exacerbated a rental housing shortage. And providing the appropriate housing stock to meet the demand for affordable housing is a challenge. The purpose of the study is to identify Montgomery County's rental housing issues and needs, and offer holistic and sustainable approaches to meeting them. A goal of the study is to help guarantee long term affordability of rental housing for a diverse range of households. The study will provide recommendations for increasing the availability of affordable rental housing by determining factors that contribute to increased housing costs, identifying best practices that could be implemented to preserve and add to the affordable rental stock, and recommending potential changes to current policies and programs. 

At yesterday's briefing on the study, we learned that 33 percent of all residential housing units are rental units; that 74 percent of renter households earn less than 100 percent of area median income; and that only 19 percent of rental units are affordable to households earning less than 50 percent of area median income.

The Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee will start looking at these issues and recommendations on October 2. Read the full study or watch the briefing.

Protection for Neighborhoods from Foreclosed Properties

Today we unanimously approved bill 38-16 that will impose a civil penalty for property owners who fail to register a foreclosure purchase. The intent of the bill is to keep unmaintained properties from becoming a nuisance to the community.

The bill will impose a civil penalty for the failure to register a property that is purchased by foreclosure. By Maryland law since 2012, the purchaser of a foreclosed property must register the property with the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and the Maryland Foreclosure Task Force within 30 days of the property's foreclosure sale. The law authorizes local jurisdictions to enact legislation to impose a fine of $1,000 for failing to register.

The law was meant to address the period of nine to 18 months that frequently occurs between the date of a foreclosure and the date that the property title is transferred. During this time, local jurisdictions have a hard time identifying the party responsible for maintenance, security and taxes. To date, Montgomery County has not enacted any punitive fine and hundreds of foreclosed properties have gone unregistered since the General Assembly approved the law.

DLLR estimates that 20 percent of foreclosure property purchasers statewide do not register their property or register after the deadline. Based on the data from the State Foreclosure Registry, there were 1,432 foreclosures in Montgomery County in Fiscal Year 2015. Of these, 34 percent (492) either failed to register or registered long after the deadline. The unregistered properties are much more likely to go unmaintained, costing the County thousands of dollars in housing code enforcement and impacting the value of nearby property.

In addition, many purchasers of foreclosed properties—often banks and out-of-state investors—wait to record the deed to the property until it is resold to another purchaser. By circumventing the normal process and improperly (and illegally) transferring the property to a new homeowner in this fashion, the County does not receive the recordation tax or the transfer tax, which shortchanges the County of approximately $6,000 in revenue for a property of average value.

Council Approves Landlord-Tenant Bill

On Tuesday we unanimously approved amended Bill 19-15 that addresses issues with landlord-tenant relations. The Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee held five worksessions on the bill that would make several changes to the landlord-tenant law principally aimed at enhancing the existing rights of tenants and improving the quality of rental housing through increased inspections.

The major provisions of approved Bill 19-15 will:

• Provide tenants with greater transparency about their rights and obligations under a lease.
• Require the Department of Housing and Community Affairs to inspect a sample of every multi-family rental property over the next two years to establish baseline information about the condition of the County’s rental housing stock.
• Focus ongoing enforcement resources on properties with significant health and safety issues and properties with numerous code violations.
• Provide clearer information about the state of rental units in the County via improved data collection and publication.
• Provide many benefits to tenants that should improve the stability and quality of their living arrangements. 

Other provisions in the bill will:

• Require each lease to include a plain language summary of a tenant’s rights and responsibilities.
• Require DHCA to conduct a two-year intensive inspection schedule (twice the current number of inspections, prioritized by need).
• Require DHCA to provide annual reports to Council and County Executive about past and upcoming year inspections. 
• Require certain properties to be inspected more frequently than the current triennial schedule (based on type and severity of violations).
• Require landlords to pay the cost of subsequent inspections, if a property needs multiple inspections for uncorrected violations.
• Require that tenants can make certain repairs when authorized by the DHCA director or his designee, if DHCA orders a repair and the landlord fails to correct the issue in the allotted time.
• Requires lease renewal terms of two years, if the landlord is offering renewal.

Approved Bill 19-15 also provides tenants with greater access to information including:

• Improvement of the availability of landlord-tenant handbooks.
• Requiring landlords to provide tenants with more information about utility bills in older buildings.
• Requiring landlords to give 60 days’ notice if the landlord intends to terminate the tenancy at the end of a lease term, and 90 days’ notice for all rent increases.
• Requiring DHCA to publish certain data from the annual rental housing survey on its web site.
• Requiring that tenant organizations be allowed to use available meeting space for free once per month.

Bill to Help Homeowners' and Condo Associations

I'm pleased to co-sponsor George Leventhal's bill designed to protect the financial and operational viability of the County’s homeowners’ and condominium associations. The bill would condition the issuance of a rental license for a property in a homeowners’ or condominium association on being no more than 30 days past due with the association dues or fees. This would aid the growing number of associations that are already financially distressed due in part to negligent property owners who rent their units but fail to pay their dues. The bill is scheduled for introduction on Tuesday. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for October 14 at 1:30. To register to speak, call 240-777-7803.

Community Beautification Grants Now Available

Apply now for a Keep Montgomery County Beautiful grant for beautification projects that help improve the appearance of communities. The grants pay 50 percent of the total cost, up to $500, on a competitive basis to any non-profit community association. Volunteer hours spent on the project are valued at $7.25 an hour.

Since 2000, KMCB has helped 65 communities fund beautification projects to plant flowers, shrubs, or trees; landscape a community entranceway or traffic circle; convert weed fields to wildflower meadows; screen highways; and beautify schools. Grants must be used for new projects that improve community aesthetics or serve to protect the environment. Construction and general maintenance projects or those that have already been completed do not qualify.

The Keep Montgomery County Beautiful Task Force is a group of concerned citizen volunteers who help educate residents and change public attitudes about littering; support cleanup and beautification projects; encourage citizens to start or improve recycling programs; and raise awareness of the problems caused by graffiti. The County’s Department of Transportation has funded KMCB since the mid-1980s. The group welcomes new members and meets informally once a month in Rockville.

Forum for HOA and Condo Leadership Draws a Crowd

Approximately 100 people representing more than 60 organizations and 12 County departments and agencies attended Wednesday night's forum designed specifically for homeowner association and condo board leadership. I dedicated nearly the entire meeting to questions and comments from participants, who raised issues ranging from speed humps to nuisance animals and a whole lot in between. Many participants said homeowner associations and especially condo boards, which can assess monthly dues in the hundreds of dollars, need better tools for collecting overdue fees. Several people had questions about the recently revamped Water Quality Protection Charge and its associated credits. Others expressed a need for individual utility meters in multi-family buildings.

 

With so many department and agency heads on hand, participants were able to walk away with answers to their questions or commitments for further follow-up. Several participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet with leaders and decision-makers face-to-face.

 

I organized this forum because people who are involved with their homeowner associations are connected to their community in a unique and highly localized way. I wanted to make sure these volunteers have the tools they need to continue in their good work.

 

You can see the forum on YouTube. It is a little long, but it is chock full of good information from both the participants and from these County representatives:

Cathy Matthews (Upcounty Regional Services Center) Jewru Bandeh (East County Regional Services Center), Ken Hartman (Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center), Nadim Khan (Health and Human Services), Reginald Jetter (Permitting Services), Eric Friedman (Consumer Protection), Peter Drymalski (Commission on Common Ownership Communities), Steve Shofar (Environmental Protection), Rick Nelson (Housing and Community Affairs), Walter Wilson (County Attorney), Gwen Wright and Pam Dunn (Park and Planning), Bruce Johnston and Gary Erenrich (Transportation), Cmdr. James Fenner and Lt. Jaques Croom (Police) and Susan Hoffman (Recreation).

Affordable Housing in the Revised Zoning Code

The proposed zoning code rewrite includes several elements that will preserve and expand the County's affordable housing goals. For example, existing C/R zones will have an added incentive to provide more than the required 12.5 percent of units as MPDUs. To learn more, see the Planning Department's memo on affordable housing in the revised zoning code. Get your comments included in the public record by e-mailing county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Affordable Housing Bill on Hold

Two of the highest priorities for the Montgomery County Council are affordable housing and economic development. At least that’s what we say. What we do is a different matter altogether.

Today the Montgomery County Council tabled Bill 39-11 which would have fostered the creation of affordable housing through impact tax incentives. The excuse? It hasn’t been fully vetted.

I introduced Bill 39-11 a year and a half ago with three cosponsors. After a public hearing, significant research and two comprehensive work sessions, the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee endorsed the bill. That can hardly be called a rush to judgment.

We need more affordable housing not just for downsizing seniors, single heads of household and young starter families to have a decent place to live, but also to support a workforce for a robust economy. The future of our economic development hinges on our ability to retain and attract moderate wage earners and the younger, skilled labor force.

In November 2011, Dr. Stephen Fuller, Director of the Center for Regional Analysis at the George Mason University School of Public Policy told us the top three challenges facing Montgomery County were:

• Having a sufficient supply and quality of labor to support future job growth;
• Having sufficient housing resources—in number, variety of types, and range of costs—both for renters and owners to house an increasing share of the county’s workforce thereby reducing the economy’s dependence on commuters to fill the county’s jobs; and
• Being competitive with other area jurisdictions in terms of location and operating costs and business friendly reputation.

It is time for the Council to start practicing what we preach. Affordable housing is part of the foundation of our future, and we need to use every tool at our disposal to achieve it.

PHED Budget Discussions for Tomorrow

The Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee will hold a joint meeting with the Health and Human Services Committee on the FY14 Operating Budget and CIP Amendments on April 25. Our agenda:

Housing First
Supplemental appropriation--DHCA affordable housing projects
Progress Place
Senior transportation initiative

The PHED Committee will meet immediately following the joint PHED/HHS meeting. Our agenda:

Housing Opportunities Commission
Department of Housing and Community Affairs
Special appropriation--facility planning

This meeting will be televised live on County Cable Montgomery. See the schedule for other upcoming committee meetings here. Although we have completed our public hearings, you can still let us know what you think.

WaPo: Fewer Mortgages Underwater

According to an article in Washington Post's Where We Live blog today, the number of homeowners currently underwater in their mortgages decreased in the last quarter of 2012. For Montgomery County, the rate is 21.4 percent, compared with 23.9 percent a year ago. That’s better than the national average of 27.5 percent, down from 31.1 percent at the end of 2011.

In August of 2011, I hosted a foreclosure prevention workshop for residents who were struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments. Many of those who attended the workshop found their situation complicated by the fact they were underwater. According to the article, the trend toward freedom from underwater mortgages is expected to continue.

More than Play

Rebuilding Together, a longtime partner and local nonprofit that repairs homes for vulnerable families to keep them living in safety, is delighting children of all ages with their fundraiser: Rebuilding Hope: The RTMC Playhouse Project. Eight local builders have crafted one-of-a-kind playhouses and donated them to RTMC, and RTMC plans to auction them off at a live event on May 31st in Chevy Chase. If you are interested in a playhouse for the little ones in your life, or for your school or neighborhood, you can learn more at www.rebuilding-hope.org. They are also trying to raise $15,000 in community donations to give one of the playhouses to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, for the children of veterans receiving treatment there. Every dollar counts, and you can also make your donation at www.rebuilding-hope.org.

Foreclosure Prevention Workshop

Do you know someone who has lost income due to unemployment or medical problems and has fallen behind on mortgage payments? The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development will co-host a free workshop on Monday, August 8 from 3 to 8 p.m., to assist those faced with possible mortgage foreclosures. The workshop will take place at the Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Place, Silver Spring. Register now at www.mdhope.org and click on “Attend the Montgomery County EMA Workshop,” or call 410-514-7324.

Home Values up in County Despite National Trend

While housing prices nationwide fell to their lowest level since 2002, home values in the Washington region gained 4.3 percent in the last year, according to research from our Planning Department. In Montgomery County, median house prices also continued to rise.

That stands in contrast to the losses in housing prices experienced by all other regions, save a small gain in Seattle. According to the Standard and Poors Case-Shiller Index, national housing prices fell 4.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. House prices had started to rebound in 2009 and early 2010.

The D.C. region and Montgomery County continue to counter the trend. The most recent data for median sales prices in the county shows a price of $483,000 in 2010, a 5-percent increase over the median price of $460,000 in 2009.

While the housing index report indicates the strength of the local economy, it also exposes limited opportunities for homebuyers. Planners looking to provide a diverse set of housing options for Montgomery County’s newest residents say the high house prices here challenge moderate- and low-income would-be home buyers.

While the county has seen progress on improving the housing balance, current master planning efforts are looking at providing more opportunities for a range of unit sizes and tenure. For example, as White Flint builds out under the guidance of the recently approved White Flint Sector Plan, planners expect a balanced housing mix that will attract Gen X and Y as well as young couples and seniors looking to downsize.

Council Approves Housing Element of General Plan

On March 29 we unanimously approved revisions to the Housing Element of the County’s “General Plan,” making changes that will guide the development of new housing and redevelopment of existing housing over the next two decades while also seeking to protect the character of existing neighborhoods. The Housing Element of the General Plan is intended to be a 20-year policy document that drives decisions made in the formulating and updating of master plans, sector plans and zoning text amendments. The Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee, which I chair, has been holding worksessions on updating the Housing Element over the past couple of months. The Montgomery County Planning Board previously proposed updates to the Housing Element. As part of their worksessions, the PHED Committee discussed the Planning Board’s intent to describe how most future new development in the County will create communities that have higher density housing, depend more on residents using public transit and less on using automobiles. These communities would likely be mixed use, with office, retail, entertainment and recreation opportunities nearby to residences—lending themselves to being walkable. The Housing Element continues to emphasize the County’s goals for all types of housing for ranges of household income. The amendments that the Council adopted put stronger emphasis than did the Planning Board draft in regard to protecting existing neighborhoods that will be adjoined by newer, high-density neighborhoods. The Council’s amendments also encourage the County to diligently enforce housing codes to prevent deterioration of housing in existing neighborhoods and to prevent overcrowding in those neighborhoods. PHED Committee recommendations that the Council adopted include policies to strengthen established neighborhoods through targeted programs that improve schools, parks, safety and new or upgraded pedestrian and bicycling facilities. Other policy revisions would ensure that infill development complements existing houses and neighborhoods and protects residential neighborhoods from excessive traffic that could result from new development. I believe the amended housing element provides needed and reachable guidelines for the type of new development that will come to Montgomery County over the next 20 years. In addition, we made sure that the existing neighborhoods—neighborhoods that have given Montgomery County its character and helped make it such a desirable place to live—will continue to not only sustain, but also to thrive in a way that will continue to give us variety in the types of housing available in our communities. The PHED Committee also recommended amending the Housing Element to reflect actions the County is already taking to require and encourage the use of green design and materials and to improve energy efficiency.

Refurbished Properties Now Affordable Rentals

Today I had the opportunity tour a formerly vacant foreclosed property that is now available for rental through the Housing Opportunities Commission. The acquisition and renovation of the house, as well as 15 others in Germantown and Wheaton, is part of a $7.1 million effort made possible by funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Neighborhood Conservation Initiative and a HUD Community Development Block Grant. This program is a real win-win. It is good not just for families in need of affordable housing, but for neighborhoods and the county as a whole. I’m glad we’ve been able to work with our state and federal partners to make this program happen.

Foreclosure Show Airing This Week

Watch Council Close Up on County Cable Montgomery this week. My guests and I discuss options for people who are facing foreclosure or who are trying to prevent a financial crisis. Rick Nelson from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Phil Robinson from the County’s Advisory Committee on Consumer Protection as well as Henry Williams and Richard Allen from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference join me on the program, The Face of Foreclosure.