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DECEMBER 2024 ADVOCACY UPDATE – Affordable Housing Support

December Advocacy Update – Affordable Housing Support

Tracking Equity Event

On November 19, MHP cohosted an exciting event in College Park which looked at the state of equitable transit-oriented development around the forthcoming Purple Line light rail line as well as the already established Metro Blue line.  

MHP was an original signatory to the Purple Line Community Development Agreement and has since been working to expand affordable housing, support small businesses and revitalize communities in the Purple Line corridor since the project broke ground in 2017. 

MHP President Rob Goldman participated in a panel discussion alongside small business owners, community advocates and philanthropic leaders whose organizations are investing in the work being done to bring more opportunity to the residents who live in these transit corridors. 

The panel compared the different approaches to achieving equitable development in the Blue line corridor— a 40-year-old line that has not experienced the type of investment other regional Metro stops have — and the Purple Line, which is still under construction. The panel helped uncover best practices and key challenges across different facets of equitable development including housing, support for communities and small businesses, placemaking and more.

Special thanks go to Wells Fargo and LISC for their support of this event.  

Call to Action

Last week, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich transmitted a special appropriation to the Montgomery County Council to support several different County programs for households that are most at risk of homelessness or eviction.  

Among other things, the appropriation would provide additional funding to the County’s Rental Assistance Program (RAP) which provides ongoing rental assistance to households at risk of homelessness. Earlier this year, the County had to close this program to new households due to lack of funding.  

Over $1 million would go to support the county’s emergency rental assistance program which provides financial assistance to families that are at risk of eviction. Without additional funding, the County anticipated that funding for emergency rental assistance would be exhausted in the March to April timeframe, which would put even more households at risk of eviction. 

The County Council is expected to vote on the special appropriation next Tuesday, November 9. 

Please consider sending an email to the County Council to voice your support for the special appropriation.

Assessing What Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for Affordable Housing

In the wake of the presidential election, MHP and other affordable housing advocates have been assessing the potential impacts to affordable housing. 

During his campaign, Trump shared ideas for how he would address housing affordability, but his proposals often lacked detail. It remains unclear which proposals, if any, Trump will pursue in his second term, but here are several things to watch for when it comes to affordable housing and Donald Trump’s second term in office. 

LIHTC – the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is still the primary tool for creating and preserving affordable housing nationwide. There were efforts to modernize the LIHTC program during Trump’s first term, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.  

Budget for Housing Programs – Federal housing programs are likely at greater risk of seeing budget cuts. HUD programs like housing vouchers, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and the HOME Investment Partnerships program which support the construction of affordable housing and low-income residents could see less funding in future years 

Tariffs – We could see higher construction costs if the tariffs that Trump has talked about implementing come to pass. This would then put a strain on state and local housing trust as projects will likely require a greater local subsidy due to increased construction costs. 

Opportunity Zones – You may remember the term Opportunity Zones from Trump’s first term. Opportunity Zones were meant to spur investment in economically distressed communities. There isn’t as much focus on Opportunity Zones now as compared to several years ago, but we could see this program brought back. 

Streamline Construction of Housing – We could see a bipartisan push to remove regulatory roadblocks to housing construction. During Trump’s first term, there was an effort to eliminate regulatory barriers to affordable housing which looked at things like zoning, rent controls, building codes, impact fees, parking requirements, etc. However, this effort began late in his first term and ultimately most of the recommendations were not acted upon. 

Committee for Montgomery Legislative Breakfast

MHP leaders recently attended the Committee for Montgomery Legislative Breakfast. This event brings together a coalition of leaders in business, labor, education, civic and community-based organizations to discuss critical issues facing Montgomery County. This year’s MHP table also included members of the Long Branch Business League and one of our founders, Jackie Simon. Our team networked with many elected officials at the State and County level and gained new perspectives on the legislative landscape we face going into 2025. 

 

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Feedback Needed on Draft Purple Line Housing Action Plan

The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC), which includes MHP as an active member, has issued an updated draft Housing Action Plan covering 2023-27. PLCC is seeking community comments on this draft plan until April 30.

The draft plan proposes seven core actions that will guide the Coalition’s housing work over the next several years. The strategies are aimed at ensuring that families and individuals living near the Purple Line can benefit from the new light rail and related investments around it.

Click here for the full draft plan.  
Click here for a summary of the plan’s seven (7) core actions: English | Spanish  

There are two (2) ways to offer comments on this draft plan:

  1. By web form: Click here to access the web form: English | Spanish
  1. By email: Comments can be emailed directly to Laura Searfoss, Senior Program Director, Mid-Atlantic, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.: lsearfoss@enterprisecommunity.org. Email is the best way to share formatted documents, such as letters.

Learn more about PLCC and its strategies and programs HERE.

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Candidates Forum in Long Branch

MHP was proud to host a County Executive Candidates Forum at the Long Branch Community Center on June 29. The session was co-sponsored by the Long Branch Business League, Community CHEER, and the Sligo Branview Community Association. More than 125 people attended. The session featured community resident moderators. Participating candidates were David Blair, Marc Elrich, Peter James, Hans Riemer, and Shelly Skolnick. They responded to questions from the community about quality-of-life issues, including traffic, safety, and access to affordable housing.

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MHP Advocates for Low-Income Renters During Crisis

MHP President Robert A. Goldman is urging the Montgomery County Council to support efforts to protect low-income renters during the COVID-19 crisis as a top funding priority. The recommendations are contained in submitted testimony on fiscal 2021 budget priorities.

He recommended that the Council support:

  • $20 million in emergency rental assistance for renters, with priority given to residents ineligible for unemployment insurance;
  • Temporary 100% PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) property tax abatements;
  • An additional $10 million to continue production of new affordable housing; and
  • Support for the County Executive’s Affordable Housing Acquisition/Preservation Fund

The Council is poised to respond to some of these priorities soon. As a first step, the panel will consider a $2 million special appropriation for emergency eviction prevention and housing stabilization programs to help low- and moderate-income households.

In addition, led by Councilmember Evan Glass, the Council has sent a letter to County Executive Marc Elrich requesting that he expand eligibility guidelines for rental assistance programs, and to work with landlords to provide renters with a six-month transition period to meet rental obligations for vulnerable residents once the state of emergency is lifted. The letter can be viewed here.

For more details on MHP’s testimony on funding priorities, see the full statement here.

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Take Action To Support Affordable Housing Funding

ACTION ALERT – Montgomery County Housing Trust Fund

The Montgomery County Council’s budget deliberations are in full swing and we need you to be a champion for programs that support affordable housing in the county. Access to quality, affordable housing serves as an important source of stability for our neighbors who face economic challenges, and the county’s housing trust fund is the primary tool for building and preserving housing for low-income households.

On Thursday, Feb. 13, the Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will take up the capital budget for the County’s housing trust fund, known as the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF). The County Executive has recommended a total of $22 million for housing production, or level funding from last year. In addition, he has proposed setting aside $10 million for a new “Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund,” a dedicated private-public fund to preserve affordable housing. These additional funds will provide a needed boost to preserve affordable housing before it is lost, but we also need additional resources in the HIF to accelerate the development of new housing that is affordable to low- and moderate- income renters. At the local level, emails from residents often prove to be the deciding factor in budget decisions.

It is critical that Councilmembers hear from YOU on this issue before Thursday as the committee’s recommendation will carry substantial weight with the full Council. Please email the Council to let them know that you care about residents having access to affordable housing and support additional resources for the HIF.

Below is a message you can copy and personalize to urge County Council to support strong funding for affordable housing. Click here for a list of Councilmembers’ email addresses.

Dear Council President Katz and Members of the Council:

I am writing to express my strong support for robust funding of the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF), to support preservation and creation of affordable housing in Montgomery County, and to request that the Council increase funding in the capital budget for Affordable Housing Acquisition and Preservation. As you know, Montgomery County, and the region, are experiencing an affordable housing crisis.

The Council of Governments adopted regional housing targets to meet current and future housing needs, and the County Council took action to support this effort. In an independent effort, the Urban Institute projected that Montgomery County will need to create more than 20,000 units of housing for households with incomes of $55,000 or less in the next 10 years to meet the demand. If the County is serious about meeting the housing targets it has endorsed, we must find a way to ramp up production and preservation efforts and devote the necessary resources beginning with this budget.

On Thursday, the Council’s PHED committee will take up the HIF budget. I urge you to increase funding over and above the County Executive’s budget request, and to take bold steps to accelerate the development of affordable housing in the county.

Sincerely

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MHP Calls for Strong Support of Affordable Housing

Montgomery County should take strong steps to expand the availability of affordable housing, MHP’s Chris Gillis told the County Council at a Feb. 6 hearing on the fiscal 2021 capital budget.

“MHP’s top priority in the County Executive’s proposed capital budget is additional funding to support the acquisition, development, and renovation of affordable housing, and to grow the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) to $100 million annually by 2022,” said Gillis, MHP’s director of policy and neighborhood development.

He noted the Urban Institute estimated that Montgomery County needs to create an additional 20,000 units of housing for households with incomes of $55,000 or less by 2030 to meet residents’ needs. This would require producing about 2,000 units a year for low- to moderate-income households. But at current funding levels, the county is only producing about 600 units a year, making it likely the need will not be fully addressed.

Gillis praised the County Executive’s proposal to create a new Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund. The fund would be capitalized with $10 million in county dollars for each of the next two years with the intention of leveraging additional private capital to make $40 to $50 million available to loan to developers. But he urged
caution in how funding is structured and priorities are set.

“All affordable housing projects in Montgomery County require some level of gap financing and we worry that if the HIF doesn’t increase by a commensurate amount or more, it will create a serious bottleneck on the trust fund. It potentially sets up a scenario where the lion’s share of the HIF is being used to support preservation to the detriment of new production, which is no less important.”

Gillis added,  “We recommend that the Council increase funding for the HIF by $10 million in FY21. These additional resources will ensure that we don’t repeat past mistakes and put us on the path of getting to $100 million by the end of 2022.”

Read his full statement here.

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Advocacy Action Alert: Support Expanded Housing Trust Fund

The Montgomery County Council’s budget deliberations are in full swing and we need you to be a champion for programs that support affordable housing in the county.  Access to quality, affordable housing serves as an important source of stability for our neighbors who face economic challenges. 

On Wednesday, April 24, the Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) committees will take up the budget for the County’s housing trust fund, known as the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF). The County Executive has recommended a total of $27 million for housing production, a decrease of $1 million from last year. Even more concerning is that approximately 75% of the funds have already been committed to projects, leaving the county with very few resources to build or preserve affordable housing in the coming fiscal year. To ensure preservation and creation of affordable housing remains a top priority in Montgomery County we are requesting the County Council increase funding for the HIF by $8 million.

At the local level, emails from residents often prove to be the deciding factor in budget decisions. It is critical that Councilmembers hear from YOU on this issue before Wednesday as the committee’s recommendation will carry substantial weight with the full Council.

We want all Montgomery County residents to have the chance to flourish. Expanding affordable housing in mixed income, high opportunity areas provides access to better economic, educational, and health outcomes for community members who have been historically shut out of thriving neighborhoods.

Please email the Council to let them know that you care about residents having access to affordable housing and support additional resources for the HIF.

TAKE ACTION:

We’ve made it easy for you; all you have to do is click here and a pre-populated email will open. Simply add your name and address to the bottom of the email and press ‘Send’!

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MHP Advocates for Funds for Affordable Housing, Student Programming

MHP President Robert Goldman asked the Montgomery County Council to provide more funding for acquisition and preservation of affordable housing in the FY2020 budget. He also asked the council to consider supporting MHP’s Play & Learn preschool program, which he noted “directly aligns with the county’s goal of ensuring that all of our children enter school ready to learn.” Goldman made his comments in April 10 testimony before the Montgomery County Council.

Read the complete text of his testimony here.

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