Check out the PHED Committee meeting this Monday, February 11 at 2 pm--See below for what's happening.
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Meredith Wellington
Feb 7, 2013, 7:26:28 AM2/7/13
to neighborhood montgomery
Dear Neighbors,
The PHED (Planning, Housing, and Economic Development) Committee is now considering the Draft 2012 Housing Policy for Montgomery County that was forwarded to the Council by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) in October 2012.
The PHED Committee held a public hearing on December 4, 2012, and a work session on January 17, 2013. The second work session is scheduled for this Monday, February 11 at 2 pm. Please plan to attend.
In reading the Staff Report and the Draft Policy, one issue jumps out: DHCA’s proposal that the County consider relaxing the standards for approval of private developers’ affordable housing projects on public land, as well as the standards for the rezoning of public land to be used for private affordable housing projects. See Staff Report, last bullet on page 12, and circle p. 72 (page 49 of the Draft Housing Policy)
At the first work session in January all three members of the PHED Committee (Floreen, chair; Elrich, Leventhal) were favorably disposed to this idea.
Here is the link to the excellent Staff Report with all of the supporting documents:
http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/cm/2013/130117/20130117_PHED1.pdf
Here are some of the specifics: DHCA is asking the County to consider taking away the Planning Board’s authority through the preliminary plan process to determine overall land uses and densities, and substitute in its place the “Mandatory Referral” process. The Mandatory Referral process is not mandatory, it is advisory, and it is a very bad idea to extend this process to the private sector.
Under the Mandatory Referral process—which currently is used when the government is building on public lands—for example, the public schools--the Planning Board will hold a hearing, and it will make land use recommendations to improve the project, but the public entity—MCPS, for example, does not have to follow those recommendations. The recommendations are not binding, and while there is a second step—site plan—that merely deals with the final details of things like the landscape plan and pedestrian and vehicle circulation on the site.
It is a similarly bad idea to allow the Executive branch to propose new zoning of public lands for use by a private developer through the Mandatory Referral process in which the Planning Board is simply informed of the new zoning in a public hearing, and can do nothing to adjust densities, or otherwise review the rezoning in light of all of the land use goals of Montgomery County—not only affordable housing.
I will keep in touch on this issue.
Meredith
Neighborhood Montgomery
A Neighborhood Network for Sensible Growth
http://groups.google.com/group/neighborhood-montgomery
The PHED (Planning, Housing, and Economic Development) Committee is now considering the Draft 2012 Housing Policy for Montgomery County that was forwarded to the Council by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) in October 2012.
The PHED Committee held a public hearing on December 4, 2012, and a work session on January 17, 2013. The second work session is scheduled for this Monday, February 11 at 2 pm. Please plan to attend.
In reading the Staff Report and the Draft Policy, one issue jumps out: DHCA’s proposal that the County consider relaxing the standards for approval of private developers’ affordable housing projects on public land, as well as the standards for the rezoning of public land to be used for private affordable housing projects. See Staff Report, last bullet on page 12, and circle p. 72 (page 49 of the Draft Housing Policy)
At the first work session in January all three members of the PHED Committee (Floreen, chair; Elrich, Leventhal) were favorably disposed to this idea.
Here is the link to the excellent Staff Report with all of the supporting documents:
http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/cm/2013/130117/20130117_PHED1.pdf
Here are some of the specifics: DHCA is asking the County to consider taking away the Planning Board’s authority through the preliminary plan process to determine overall land uses and densities, and substitute in its place the “Mandatory Referral” process. The Mandatory Referral process is not mandatory, it is advisory, and it is a very bad idea to extend this process to the private sector.
Under the Mandatory Referral process—which currently is used when the government is building on public lands—for example, the public schools--the Planning Board will hold a hearing, and it will make land use recommendations to improve the project, but the public entity—MCPS, for example, does not have to follow those recommendations. The recommendations are not binding, and while there is a second step—site plan—that merely deals with the final details of things like the landscape plan and pedestrian and vehicle circulation on the site.
It is a similarly bad idea to allow the Executive branch to propose new zoning of public lands for use by a private developer through the Mandatory Referral process in which the Planning Board is simply informed of the new zoning in a public hearing, and can do nothing to adjust densities, or otherwise review the rezoning in light of all of the land use goals of Montgomery County—not only affordable housing.
I will keep in touch on this issue.
Meredith
Neighborhood Montgomery
A Neighborhood Network for Sensible Growth
http://groups.google.com/group/neighborhood-montgomery
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