If you’ve been following the proposed Montgomery County Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative (AHSI), here is the latest update.
On January 7, Montgomery County Council Vice President Will Jawando released a statement opposing the initiative.
“After studying the AHSI recommendations in detail, and hearing the outpouring of concern from the community regarding the recommendations – through listening sessions, correspondence, neighborhood visits, and one-on-one conversations all around the County – I believe we should pause consideration of these recommendations at this time.”
Jawando cites the most common concerns: overburdened schools, infrastructure, utilities, and environment, and the attainable not equating to affordable issue. Compounding this he says is the current political climate of change and uncertainty.
On January 9, Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink joined Jawando in expressing doubts and opposition.
“It’s quite clear that this is not where residents want us focusing our energy at this time, and it’s also not the best tool at our disposal… We should be prioritizing high-yield strategies that can earn the support of our communities.”
Mink proposed a variety of alternative strategies like increasing support for the successful Housing Production Fund (HPF), an excise tax on tear-downs, and supporting older condo building with HOAs.
Despite this opposition, on January 16, Councilmember Andrew Friedson continued the discussion, hosting an Attainable Housing forum with community members at the Chevy Chase Library. At this time, no members of the County Council have formally introduced legislation to proceed with the proposed AHSI or indicated publicly that they plan do to so.
Stay tuned for ongoing updates, and watch one of the Attainable Housing listening sessions below to get up-to-speed on the controversial initiative.