Photo by Dan Malouff and altered by Dan Reed.

Weekly, Regional Policy Director Dan Reed and DC Policy Director Alex Baca will share with you an action you can take in the immediate future that has the potential, sometimes great and sometimes small, to increase the number of homes in our region, decrease the trips people take by car, make all of it safer, and not screw people over in the process.

If you have any questions, email dreed@ggwash.org about Maryland and Virginia Do Somethings, and abaca@ggwash.org about Washington, DC, Do Somethings—or, about whatever you want to talk about. This week: come to our happy hour with a long name; gentle density on Connecticut Avenue; support social housing and bus lane cameras in Maryland; and single-stair reform in Virginia.

DC

If you’re reading this on or before the afternoon of Wednesday, January 24, it is not too late to sign up for the performance oversight testimony training that I’m running at 6:00 pm on Wednesday. Maybe see you later!

The District Department of Transportation is “studying ways to reconnect communities separated by transportation infrastructure in the Route 295 Corridor.” The meeting for Ward 7 residents was last night, but there’s a second meeting specifically for Ward 8 residents on Wednesday night from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.

Otherwise, if you didn’t Do Something about the things I told you about last week, well, no worries, because nearly all of it is still going on. Here’s a speed run:

  • We’ve got a happy hour this coming Sunday, January 28, from 3:00–5:00 pm at Grand Duchess in Adams Morgan. There’s no agenda, just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. This is our first Mid-City/Near Northwest/Rock Creek West happy hour of the year, which we’ll continue to host bimonthly at Grand Duchess. Sign up here.
  • The TRC is still TBD. Last week, the tax revision commission imploded; I wrote some thoughts about it, but, as of this week, I don’t yet know what comes next. I still think you should submit a comment telling the commission that its final package should be revenue-neutral.
  • Put your opinions about gentle density in Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, and Van Ness here.
  • 1617 U: The zoning commission will next meet about ZC 23-02, the proposed map amendment to rezone 1617 U Street NW and 1620 V Street NW from MU-4 to MU-10, on Monday, January 29. It will be long, and the parties in opposition will be asking many questions of witnesses. I have no idea why you cannot sign up for this hearing on OZ’s website, so email dcoz@dc.gov and ask to be signed up. Do this at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing on January 29 (so, by 4:00 pm on Sunday, January 28), and submit any written comments you’d like on the record to zcsubmissions@dc.gov, also at least 24 hours in advance. It’s better if you live nearby. As always, you can email me with questions at abaca@ggwash.org.

Personally, I am very hype for what’s going on at the state level in Maryland and Virginia, so don’t skip Dan’s update below. —AB

Maryland

I started and stopped and rewrote a bunch of intros, trying to find exactly the right homespun anecdote to kick off shouting a bunch of bills at you. But I’m exhausted after a week of snow and finally finished The Righteous Gemstones (no spoilers but the kiss at the end of season 3? THAT KISS. I LIVE) so I have, like, nothing happening upstairs. There are so many bills, and so many more to talk about next week. Let us begin.

First: this Thursday, January 25, the Montgomery County Council will have a public hearing about a long-term plan about how to redevelop Takoma Park’s former Washington Adventist Hospital. I wrote about why you should Do Something about it a few weeks ago. You can sign up to testify virtually or in person at Takoma Park Middle School, or send in written, audio, or video comments. Here’s our testimony.

Last week we talked about HB 3, Delegate Vaughn Stewart’s YIGBY (Yes In God’s Backyard) bill, one of several cooking in Maryland and Virginia right now. This one would speed up the permitting process for affordable housing on land owned by charitable institutions or government agencies. I hope he’s not embarrassed for me to call him Maryland’s housing MVP, as for the past several years he’s cranked out bill after bill aimed at not just building more homes, but more permanently affordable homes. Here’s our testimony.

Next up is HB 7, the Housing Innovation Pilot Program Act of 2024. This is the second time Stewart has introduced this bill along with Senator Jeff Waldstreicher, who’s sponsoring companion bill SB 203. It would create a statewide Housing Innovation Fund that gives money to publicly-owned, mixed-income housing developments. Private developers build the building, the government owns the building, and uses the profit to lower rents for lower-income tenants. It’s a bigger version of Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission, which opened its first building with this setup last year and has 2,000 more homes in the pipeline. We think this is awesome! Here’s our testimony.

On the transportation side: Baltimore delegate Robbyn Lewis has two bills we’re excited to support. HB 107, the Better Bus Service Act of 2024, would make it illegal to park in a bus lane and allow traffic cameras on state-owned roads (the ones with numbers) to enforce that rule. This year WMATA will roll out bus lanes on Georgia Avenue (Route 97) in Silver Spring and Silver Hill Road (Route 458) in Suitland, and traffic cameras can send drivers the message to stay out. Here’s our testimony.

Meanwhile, HB 89, the One Less Car Act of 2024, would create an income tax credit for people who don’t have access to a car. Taxpayers would have to show they don’t own a car, they aren’t listed on someone else’s car insurance, and don’t have dependents who own a car. This tax credit could be a big boost for people who don’t have a car, whether they can’t afford one, can’t drive at all, or choose not to drive. Here’s our testimony.

If you’d like to submit comments on these bills (I’ll post our testimony for HB 3, HB 89, and HB 107 soon!), here’s when to do that:

  • SB 203: Wednesday, January 24, for the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee hearing January 25
  • HB 3 and HB 7: Friday, January 26, for the House Environment & Transportation Committee hearing January 30
  • HB 89: Tuesday, January 30 for the House Environment & Transportation Ways & Means Committee hearing February 1
  • HB 107: Tuesday, January 30 for the House Environment & Transportation Committee hearing February 1

For all of these bills, just follow these 9 sort of easy steps. All you have to say is “I think [SUCH AND SUCH BILL] is good, and you should give it a favorable report.”–DR

Virginia

As I mentioned last week, GGWash is part of the Commonwealth Housing Coalition, a group of 17 organizations across Virginia supporting a set of pro-housing bills in this winter’s General Assembly session. Like Maryland, cities and counties across the state are seeing double-digit increases in home prices and rents due to a lack of supply. We’re pushing four bills, two of which have hearings this week:

SB 233, the Faith In Housing for the Commonwealth Act, is Virginia’s take on a YIGBY bill, and would make affordable housing on land owned by faith communities or nonprofits by-right–if it fits the height and density allowed there, it’s already approved. Richmond-area senator Ghazala Hashmi is the patron, while delegates Betsy Carr, Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, and Nadarius Clark are carrying companion bill HB 1124.

SB 195, sponsored by Richmond-area senator Schuyler VanValkenburg, would direct the state government to research ways to legalize “single-stair” buildings. Today, even small apartment buildings are required by building codes to have two staircases, adding costs and physical constraints that can make multifamily buildings more difficult to build. On the House side, delegates Adele McClure, Rozia Henson, Jr., Michelle Lopes Maldonado, and Irene Shin are sponsoring companion bill HB 368.

Both SB 233 and SB 195 have hearings in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee Wednesday, January 24. You can use this link to show your support for SB 233, and this one for SB 195.–DR

Your support of GGWash enables us, Dan and Alex, to do our jobs. Our jobs are knowing how development and planning works in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. If it’s appropriate to take action to advance our goals, which we hope you share, we can let you know what will have the most impact, and how to do it well. You can make a financial contribution to GGWash here.

This post has been updated to reflect that Maryland House Bill 89 will be heard in the Ways & Means Committee, not the Environment & Transportation Committee.