Image 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. This week: it’s go time for Moore Housing in Maryland (and we need your help!); bus priority on Columbia Road and H Street NE; stand up for fire safety; and accessory apartments inch forward in Virginia.

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.

DC

Last week, I wrote about the District Department of Transportation’s notice of intent for its bus-priority project on Columbia Road, which you can support by sending words of praise to kevin.harrison@dc.gov.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that the H Street NE bus-priority project is also in its final-design phase and that DDOT is also soliciting feedback on it. (The NOI for the H Street NE project went out on January 22, and the relevant ANCs, 6A and 6C, received detailed presentations at the beginning of February.) The H Street NE project will, among other cool things, implement “a 24/7 bus- and streetcar-only lane in each direction between 3rd Street NE and 14th Street NE”—which, finallyyyyy. If that sounds good to you and you live on or around H Street NE, visit H Street NE, or ride the X buses, tell zack.gambetti@dc.gov! Could there be a better day to send a Valentine to one of the most effective teams in District government? I think not.

I wrote the other week about residents of Elm Gardens, an apartment complex for which there’s a planned unit development proposal that would rezone and redevelop 36 existing units into about 80 income-restricted, subsidized units. On Thursday, February 15, 2024, the zoning commission will meet on ZC 23-19. If you think the zoning commission should approve this PUD, and you are a District resident who lives nearby, you have until 4 pm on Wednesday to send a supportive comment to zcsubmissions@dc.gov. The Elm Gardens tenants suggested that I share with you that the PUD applicant, National Housing Partnership, is a nonprofit housing developer, meaning that any profits from their building will go on to preserve their, and others’ affordable housing, making the approval of this PUD particularly meaningful. (Disclaimer: GGWash board member Pam Lee works for NHP, which is how I got connected to Elm Gardens’ residents.)

And, for your reference: Here’s a recap of the oversight testimony training I gave at the end of January. I’ll be hosting a budget training on April 1, 2024—seriously! Sign up here. —AB

Maryland

Move over Arlington and Alexandria: now it’s Montgomery County’s turn to reconsider single-family only zoning. This spring, the Montgomery County Planning Board will explore how to reform its zoning laws as a way to address its housing shortage and rising home prices. Those recommendations, called Attainable Housing Strategies, will come out next week ahead of a “listening session” Thursday, March 21 when community members can give feedback. Go sign up to testify because that list will fill up fast. We’ll share more details about this soon.

Meanwhile, in Annapolis: Governor Moore’s Moore Housing bills–which would increase tenant protections, provide affordable housing financing, and encourage more homebuilding–go before the House and Senate in the next few weeks. We’re supporting all three of his bills, but especially the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act (HB 538/SB 484), which could help Maryland tackle its shortage of 96,000 homes. I am not exaggerating when I say this is our version of the Super Bowl and it is also Valentine’s Day, and we need to demonstrate our appreciation for Moore Housing.

We have two proposals for how to make this bill stronger and encourage more housing production, including deeply affordable homes. The Governor’s proposal already has a ton of support–but there will no doubt be pressure to make this bill weaker and less ambitious. Maryland simply can’t afford that right now.

If you have a few minutes:

If you have a few more minutes: you can write testimony or sign up to speak at public hearings Tuesday, February 20 and Friday, March 1. Here’s how you can do that, and here’s our testimony.

If you can be in Annapolis Tuesday morning and want to be part of a rally: e-mail me at dreed [at] ggwash [dot] org.

There’s another hearing February 20 for a bill that’s really personal to me: HB 823/SB 689, the Melanie Nicholle Diaz Fire Safety Act. About a year ago, there was a massive fire in the apartment complex I grew up in, Arrive Silver Spring (formerly known as Georgian Towers). Hundreds of people were displaced, 89 apartments were condemned, and a 25-year-old woman named Melanie Diaz–for whom this bill is named–died while trying to protect her two dogs. It later came out that a single sprinkler head could have prevented last year’s fire.

As I wrote last year, fires have been a problem there since I was a kid in the 1990s. The complex was built before Maryland required sprinklers in high-rise buildings, and under a 2019 law older buildings must install sprinklers by 2033. In response, Maryland delegate Lorig Charkoudian, who represents the building’s residents, introduced a bill that would have required older high-rises to add other fire safety measures, like smoke alarms and emergency lights. The bill failed, and since then there’s been loud opposition due to concerns about the cost of installing sprinklers.

We’ve been in touch with Delegate Charkoudian over the past year, and with the help of our former policy intern Dean Howell, did a ton of research on sprinkler legislation. Charkoudian and Senator Will Smith reintroduced the bill this year–but this time, it identifies ways to reduce the cost of adding sprinklers, like a property tax credit, and creates a task force to develop best practices for installing alarms and sprinklers in older buildings.

I’ve been struck by how the Silver Spring community came out to support the victims, especially the Diaz family, who live in Florida. A few weeks after the fire, I briefly spoke with Melanie Diaz’s mother, who said she’ll fight to make sure no one else has to experience what her family did. We’re supporting the Melanie Nicholle Diaz Fire Safety Act, and I hope you will too. Here’s our testimony.

If you have a few minutes:

If you have a few more minutes, here’s when you can submit testimony or sign up to speak:

  • HB 823: Friday, February 16 for the House Environment and Transportation Committee hearing February 20
  • SB 689: Thursday, February 29 for the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee hearing March 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 the [COMMITTEE IT’S IN] should give it a favorable report.”–DR

Virginia

We asked you to show your support for two bills we’re supporting with the Commonwealth Housing Coalition, and you came through! Thanks to everyone who wrote their representatives or sent in testimony, because there’s some great news to share.

This week, the House of Delegates just unanimously passed HB 368, a bill that directs the state government to figure out how to make single-stair apartment buildings legal–a move that could lower the cost of building apartments and give architects more flexibility in designing them. The Senate passed its companion bill, SB 195, the other week. Now it heads to Governor Glenn Youngkin to sign it into law.

Meanwhile, SB 304, which would legalize accessory apartments throughout Virginia, passed the Senate last week by a narrow majority. Now it’s up to House leadership to decide if their version of the bill, HB 900, should wait until next year’s session or come back to the floor for a vote.

If you have a few minutes…

If you have a few more minutes:

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.