preserving the quality of life in Olney, Maryland

Workforce Housing

The housing prices in Montgomery County have forced many service workers and county employees to live in surrounding counties.  There are many different types of affordable housing, click here to see definitions and descriptions.  Workforce housing is targeted to those who earn too much to qualify for the Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) but cannot afford a market rate house.  One way to think about it:  MPDUs are targeted to a single person who is a teacher, firefighter, librarian, nurse, etc whereas the workforce housing is targeted to a married couple where both are a teacher, firefighter, librarian, nurse, etc. 

A quoted from the Bowie Mill RFP:

For purposes of this RFP, Workforce housing is defined as housing that is affordable for a family of four earning between $62,510 and $107,160 (based on household Average Median Income – AMI – as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  HUD currently defines the area-wide, household AMI as $89,300.  Workforce housing is also considered to be housing affordable to households who work in the county, (such as police, firefighters, teachers, nurses and others) but who are unable to afford to purchase or rent a unit due to high housing costs.  All units are to be marketed for individual/family ownership and not available as rentals.

Councilmember Steve Silverman introduced workforce housing legislation on October 11, 2005.  Click here to see the press release.  Click here to see the actual Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA 05-16) and the legislative bill 30-05.  An important thing to notice is that this legislation applies to metro areas only and would not apply to the 32 acre porperty on Bowie Mill Road.   Agenda items #7 and #8 from Park and Planning's agenda from November 17, 2005 has seven supporting documents that describe the rationale for the legislation and the details of the program.