EMPOWERING PEOPLE IN COMMUNITIES
Meeting People Where They Are
Our Mission is to inform, educate and support residents who have been traditionally, historically and geographically marginalized in the decision making process, regarding complicated land-use policies, surrounding housing and transportation issues presented in Thrive Montgomery 2050, Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative (AHSI) and the Pedestrian Master Plan.
Our purpose is to facilitate a culture of participation by creating equitable access, and meeting people where they are, In their communities. This will be achieved by educating community members on land-use and transportation policies; by providing information and access to opportunities to learn more; by educating community members on how to sign-up and participate in public hearings; by providing computer access when needed; by removing systemic barriers which prevent community members from having a seat at the proverbial table and being their own advocates.
What is Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative (AHSI)
If Thrive 2050 is the vision of how Montgomery County will look in the next 25 years. Then Attainable Housing Strategies is the Plan to deal with the housing shortage by eliminating most single-family zoning and allowing market-rate duplexes and triplexes by right in all R-40, R-60, R-90 and R-200 properties in the Priority Housing District. Quadplex by right on properties within 1 mile radius of Metro/Purple Line and MARC stations. Quadplex by right on all single family properties within 500 feet of "Corridors" whether or not any transit is built.
Pedestrian Master Plan
Thrive Montgomery 2050 is about reimagining how we live, by prioritize walking, biking and rolling in our communities with buses to transport us elsewhere. It is the first comprehensive and actionable plan to bring this vision to reality, by prioritizing pedestrian and bike projects: longer crosswalk times, accessible sidewalks, updated lighting and county control over some state highways. It begun with "road diets", that will eliminate car lanes and create protected bike lanes where parking and EV charging stations existed. However, according to the Planning document, the plan's implementations costs exceed funds allocated for pedestrian and safety measures. The Solution presented is to further tax those who can least afford to be taxed and lack access to participate in the political process..
Dates To Watch For:
Draft Resolution to Approve the 2024 Growth and Infrastructure Policy
Recently, the Council conducted a straw vote on the GIP, leading to a decision that, while it alleviated some revenue loss, there’s still a deficit of approximately $8 million over the next six years. The GIP is designed to generate necessary funds for essential facilities to support transportation and education that accompany new developments.
Since 2013, the funding from the GIP has been reduced five times. The impact of these funding reductions is palpable, resulting in significant delays for critical projects. further reduction in GIP revenues would only exacerbate this problem, leading to fewer resources and allowing for more exceptions to established standards, which could undermine the quality of our community infrastructure.