Despite enacting a new Middle Housing bill, Montgomery County is quickly becoming a cautionary tale in housing policy. A recent article by Adam Pagnucco of Montgomery Perspective outlines why.
During a recent meeting, County Executive Marc Elrich bluntly admitted that the county’s affordable housing program “kind of sucks.” Unfortunately, his proposed solutions—and the county’s broader policy environment—are making things worse, not better.
Elrich’s latest idea? Mandate that up to 30% of units in new developments be income-restricted. While affordability is a worthy goal, this approach ignores basic economics.
Developers faced with reduced revenue potential will either raise prices on the remaining units—hurting middle-income renters—or walk away entirely. And when projects don’t pencil out, they don’t get built. As Pagnucco notes in the article: “15% of zero equals zero.”
This proposal comes on top of a toxic mix of county policies already strangling housing construction:
- The highest impact taxes in Maryland
- New energy mandates and commercial property tax hikes
- A sweeping rent control law that has nearly halted multifamily permitting
The result? Developers are fleeing to neighboring jurisdictions like Fairfax, Loudoun, and Anne Arundel, where policies are more predictable and less punitive. Montgomery County, meanwhile, is left with a shrinking housing pipeline and rising tax burdens.
If county officials don’t reverse course, they won’t just fail to solve the housing crisis—they’ll become a national model for how to stop housing construction altogether.
Read more of Pagnucco’s analysis at Montgomery Perspective: How to Stop Housing Construction – Montgomery Perspective