The slums of Montgomery County Maryland (not)

Whereas the City of Los Angeles has massive problems to address, including homelessness, illegal dumping and the like, Montgomery County, Maryland is one of the nation's most economically successful counties in the US, is the 17th richest--of 3,144--along with being one of the largest in population, 42nd.

That being said, according to one letter writer published ("Don't turn Montgomery County into a slum") in the Washington Post, by making it a bit easier for homeowners to add accessory dwelling units, the county is likely to become a slum.

Ironically, I have criticized MoCo's ADU policy in the past, both because it has an arbitrary ceiling on the number of units that can be created and because it doesn't allow separate units on large lots, but only an additional unit within the existing footprint of a house, even though many of the county's subdivisions are marked by large lots.

Here is the letter in its entirety:

The Montgomery County Council is pushing through zoning changes to allow a proliferation of “auxiliary dwelling units” in people’s backyards. Despite announcing a “work session” on this topic for June 18, Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At Large) admitted in a constituent letter that the county already was hiring inspectors for these controversial units. This shortsighted proposal will cause property values to plummet and even more residents to flee the county.

The council appears oblivious to signs that Montgomery County is losing appeal, as if declining tax revenue and school performance weren’t enough. For most people, their home is their biggest investment.   

Kenwood neighborhood of Bethesda during cherry blossoms. 

Allowing campers, trailers and storage containers to be put in a neighbor’s backyard to house low-income residents is a slap in the face to those people who have worked hard to build a comfortable home and neighborhood. It is a sham to suggest that this is being done to provide housing for aging parents or adult children.  

people provide space in their homes, even if it means putting an addition onto their home, for family members. The council should instead lift some of the onerous restrictions on developers to encourage them to build decent and affordable housing. Just because others flee crime-ridden and poverty-stricken areas doesn’t mean Montgomery County has to be turned into a slum to accommodate them.

Katherine C. Gugulis, Gaithersburg

I couldn't help but laugh, and think of the Iggy Pop song, "Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell."

MoCo is not on its way to becoming a slum.

Remembering back to what DC was like in the 1980s and for most of the 1990s, not a slum, but you had to want to live here given all the problems, the hyperbole is breathtaking.

The county isn't losing population, it's gaining it. For the most part, tax revenues are increasing. School performance isn't declining, but it is challenged as the county's low income population is growing. And allowable ADUs won't include "trailers, campers, and storage containers."  It has three companies on the Fortune 500 list (although yes, Fairfax County, Virginia has 10.)

Montgomery County has issues.  No question.  They have a growing low income population and this creates issues in the schools in particular ("Brilliant piece in Bethesda Magazine on a Title I elementary school").  They could be more dense.  An aging population will put more demands on local government and infrastructure.  "Conventional subdivisions" are less attractive to younger demographics, and this makes up the bulk of the county's single family housing stock.

Rockville Pike.  Washington Post photo.

It's still a very automobile-centric community, despite the commitment to transit--the county's RideOn bus transit is one of the nation's most successful urban bus systems..

The state has a habit of using Montgomery County's tax revenues pretty liberally--a colleague calls MoCo "the ATM of Maryland state government."  Etc.

But it has some of the best schools in the country.  One of the best county parks systems in the US.  A great base of amenities.  High quality of life.  It's relatively safe with 1/8 the number of murders in DC, although MoCo has 300,000 more residents.

According to the Census, MoCo has 386,587 housing units. Adding up to 4,000 housing units within the footprint of already existing houses is not going to drive the County into ruin.