Big news! Council announces the More Housing N.O.W. package
Montgomery for All member Chris Vroome speaks at the press conference announcing the More Housing N.O.W. package on January 28, 2025.
Photo: Montgomery County Council
On January 28, 2025, Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Natali Fani-Gonzalez announced the More Housing N.O.W. package to increase housing choices in sustainable locations and support our workforce and first-time homebuyers.
What is the More Housing N.O.W. package?
The three major components of the More Housing N.O.W. package are:
Allowing more multi-family development on county corridors near existing jobs, transit and amenities, with additional funding for + an emphasis on workforce housing
Streamlining the process and providing incentives for office-to-residential conversions
Doubling the FY26 budget allocation for first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance to a total of $8 million
These measures will create new opportunities for a variety of housing types and sizes in locations with access to jobs, transit, and amenities. Locating new, more affordable housing choices near the things people need offers a more sustainable way for our county to grow and add the homes we need without producing more long commutes, increased vehicle pollution, and sprawl.
The package already has the support of a majority of the Council, with Council President Kate Stewart and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Dawn Luedtke, and Laurie-Anne Sayles joining Friedson and Fani-Gonzalez as original co-sponsors. Feel free to email to say thanks!
CSG and Montgomery for All helped mobilize a broad and diverse coalition speaking in support of the legislation at this week's press conference, which included teachers, the county firefighters union, the Montgomery County Black Collective, CASA, Action in Montgomery, Habitat for Humanity, and Montgomery Housing Partnership.
Montgomery for All member Chris Vroome, who has worked as a nurse in Montgomery County for over a decade, spoke at the More Housing N.O.W. press conference about the impact of housing costs on healthcare staffing, homelessness, and providing refuge to vulnerable people seeking to live where their rights are protected.
By the numbers – how your support helped us reach this moment
This legislative package is an acknowledgment that we must build more in sustainable locations to address our housing crisis—a testament to our years of advocacy efforts and outreach to partners about the importance of the Thrive 2050 General Plan and the Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative.
Our actions together with our supporters leading to this moment included:
500+ emails in one year to the Council supporting Thrive’s smart growth vision (thanks to my predecessor, the incredible Jane Lyons-Raeder!)
270 members of Montgomery for All, our grassroots housing advocacy network
100+ emails in six months to the Council supporting attainable housing
29 speakers (out of 46 total!) at March 2024 attainable housing Planning Board hearing
20+ webinars, fact sheets, blog posts, tabling events and other public resources on Thrive and attainable housing
Thanks to your time, effort, and contributions, we have helped to inspire a meaningful initiative with majority Council support to build more housing in sustainable locations.
More information to come on how to take action!
Stay tuned for more information soon about this legislation. We’ll keep you posted on how we plan to show support at upcoming hearings as we continue our advocacy for a comprehensive and smart growth approach to building the housing our county needs.