housing element

Maryland Department of Planning Publishes HB 90 Webpage

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Resources and Tools

by Joseph Griffiths, AICP, Local Assistance and Training Manager

Figure 1 – Photo of affordable town home development in Garrett County. Courtesy, Duane Yoder.

As of January 1, 2023, HB 90 (2021) requires all housing elements for municipalities and non-charter counties to “affirmatively further fair housing” (AFFH). This adds to the requirements to plan for affordable housing that HB 1045 (2019) initiated in June 2020. 

The Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) recently published an HB 90 webpage to help jurisdictions incorporate the new fair housing requirements into their comprehensive plan housing elements.

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Resources to Help Jurisdictions Meet the Planning Requirements of HB 90 (2021)

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Resources and Tools

by Joseph Griffiths, AICP, Local Assistance and Training Manager

Starting January 1, 2023, per Land Use Article §3-114 (d)(2) and as a result of 2021’s HB 90, all comprehensive plan housing elements adopted by non-charter counties and municipalities “shall include an assessment of fair housing to ensure the local jurisdiction is affirmatively furthering fair housing”.

The Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) introduced HB 90 to Planning Practice Monthly readers in our July 29, 2022 edition. That article summarizes the bill, defines affirmatively furthering fair housing (AAFH), and describes the coordination between Planning and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to develop resources that will help jurisdictions meet the new requirements.

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Analyzing Affordable Housing Needs in Your Jurisdiction: Examples from Maryland Housing Elements

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Local Spotlight 

by Joseph Griffiths, AICP, Local Assistance and Training Manager 

Image 1 – Photo of construction workers framing a house, courtesy of DHCD.

In 2019, the Maryland Departments of Planning (Planning) and Housing and Community Development (DHCD) initiated mutually reinforcing development efforts to assist Maryland jurisdictions with their affordable housing planning needs.  

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Housing Data Dashboard Updates

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Resources and Tools

by Joseph Griffiths, AICP, Local Assistance and Training Manager

The Maryland Department of Planning recently updated its Housing Data Dashboard to include 2022 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Area Median Income (AMI) data and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2016-2020 Five-Year Estimates. The Housing Data Dashboard, part of the Housing Element Models & Guidelines website developed by Planning in 2020, helps jurisdictions meet the comprehensive planning requirements of HB 1045, passed in 2019. The AMI data is displayed, for whichever geography (county, place, census tract) a user selects, in the dashboard’s AMI calculator (Figure 1, shown below).

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Affordable Housing in Maryland: A Rural Developer’s Experience

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Local Spotlight

by Kristen E. Humphrey, MLA, Local Assistance and Training Planner

While articles about sky rocketing rental and home sales prices, housing shortages, and homelessness have routinely made national headlines over the past few years, common misconceptions about affordable housing remain.

Figure 1 – Photo of housing at Liberty Hill, part of GCCAC’s Chautauqua West affordable housing development in Garrett County; courtesy, Duane Yoder.

To help deal with such issues, the Maryland legislature passed House Bill (HB) 1045 in 2019, which requires jurisdictions with planning and zoning authority to address housing as part of a comprehensive plan.

In light of this, the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) developed guidance (Models and Guidelines), online tools (Housing Data Dashboard) and other resources to assist local governments with developing or updating their housing elements.

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