|
May 18, 2023
With over 130,000 households in Montgomery County struggling to make rent every month, more needs to be done to provide affordable housing and help those at risk of being evicted. According to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Montgomery County needs to produce more than 31,000 low-cost housing units by 2030 to meet the growing demand.
If we want to provide more housing that is affordable, we need to provide more housing. No single policy can sufficiently address our region’s housing challenges, but we need a comprehensive approach of policy solutions in order to have a meaningful impact. I’m committed to working with our regional and state partners to continue making progress.
 Council President Glass speaks at the Montgomery County Affordable Housing Conference.
Trees and forests play an incredibly important role in our natural and built environments. Updating the Forest Conservation Law was one of my highest priorities when I became council president in December. The Forest Conservation Law, which first went into effect in1992, has permanently protected over 12,500 acres of existing forest and more than 2,500 acres of planted forests across Montgomery County.
Our community has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2027 and achieving 100% by 2035. Updating this law will move us closer to achieving these goals. I look forward to continuing working with our community stakeholders to create a brighter, greener future for our current and future residents.
I was pleased to join Governor Wes Moore, Congressman Jamie Raskin, County Executive Marc Elrich and many others for the opening of Montgomery County’s newest affordable housing community for seniors. “The Leggett ” is a 267-unit, 16-story complex in downtown Silver Spring named for former County Executive Ike Leggett, who remains a strong advocate for affordable housing. Built by the Housing Opportunities Commission, the building offers one- and two-bedroom units for county residents 62 and older. The first tenants in The Leggett are scheduled to move in later this month.
The building honors former County Executive Ike Leggett, who fought tirelessly on behalf of Montgomery County’s older adults to create affordable housing opportunities for those on fixed incomes. I want to thank the Housing Opportunities Commission for spearheading this project that will mean so much to hundreds of Montgomery County residents.
It’s time to build a better Burtonsville. The recent groundbreaking for the new Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center is part of Montgomery County’s Burtonsville Community Revitalization Plan. The new shopping center will include a grocery store, a marquee fitness center and plenty of restaurants and shopping. It will also be accessible by a new bus rapid transit station and improved sidewalk connections along Route 198. I’m excited to see this project move forward!
I had a blast with students and parents at Rock Creek Valley Elementary School in Aspen Hill for Bike to School Day! Thank you to everyone who joined in the fun and to our advocates who continue to push for safe routes to walk and roll to and from school every day. This is how we foster the next generation of pedestrians and bicyclists learning about mobility and safety.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, there are resources available for help. The national 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can now be accessed via phone, text and chat. You can also call the Montgomery County Crisis Center, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 240-777-4000.
Additional resources can be found on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website.
Meet some of the world's best authors and hear about the year's best books at the Gaithersburg Book Festival on Saturday, May 20 – all for free! The event takes place at Bohrer Park from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Since its inception in 2010, the Festival has quickly become one of the nation’s top literary events, attracting hundreds of award-winning and best-selling authors, poets and songwriters from across the country to its beautiful park setting. I’ll see you there!
It’s MoCo Eats Week! Instead of a traditional “restaurant week,” Montgomery County is celebrating the diversity of our small businesses — both in cuisine and style — with specials at restaurants, breweries, bars, markets, and even local farms. MoCo Eats week runs through May 20. For a full list of participating restaurants, visit the event’s official website.
A resident recently alerted our office to the lack of a continuous sidewalk on Rockville Pike between Pooks Hill Road and Beach Drive, pointing out that it was impossible to walk from Pooks Hill to enjoy the nearby Rock Creek Park on Beach Drive, or a bit further to the nearby Grosvenor Metro Station. We immediately contacted the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and were informed that they will be completing the missing sidewalk from Pooks Hill Road to I-495 Beltway Interchange. They will fill this gap as part of their broader Grosvenor Bicycle & Pedestrian Priority Area (BiPPA) Project, which includes sidewalks and shared-use paths to connect the sidewalks along MD 355 from Pooks Hill Road to Tuckerman Lane. Ensuring that our residents have access to safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is one of my top priorities, which is why I introduced a comprehensive set of road safety reforms aimed at changing the engineering of our roadways.
Please do not reply to this email. To contact my office, email me at Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov.
|
