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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's not about having a duplex in my neighborhood. It is about the cumulative impact of having rapid population growth that will overwhelm our schools and public safety professionals. The county will also need to raise taxes to cover all of the infrastructure upgrades and build new schools. The policy proposal is not refined enough to balance competing priorities. It focuses on upzoning large swaths of the county without adequate consideration for the impact of these changes. It does not make sense to dramatically increase density in areas where there is limited or no access to public transit. IMO, it would be wiser to allow construction of duplex/triplex units in areas that are within a 1/2 mile radius of the metro station. This will mitigate the impact on roads by encouraging development in walkable areas. There are thousands of lots currently zoned R-60 or R-90 within a 1/2 radius of the metro station. [/quote]

And there are miles of underutilized commercial buildings.  Condos and apartments can be build there.[/quote]

[b]Commercial to mixed use commercial residential within x distance of rail[/b] seems like a logical start that’s least disruptive to the community.  [/quote]

That has already been done. However, why should multiunit housing be restricted to big buildings on big roads with lots of cars?[/quote]

No, it has not.  There are huge parts of the Pike that are underutilized and will never be office buildings or retail.  And there is plenty of space to be creative along the Pike, including for green spaces, parks, open walkways, and not just on the Pike.  SFH areas in MoCo are doing just fine and do not need to be disturbed.  The real difference here is (1) whether the changes benefit larger contractors (who are better able to build Rose & Park areas) or smaller contractors (who are better able to turn SFHs into MF units), and (2) whether MoCo wants to keep targeting what MoCo politicians perceives to be the rich.

[/quote]

Yes, it has. There is a whole lot of mixed-use C/R zoning along 355. And also C/R construction.

Your goal here is to maintain areas where the only allowable housing type is a detached one-unit house. If that's what you want, then that's what you want, but it's bad public policy for housing, transportation, the environment, and the county's fiscal future.[/quote]

First, zoning does not mean actual buildings.  Incentivize builders to build along the Pike.  Second, as for the county's fiscal future, [b]reducing SFHs will worsen the problem. [/b] To the extent that SFHs are owned by wealthier residents (which seems obvious), eliminating what they want means that they move elsewhere, taking their tax dollars with them.  At the Federal level, top 1% income earners pay roughly 40% of all individual income taxes, while bottom 90% pay roughly 30%.  Alternatively, top 50% pay 97% of all income taxes, while bottom 50% pay only 3%.  MoCo needs more wealthy taxpayers, not fewer.  CA and NY are facing budget crises in part because many wealthy have fled those states.  Third, as for the environment, I will continue to drive my hybrid.

[/quote]

Nah. If people pick up and go because they can't stand the prospect of a duplex near them, that's ok, the county will be fine without them. Also, I don't think that most people who live in detached one-unit houses are actually that afraid of the prospect of a duplex near them.

There's more to the environment and also more to transportation than you driving a hybrid.[/quote]

https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income-county-metro-and-other-areas

MoCo should be embarrassed.  MoCo trails DC, Fairfax/Fairfax City/Falls Church, Alexandria, and Arlington in average income.  And, except for DC, they have seen greater increases in the last several years.  MoCo is even losing out to nearby counties in Maryland.  Why relevant?  Because higher income residents pay the bills through taxes.  Fewer taxpaying residents, fewer taxes, fewer social services.  [/quote]

1.  The data shows that MoCo per capita income has gone up every year for the last four years.
2.  Even if the per captia income went down, that would not mean there are "fewer taxpaying residents."  Nor would it mean that there is overall less tax revenue.[/quote]

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