Reply to Montgomery County zoning: Council wants to change zoning throughout the county to multi-family

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "Montgomery County zoning: Council wants to change zoning throughout the county to multi-family"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I know. It's unreal what has become of this county, when my parents bought out here, fifty years ago and with two young children, they selected this county largely for its excellent school system and healthy family environment. Now the neighborhood is looks like its something out of a 3rd world country. Cars all over place, overgrown front lawns with weeds, and overflowing trash cans on trash day.

There is so little parking that I came home one night to find the next door neighbor's car blocking my driveway. [/quote]

50 years ago was 1969 (when the population of Montgomery County was 523,000). A lot has changed since then. It would be unrealistic to expect your parents' neighborhood to remain unchanged.
[b]
Why doesn't your next door neighbor park in in their driveway?[/b][/quote]

Because the neighbor already has 3 other cars parked in their own driveway.

That is why this is a problem.

These neighborhoods were meant for single families.  Not four families in one house with 7 vehicles.  There is simply not enough room to park all the cars when you have multiple families, with multiple cars living in one home.[/quote]

No, I was asking the specific PP about the specific PP's specific neighbor.

As for whom or what the neighborhoods were "meant for" - [b]it's not like they were "meant for" an elderly woman to live by herself in a four-bedroom house, either.[/b] I really don't care whom or what the neighborhoods were "meant for", when they were built in the 1950s and 1960s. It's 2019.

It sounds like you live in a neighborhood where everybody needs a car to get around. That's why there are so many cars. It's also probably one reason why the neighborhoods aren't in demand by the kind of people you'd like to have as your neighbors.[/quote]

[b]Why not?[/b]

Basically your answer is that this elderly lady needs to move because you disapprove of her living in her own home.

She (and maybe her husband) purchased a home decades ago.  Why does she have to move because you think her home is too large for her?  Maybe she has grandkids who come to visit and stay over.  Maybe she's not ready to move into assisted living.  Maybe she feels comfortable in the house and simply wants to stay.

Whatever the reason, her house is 'meant for' her.  And, she should get to stay in it and be comfortable.  [/quote]

Because they weren't. They were built for white mother-father-multiple-children-at-home families with one car, during the Baby Boom.

Now do you understand why the "meant for" argument is irrelevant?[/quote]

I disagree that the ‘meant for’ argument is irrelevant.  It’s a SFH, suburban neighborhood.  Residents in the County expressed that they did not support the zoning changes.  People who live in the County now should have a say in what happens in the community.

But, even if you say the ‘meant for’ argument doesn’t matter, I still say that the area is not ZONED for this type of housing.

Even the new ADU law says that the units need to be owner occupied.  These rentals are not owner occupied.

Being owner occupied means the owners have some reason to maintain the homes, ensure they are safe and up to code,

But there is little  enforcement of this, and the owners are basically slum landlords who live elsewhere.

So, fine if you don’t approve of the ‘meant for’ argument.  But it should matter that these homes are not zoned as apartment or boarding house rentals.  And that they are often being illegally rented.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics