This is horrible.

One big issue with MoCo is that they can't or won't put a stop to short term rentals. Nice apartments are not available for full time residents because they're rented through AirBnB etc. That will not stop because there is no enforcement. This may be down during the pandemic but will be back as much as ever once we get this covid thing handled.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't this make these lots, even if they have a SFH on them already, more valuable?

potentially but imagine how neighborhoods would look during a transition. One family sells to a developer who puts up a 4 unit apartment building with no parking and on another lot a developer puts up 4 small houses and on another lot a developer puts up 4 townhouses. Part of the value is the aesthetics.

meanwhile all these new builds have no parking and your streets are now littered with 4 times the cars. Now if a developer comes in a makes it look great and high-end sure but the county probably won't allow that seeing they are pushing affordable housing

This exactly. Nobody with income wants to live in those kinds of dumpy neighborhoods.

You mean the dumpy neighborhoods of Georgetown, with all of the duplexes, mansions with basement apartments, condo conversions and apartment buildings? You mean we don't want to be like the District? Where housing values have soared, compared to Bethesda?

Georgetown doesn't have 4 unit apartment buildings in between its historic townhomes. Georgetown also doesn't have single family homes. You are talking nonsense. They do have old townhomes with English basements. That's completely different. Housing values haven't soared in DC vs. Bethesda. And the taxes in DC are much worse than MoCo. SFH neighborhoods in NW DC do not have 4 unit apartment buildings in between their SFHs. You make specious arguments. I wonder why.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This exactly. Nobody with income wants to live in those kinds of dumpy neighborhoods.

That is exactly the point. There's a lack of middle housing in MoCo, especially in downcounty MoCo. There's not much available between scattered MPDUs and $1.5mm homes.

Oh, yes there are! Plenty of original 1930s-40s housing stock, some still without central air. We (the original owners) tend to be teachers, non-profit workers, and government workers, and we're afraid of being priced out of our own neighborhoods, due to rising tax assessments and high cost of living in Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Happy to redevelop and build our retirement home with advanced age-in-place features, apartments for the darling NIH post-doc families and students, and condos for young families. The Council needs to EMPOWER the owners of these older houses to make these changes without being sold down the river, as most developers underbid for the old homes and then make huge $$$$$$. This can be a real win-win if approached holistically.

Have you been paying any attention to MoCo county council? You are already able to have an accessory apartment. "Darling NIH post-doc families"? It's hard for me to imagine that you are going to build a basement apartment or a detached ADU (tiny house) that they would want to live in. You can't even afford central air, but you're going to redevelop and build your retirement home with this scheme? In what parallel universe? What Jawando is proposing is allowing you to sell your house to a developer who will tear it down and put up a 4 unit apartment on the same lot (with additional parking allowed, BTW! But, what about Metro right next door?) So formerly SFH neighborhoods with garden apartments interspersed. I don't think there's any way around it: that will look shitastic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't this make these lots, even if they have a SFH on them already, more valuable?

potentially but imagine how neighborhoods would look during a transition. One family sells to a developer who puts up a 4 unit apartment building with no parking and on another lot a developer puts up 4 small houses and on another lot a developer puts up 4 townhouses. Part of the value is the aesthetics.

meanwhile all these new builds have no parking and your streets are now littered with 4 times the cars. Now if a developer comes in a makes it look great and high-end sure but the county probably won't allow that seeing they are pushing affordable housing

This exactly. Nobody with income wants to live in those kinds of dumpy neighborhoods.

You mean the dumpy neighborhoods of Georgetown, with all of the duplexes, mansions with basement apartments, condo conversions and apartment buildings? You mean we don't want to be like the District? Where housing values have soared, compared to Bethesda?

No, more like the dumpy neighborhoods of Eastern Avenue.

All we need is dollar vans like in Queens NY. They drive around in a certain route picking up people one dollar (cash) and drop off nearest subway stop.

Anonymous wrote:County politics watchers: what do you think are the chances that Jawando is able to get this passed?

I think it’s very possible. Politics in this county favor this kind of thing, for sure.

Montgomery County has basically been looking the other way when landlords do this illegally and rent out SFHs to multiple families. High density housing is in favor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This exactly. Nobody with income wants to live in those kinds of dumpy neighborhoods.

That is exactly the point. There's a lack of middle housing in MoCo, especially in downcounty MoCo. There's not much available between scattered MPDUs and $1.5mm homes.

Oh, yes there are! Plenty of original 1930s-40s housing stock, some still without central air. We (the original owners) tend to be teachers, non-profit workers, and government workers, and we're afraid of being priced out of our own neighborhoods, due to rising tax assessments and high cost of living in Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Happy to redevelop and build our retirement home with advanced age-in-place features, apartments for the darling NIH post-doc families and students, and condos for young families. The Council needs to EMPOWER the owners of these older houses to make these changes without being sold down the river, as most developers underbid for the old homes and then make huge $$$$$$. This can be a real win-win if approached holistically.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't this make these lots, even if they have a SFH on them already, more valuable?

potentially but imagine how neighborhoods would look during a transition. One family sells to a developer who puts up a 4 unit apartment building with no parking and on another lot a developer puts up 4 small houses and on another lot a developer puts up 4 townhouses. Part of the value is the aesthetics.

meanwhile all these new builds have no parking and your streets are now littered with 4 times the cars. Now if a developer comes in a makes it look great and high-end sure but the county probably won't allow that seeing they are pushing affordable housing

This exactly. Nobody with income wants to live in those kinds of dumpy neighborhoods.

Nope. Everyone will move to Fort Washington if this bill passes!

Ha, ha, ha. Where do you live, PP? No way I'm leaving downtown Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't this make these lots, even if they have a SFH on them already, more valuable?

potentially but imagine how neighborhoods would look during a transition. One family sells to a developer who puts up a 4 unit apartment building with no parking and on another lot a developer puts up 4 small houses and on another lot a developer puts up 4 townhouses. Part of the value is the aesthetics.

meanwhile all these new builds have no parking and your streets are now littered with 4 times the cars. Now if a developer comes in a makes it look great and high-end sure but the county probably won't allow that seeing they are pushing affordable housing

This exactly. Nobody with income wants to live in those kinds of dumpy neighborhoods.

You mean the dumpy neighborhoods of Georgetown, with all of the duplexes, mansions with basement apartments, condo conversions and apartment buildings? You mean we don't want to be like the District? Where housing values have soared, compared to Bethesda?