policy
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HB1300: Part 1—Deeds, Restrictions, and Covenants
Read more: HB1300: Part 1—Deeds, Restrictions, and CovenantsA deed is a set of conditions that are part of a sale of real estate. The buyer undertakes to uphold the deed’s restrictions, covenants, and agreements. As the property moves from owner to owner, the conditions of the deed survive. The purpose of some deed restrictions is to provide predictability to buyers of the…
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The Fallacy of County-Funded Aging-In-Place
Read more: The Fallacy of County-Funded Aging-In-PlaceHuman relationships are fickle. Probably the most fickle are high-school romances (for those of you who were lucky enough to have had one or two or three). Another example is bloggers on local politics such as myself. We can love our elected leaders, and we can just as easily hand them demerits. Such is the…
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ZTA 24-01: Living Closer to God
Read more: ZTA 24-01: Living Closer to GodThere are reasons I don’t get invited to parties, the most obvious being my enthusiasm over liberalization in zoning laws. A typical conversation when I meet someone new at a wedding goes like this. “What are your hobbies?” “Pushing for removal of height restrictions. Yours?” “I’ll go get myself another brewsky. You stay here.” Just…
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ZTA 23-10 Part 3: Less Parking + More Housing = More Congestion. I’m in.
Read more: ZTA 23-10 Part 3: Less Parking + More Housing = More Congestion. I’m in.We ended Part 2 of this series with CM Evan Glass’s motivations for Zoning Text Amendment 23-10: Reducing parking near transit is a commonsense approach that will make housing more affordable, help us reach our housing goals, and move us toward a more sustainable, green future. Let’s examine the motivations individually. Make housing more affordable…
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ZTA 23-10 Part 2: Sites for No-Parking Residences
Read more: ZTA 23-10 Part 2: Sites for No-Parking ResidencesIn Part 1 of this series we mentioned that Zoning Text Amendment 23-10 exempts residential construction from any parking requirements within a one-half mile of Metro, Purple Line, and Bus Transit Centers. Where are these sites, and what is within a half-mile radius around them? I drew circles around each of the county’s Metro, Purple…
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ZTA 23-10 Part 1: How Parking Mandates Restrict Affordable Housing
Read more: ZTA 23-10 Part 1: How Parking Mandates Restrict Affordable HousingWhen I came out of the closet, publicly and shamelessly, expressing a desire to eliminate residential zoning, fully one-half of my friends pruned me—so I’m now down to one. Let’s see if that remaining friendship will survive this series on relaxed parking requirements. Local jurisdictions have many ways of constricting the housing supply, thereby making…
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Deer Tick Politick
Read more: Deer Tick PolitickI am a lifelong Montgomery County citizen. When I was a kid in the 1950s and 1960s Rock Creek Park was mowed regularly. It was easy to find nice spots for picnics and games could be played in many open areas such as at Beach Drive and Kensington Parkway (as just one example), but now thick woods…
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They Criminalized Leaf Blowers; What About the Rest?
Read more: They Criminalized Leaf Blowers; What About the Rest?Gas-powered leaf blowers are super annoying. I recently woke up 7:30 one beautiful Saturday morning to the NASCAR-like grinding of a leaf blower. My initial reaction was to confront my neighbor for working on his lawn during my prime snooze time, but it turned out is was my gardener cleaning up my lawn! Gas blowers…
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Following the Science on Street Safety
Read more: Following the Science on Street SafetyI had the good fortune to discuss street safety with a national expert on the matter, Professor Eric Guerra from the University of Pennsylvania. He co-authored a recent study “Do Denser Neighborhoods Have Safer Streets? Population Density and Traffic Safety in the Philadelphia Region.” Professor Guerra is currently the director of the Cooperative Mobility for…
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Personal Thoughts on Street Safety
Read more: Personal Thoughts on Street SafetyThe lead image was photographed close to the Montrose Road offramp of the I-270. There is nothing more stirring, jolting, or heartbreaking than driving by a small memorial marking where a fatal accident occurred. We see them on Old Georgetown Road, Georgia Avenue, and interstate onramps. Was the victim a careless pedestrian looking at an…