Montgomery County, Maryland, is looking at financial incentives for TOD

Montgomery County, Maryland, a suburban area of nearly 1 million people bordering the nation’s capital, is considering adopting a system that would offer financial incentives and reduced impact fees to developers who build near mass transit, provide affordable housing, and construct buildings that are environmentally friendly.

“In the short term, there will be more congestion,” acknowledges Planning Director Rollin Stanley. “But we are setting up an ability for that pattern to change over time” as more riders gravitate to the county’s 12 Metrorail stations and to bus lines. The new approach would include “getting residents and commuters out of their cars and into urban centers with stores and basic services near jobs,” The Washington Post reported June 10.

The policy would be a major change of direction for the county, which until now has focused more attention on discouraging development where it would add to road congestion or crowd the schools. The proposal, put forward by County Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson, is being debated in public hearings this summer and is expected to be voted on by the County Council this fall.