A zoning change that increases the amount and types of housing allowed in certain zones along Montgomery County’s transit corridors is now in effect, but that hasn’t stopped County Executive Marc Elrich (D) from continuing to crusading against the measure that is intended to boost the supply of workforce housing.
“Changing our community through zoning text amendments is not the way to do this. This county has been planned for future growth,” Elrich said during a virtual media briefing Wednesday. “The idea that this bill is necessary to accommodate the future is absolutely untrue.”
The County Council voted 8-3 on July 22 to pass a controversial zoning text amendment (ZTA) as part of the More Housing N.O.W. (New Options for Workers) legislative package sponsored by councilmembers Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) and Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6). The package aims to allow more residential building types – including duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and apartments – along the county’s transit corridors, with a requirement that 15% of a project’s proposed housing serve the local workforce.
Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2), Dawn Luedke (D-Dist. 7), Evan Glass (D-At-large), Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large and Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large) voted alongside Friedson and Fani-González for the legislation.
Council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large) and councilmembers Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3) and Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) voted against its passage.
Elrich has been a vocal opponent of legislation related to the package, but does not have the authority to veto or take meaningful action against zoning changes. However, he has continued to rail against the council’s July 22 decision, even though the change can’t be reversed.
The More Housing N.O.W. legislative package has been controversial among community members, with supporters praising its aim to increase the county’s housing supply and critics voicing concerns that more development would encroach on existing neighborhoods. It has also impacted and raised tension in the 2026 county executive race, in which Friedson, Jawando and Glass are candidates.
Elrich has endorsed Jawando in the race, citing in part his vocal opposition to the legislative package. Elrich must leave office when his second term ends in 2026 due to term limits, but has stated publicly that he plans to run for an at-large County Council seat. He has not yet filed candidacy paperwork, according to state elections board records.
Elrich’s approach to pushing back on the decision has been criticized by some public officials. Friedson accused him of spreading misinformation about the legislative package in a July 24 social media post.
“There’s more than enough politics of division and distraction in Washington. We don’t need it here in Montgomery County, especially not from the County Executive who’s supposed to be leading county government and rallying our community towards a better and more inclusive future,” Friedson wrote July 24 on X.
“It’s disappointing but unfortunately not surprising that the County Executive continues to spread misinformation as he attacks the [County Council] and the progress we’re making to address affordability and increase housing opportunities,” he added.
Friedson’s remarks appeared to be in response to Elrich’s July 23 virtual media briefing during which Elrich spoke against the ZTA for more than 20 uninterrupted minutes before opening the session to questions from reporters.
“[We need to] protect tenants from displacement. No plan for that. Protect homeowners and property rights, not so much. Require true affordability, totally ignored in this bill,” Elrich said during the July 23 briefing.
During Wednesday’s virtual briefing, Elrich introduced Ganesh Sitaraman, founding director of the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt law professor Christopher Serkin to discuss their analysis of zoning changes and their impact on housing markets published in May. Elrich said he invited the professors because he appreciated their view on moving beyond zoning to address the nation’s housing crisis.
“One of the things that frustrated me is people have adopted here this solution of missing middle housing and housing everywhere,” Elrich said. “We are so radically different from Arlington.”
Elrich was referencing Arlington County’s recent implementation of missing middle housing policies.
In their research paper, Serkin and Sitaraman argue that increasing zoning density may not always lead to an increased supply of affordable or market-rate housing.
“Fundamentally, our intervention is to argue that this focus on zoning is myopic. It’s just too narrow,” Serkin said. “We need to look at a broader set of problems that are producing our affordability crisis and a broader set of solutions.”
Some solutions proposed by Serkin and Sitaraman included public investment in housing projects, antimonopoly regulations, consumer protection regulations and rethinking tax policies.
“Our view is that the way we should think about zoning is how do we use this tool to build the kind of market … that we want?” Sitaraman said. “Thinking only about getting rid of minimum lot sizes doesn’t really raise all of the options.”
While the workforce housing ZTA was one of the most high-profile and controversial parts of the More Housing N.O.W. legislative package, it was the third piece of legislation related to the package that the council had approved. In March, the council approved a ZTA that expedites the process for converting office and commercial buildings into residences.
Also in March, the council approved legislation allowing tax breaks for some developers that create workforce housing units. This legislation was later vetoed by Elrich, but the council voted to overturn Elrich’s veto in late April.
The Vanderbilt professors acknowledged Wednesday that they had not looked into Montgomery County’s specific housing market or the recently passed legislative package, but said they believe any of their recommendations could be implemented in most communities throughout the country.
“Zoning reform may feel like it’s something that a government can do very quickly, and in fact, it can, but that’s not the end goal,” Serkin said. “The end goal is actually more housing, and it’s not clear that a government that steps in and very quickly enacts zoning reform is actually going to produce outcomes on the time scale that we need without more active intervention.”