In Montgomery County, MD, a great deal of attention is being focused on a possible zoning requirement for multifamily developers to make a certain share of their new housing affordably priced. An affordable housing inclusionary requirement currently applies to only single-family builders in the county.
Once demand for a multifamily council is found, Matlick recommends looking “for someone in the association with energy and an interest in diversifying into multifamily if the regulatory barriers come down.”
She notes that, “Forming a council will broaden your membership base.” And in markets where there is activity in multifamily renovation, Matlick suggests that participation from remodelers will complete the picture.
Tom Farasy, of Mid-City Financial, Silver Spring, MD — who has chaired the council since 1999 — says that it is important for the structure of the council to meet the needs of its members.
His council meets only nine times a year, for one hour tops.
Some of the meetings are site tours of high-rise, garden, luxury, affordable, condo or rental housing with an unusual feature. For example, the council recently toured Summit Grand Parc in downtown D.C., which has the country’s first fully automated parking facility.
On the tours, council members have the opportunity to ask the developer or team leader “the hard questions,” says Farasy, such as what he would have done differently and what are the concerns or objections being raised by residents or prospective residents.
Other meetings bring in outside speakers. A recent speaker from Richmond, VA, discussed creating storm water ponds on building roofs. Experts from the NAHB Research Center came to talk about mold.
“And our biggest attendance ever was for a program with an expert from a sprinkler company after the company had recalled a widely-used product,” Farasy said. “We had plenty of questions for that speaker.”
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