Dear Friends,
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| Rendering of the WMATA HQ at New Carrollton |
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Yesterday evening I hosted a community meeting for Urban Atlantic to share with residents who live near the New Carrollton Metro station an update about proposed developments, including the new WMATA Headquarters.
The New Carrollton Plan, adopted in May 2010, envisioned "the New Carrollton Metropolitan Center [as] a premier destination in the region..." and Plan 2035, the County's General Plan adopted in May 2014, identified New Carrollton as a regional transit district and one of three "Downtown Prince George's" for strategic investment.
With The Remy, DHCD, and 2U on the north side; Kaiser Permanente open, The Stella multi-family building being built now, and the WMATA headquarter's ground-breaking anticipated in the fall on the south side, this decade-long vision is becoming a reality.
Fiscal Year 2021 budget discussions have begun. I urge you to make your voice heard throughout the budget process.
Tonight,
Thursday, February 20, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks will host a listening session so residents can provide their
input as she finalizes her FY2021 budget. This Budget Listening Session will take place on from
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at
Prince George's Community College - Rennie Forum,
301 Largo Road, L
argo. Learn more or register to speak here.
On Tuesday, February 25, at 7:00 p.m. the County Council will hold a Town Hall Meeting on the Budget Process. This forum will also take place at Prince George's Community College, but in the Largo Student Center, Second Floor, Community Rooms A & B.
During this forum you will learn more about the County's fiscal outlook as well as the process for Council review and adoption of the Fiscal Year 2021 budget.
The County Executive will transmit her proposed budget to the Council on or before March 15. The Council will spend most of March, April, and May reviewing each agency's proposed budget in committee work sessions then will hold budget public hearings in late April and early May. The Council is required to approve the Fiscal Year 2021 budget by June 1, with the new fiscal year beginning on July 1.
For the past eight months, I have had the honor of co-chairing the
Housing Opportunities for All Workgroup
with Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development Director Estella Alexander.
The Housing Opportunities for All (HOFA) Workgroup, established by
Council Resolution-16- 2019
, is charged with assisting the County with setting priorities and implementing the
Comprehensive Housing Strategy Report
entitled
"Housing Opportunity for All"
for Prince George's County.
The purpose of the HOFA Workgroup is to provide advice on any proposed legislation and/or changes for consideration by the County to the County's policies, regulations, procedures, and distribution of County resources.
Developing an effective housing policy, comprised of strategies that develop housing for all, benefits the healthy, social and economic development of the entire County.
I'm incredibly proud of the extensive and detailed work the HOFA Workgroup has accomplished already thanks to the robust participation we have received from workgroup members and interested individuals and organizations from the public and private sectors.
The HOFA Workgroup has made four recommendations for the Prince George's County Council and County Executive:
1. Increase the County's Housing Investment Trust Fund (HITF)
2. Establish stronger, market-informed inclusionary housing requirements
3. Strengthen the County's and partners' ability to purchase affordable rental properties at risk of converting to market-rate housing (i.e., right-of-first refusal provisions)
4. Create a land bank to support redevelopment of abandoned residential properties (or expand powers granted to the Redevelopment Authority to provide the same function).
I very much look forward to the Council working with the County Executive and our community to address these recommendations through legislation and the FY2021 budget process.
In addition to my work with the Housing Opportunities for All Workgroup, I am extremely involved in initiatives to ensure no net loss of affordable housing along the Purple Line alignment through the
Purple Line Corridor Coalition and AIHC with Kaiser Permanente. Through concerted effort between public and private entities I believe we can grow our market rate housing options while retaining affordable workforce housing for residents and seniors in the Purple Line corridor. Learn more about and read the Purple Line Corridor Coalition's Housing Action Plan
here.
As always, feel free to reach out to a member of my District 3 team or me if we can help you in any way. #onlytogether
Together Strengthening Our Community,
