June 17, 2020
Media Contact:
Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County launched the Housing Opportunities Master Plan public survey for residents to complete online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/MD69JH8. The survey will be used by the Housing Opportunities Master Plan Task Force to assist in the development of recommendations for the Housing Opportunities Master Plan for Howard County. All responses to this survey are anonymous.
“Last fall, we launched the Housing Opportunities Master Plan Task Force to evaluate housing in Howard County for the first time in over a decade,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. “As our region continues to grow, it is critical that we have a better understanding of how to preserve housing opportunities for all ages, abilities, and income levels and create a Master Plan that will improve the quality of life for all residents. I encourage our community to participate and share the survey with their neighbors, businesses, organizations, and community groups, so our Task Force is equipped with a wide scope of feedback.”
The Housing Opportunities Master Plan will assess housing programs and policies in all County government departments and agencies to improve efficiency and effectiveness, identify ways to create and preserve housing opportunities for residents of all ages, abilities, and income levels, and provide metrics and timelines to measure progress towards achieving goals in the plan.
The Task Force has compiled some key findings based on research to date, including:
- The region is growing as new jobs are created, and these jobs are bringing more workers to the area than the amount of new housing that is being built.
- Howard County is more affluent than many of its neighbors, with more families and middle-aged households. This dynamic is partially created by its housing supply and then reinforced by limited new supply additions.
- The vast majority of low- and moderate-income households are spending more than 30% of their incomes on housing, and these cost burdens are disproportionately felt by diverse populations.
- The types of households that are underserved by the market today are economically and demographically diverse, and all require a greater amount and diversity of housing than what exists in Howard County today.