FAITH ZTA Press Conference

We’re in the news for affordable housing!

AIM is excited to support the FAITH ZTA zoning measure that would allow religious congregations and nonprofits in Montgomery County to build affordable housing on their land.

On February 27, AIM’s Rev. Michael Armstrong and Yvonne Brooks-Little were featured in the county’s press conference for the bill and interviewed on 7 News. They spoke about the need for more affordable housing in our county.

In his speech at the press conference, Rev. Armstrong said:

My own daughter is struggling to purchase her first home. She graduated from Bennett College, and stayed in North Carolina for eight years working to pay down her college loans and to save for a down payment. She found multiple first-time home-owner programs and properties she could afford there. When she decided to return home to accept an upwardly mobile position as a public servant, high housing prices mean she is not mortgage ready in Maryland. Although she is a public employee with a decent salary, she has been struggling for four years to find an affordable home to purchase…

I know that some of our religious non-profit organizations are considering repurposing some of their property assets for affordable housing, but only if some of them can overcome their particular zoning challenges. This bill would go a long way towards making it financially feasible for these organizations to be part of the solution for affordable housing in our communities, and provide much more affordable housing than we could otherwise. It will also allow us to live more fully into our missions to serve the community and address a pressing need we hear again and again from the people in our pews and in our communities and neighborhoods.

We all know the need for affordable housing continues to grow, and this legislation is an effective good start to “stem the tide”. Please know our non-profit religious organizations stand ready to “roll up their sleeves” and do their part, because we continue to believe in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “global vision…of a beloved community where all people can share in the wealth of the earth and where poverty, hunger and [indeed] homelessness [should] not be tolerated.”

We will continue to support the FAITH ZTA bill and other county and state policies that create more affordable housing for our communities.