Housing Advocacy

ADVOCACY FOR INCLUSIVE HOUSING

The MIH Board and Executive Director will attempt to influence funding and legislation to enhance funding and access to affordable and accessible housing for adults with developmental disabilities. These activities might involve testifying before elected officials, speaking to elected officials, or providing other information and resources to educate them about the benefits and impact of affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities. It would not include any activities related to political campaigns, taking positions in elections, or endorsing officials for election.

BALTIMORE CITY
In Baltimore City, MIH is working with the Baltimore City Inclusionary Housing Committee to pass a bill (22-0195) that would require at least 10% of units in many apartment buildings to be set aside for affordable housing and put extra requirements on apartments that get tax subsidies. The bill would also provide developers who comply with the affordable housing requirement with an additional 15% tax credit on top of existing subsidies that go to builders of market-rate housing. The bill is sponsored by Councilmember Odette Ramos, who introduced it at a City Council meeting in March of 2023.

HOWRD COUNTY
MIH is also currently working with the Howard County Affordable Housing Coalition (HCHAC) to achieve community understanding, policy making and regulatory decisions that will lead to an increase in and equitable access to Howard County affordable housing.

In April of 2023, County Executive Ball proposed $10 million in funding for the Howard County Housing Opportunities. Trust Fund in his FY24 budget – a 50% increase from last year’s budget. This comes on the heels of a 2022 Ball announcement, in which he introduced an investment of $5 million to create the Trust Fund. The transformational fund, the first of its kind in Howard County, will be administered by the county Department of Housing and Community Development and will be used to assist first-time home buyers; develop, preserve, and rehab affordable housing in Howard County; and increase affordability for low-income households.

The additional funding needs to be approved by a 7-member Housing Opportunities Trust Fund Advisory Committee, that will review applications, make funding recommendations to the Housing and Community Development Board and make recommendations to the County Executive about future funding needs.

The HCHAC has created a petition to the County Council: HoCo by Design Must Address Our Housing Crisis which addresses the coalition’s master plan and will be submitted at the June 14 public hearing.