Image by Dan Reed.

Weekly, Regional Policy Director Dan Reed and DC Policy Director Alex Baca will share with you an action you can take in the immediate future that has the potential, sometimes great and sometimes small, to increase the number of homes in our region, decrease the trips people take by car, make all of it safer, and not screw people over in the process. This week: DC’s budget is out; tell the Maryland Senate you support Moore Housing; it’s Dan’s birthday; and reflections on the Key Bridge.

If you have any questions, email dreed@ggwash.org about Maryland and Virginia Do Somethings, and abaca@ggwash.org about Washington, DC, Do Somethings—or, about whatever you want to talk about.

DC

On the train this morning, I was reading the Washington Post’s praise for Governor Wes Moore’s handling of the fallout from the Key Bridge crash. Watching the video of the Dali slam into the bridge was unsettling, bizarre, and shocking. I’ve brought up before here that I grew up in Anne Arundel County, mostly with regard to Moore Housing: The exclusionary land-use regulations of where I am from informs the work I do today, so I’ve been eagerly cheering Dan on from DC in their work in the Maryland general assembly. Being from Anne Arundel County, with a family from Baltimore, means, too, that I’ve crossed the Key Bridge many, many times.

As a kid, I called it the “K bridge,” because its structural supports looked like the letter to me, and during middle-school summers at sailing camp, it was considered a feat if your group was able to take your J/22 out of the harbor, under the bridge, and back. Shortly after I got my license, I went out of my way to drive over it, alone. I grew up on a river, and Maryland’s a small state; you’re bound to cross the water at some point, so bridges aren’t an outstanding thrill, even for a 16-year-old with a pop-punk mixtape and the novelty of their own car. But they do feel indelible, and the weight of what comes after it is evident that one is not has greatly occupied my thoughts—to the point that I didn’t realize that I was tearing up while reading the Post piece. The workers who lost their lives, and their families, may have had a different journey to living in Maryland than my own, but we resided close to each other, which I won’t soon forget.

Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed FY25 budget is out. I’m currently processing it, and will be watching the council briefing on it today. What I’ve gleaned so far is that the District’s additional $200 million contribution to WMATA is funded by a sales tax, which, eh. Sales taxes are a common way to fund transit in the United States, but I don’t like them much for this purpose. All taxes are volatile, but sales taxes are the most volatile, and volatility is quite undesirable when the thing you are funding is infrastructure with a lot of deferred capital maintenance. And there are, of course, the cuts: There’s something squirrely going on with the Housing Production Trust Fund, but I can’t quite figure out what.

I’ll have a recap of the budget training I gave on Monday out shortly, though you can see the slides here. Check the dates of agency budget hearings here—notably, the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Housing Production Trust Fund’s hearing is Monday, April 22, from 9:30 am–6:00 pm; the Office of Planning and Office of Zoning’s is Wednesday, April 24, from 9:00 am–6:00 pm; the District Department of Transportation’s is Tuesday, April 30, from 9:30 am–6:00 pm. Use the council’s calendar to sign up to testify or stream hearings. —AB

Maryland

First: Thanks for coming to my birthday happy hour in Riverdale Park last Thursday–and special thanks to my buddy John, general manager at Denizens Brewing Company celebrating a birthday of his own this week, for hosting us! Also check me and my dog out on Fox 5 DC, talking about the Prince George’s County shelter (speaking in my role as board member for PB Proud). Drizzy stuck his giant snoot in the camera, and I’m very proud of him.

I was born Easter Sunday, April 3, 1988 and today, Wednesday, I am inexplicably 36. The Easter story is about rebirth but (for me, perhaps because it coincided with Trans Day of Visibility this year) it’s also a story about how non-linear and persistent change can be.

Half a life ago as a freshman at UMD, I assumed I would just dematerialize before I grew up: I knew very few queer adults, and being out still meant catcalls, slurs, and physical threats. Now each passing year feels like extra innings. There was a time when I could not imagine a safe, happy adulthood, so now I get to define what that looks like, picking up little bits and pieces of myself as I find them.

What a gift it is to be able to do that. One of the six men who lost their lives in the Key Bridge collapse was about to celebrate his birthday, too. Two days prior I was in Baltimore at a funeral for a friend who suddenly lost her partner at a young age. Afterwards, I went for a walk to clear my head and thought about taking the long way home and driving over the Key Bridge, because I don’t think I’ve ever been on it. I should have. The biggest parts of ourselves are temporary too.

Deep breath: this week, the Senate takes up the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act, aka Moore Housing, aka House Bill 538. There’s a compromise that could restore part of a provision allowing more types of homes in single-family zones that the House stripped out before they passed the bill last week. I’ve been hopeful all weekend, thinking about the possibilities of unlocking the potential to build much-needed homes across the state. But the clock could easily run out–Governor Moore extended the session, but only to work out the budget–the bill dies, we start over again in January.

It’s not unusual for new bills to take years of stops and starts to pass. The idea that Maryland would embrace statewide zoning reform–or that I might have any role in it–seemed impossible just a year ago, and what a gift it is to be here. On the other hand: it *is* my birthday. A little housing legislation isn’t too much to ask for, right?

If you have a few minutes: the best thing you can do for the Governor’s housing bill this week is to simply remind our senators that you support this bill. Don’t write them a book. Don’t ask them to do anything other than vote for it. Just tell them you support House Bill 538 and urge them to pass it this session.

Image by the author.

Finally: big news in Montgomery County this week, where the County Council approved a long-term plan to redevelop an old hospital in Takoma Park and will allow nonprofits and faith communities to build affordable housing on their land. We’re especially grateful to Council Vice President Kate Stewart for spearheading that effort—and thanks to all of you who wrote in or testified on both of them!—DR

Virginia

Don’t forget: We’re endorsing in the Democratic primary for the open County Board seat in Arlington, for Alexandria mayor (also open), and for Alexandria City Council, which has two open seats. Keep an eye out for more information on that–and if you’re a registered candidate or planning to file by the April 4 deadline, let me know at dreed [at] ggwash [dot] org so I can make sure to send you our questionnaire.—DR

Your support of GGWash enables us, Dan and Alex, to do our jobs. Our jobs are knowing how development and planning works in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. If it’s appropriate to take action to advance our goals, which we hope you share, we can let you know what will have the most impact, and how to do it well. You can make a financial contribution to GGWash here–and don’t forget to buy your tickets for the Sweet Sixteen April 30 at Pearl Street Warehouse!