Olszewski Issues Executive Order to Support Efforts to Address Attainable Housing Shortage in Baltimore County

TOWSON – In recognition of Baltimore County’s commitment to create equitable and attainable housing opportunities for residents, County Executive Johnny Olszewski today issued an executive order requiring that new housing developments receiving County financial support must include affordable housing units.
 
According to the executive order, any new or preservation development projects receiving County discretionary financial support – including loans, grants, payments-in-lieu of taxes, tax credits, TIFs, and bonds – are required to designate a percentage of units as affordable housing and set them aside to be preserved at specific income thresholds. The order requires that 20 percent of units must be set aside for affordable units; 10 percent for households at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 10 percent for households below 80 percent.
 
“Access to high quality, affordable housing should be a fundamental right. Leaders have an obligation to do whatever they can to create attainable housing opportunities that allow residents to put down roots and join vibrant neighborhoods,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “This executive order builds on our successful market-based, mixed-income approach to housing, and ensures that publicly funded developments assist in addressing our moral and legal obligation to provide housing that meet the needs of families at all income levels.”
 
The executive order is an instrument to tackle the current housing crisis by ensuring that a number of new or existing housing units will be accessible to critical parts of Baltimore County’s workforce including teachers, public safety personnel, retail and service workers. Private developers can proceed with projects without attainable housing options, but they will not be eligible for financial assistance from the County.
 
“Good housing matters,” said Brian McLaughlin, Maryland’s former Assistant Secretary for Neighborhood Revitalization within the Department of Housing and Community Development and inaugural CEO of Enterprise Community Development, “and regardless of what stage in life we find ourselves, we still need good housing. In calling upon developers to help figure this out – how to make our housing better serve our full community – Baltimore County has raised the bar and said use of public funds means you will also be part of the innovation and trailblazing needed to move our region forward for everyone.”
 
Brian McLaughlin, Maryland’s former Assistant Secretary for Neighborhood Revitalization within the Department of Housing & Community Development and the inaugural CEO credited with leading a platform merger across three companies to create Maryland’s and of the country’s 10 largest nonprofit affordable housing providers – Enterprise Community Development – sees the action as the form of public/private partnership urgently needed today
 
Under the 2016 Conciliation Agreement and Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) between Baltimore County and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Baltimore County committed to supporting and incentivizing the creation of 1,000 affordable rental housing units before March 2028. To date, 908 units have been approved.
 
This is the latest effort from the Olszewski administration to improve access to quality housing in Baltimore County. In his first year in office, the Olszewski administration secured passage of the HOME Act, ending housing discrimination by source of income and helping to pave the way for similar statewide legislation in 2020.

In May 2021, Olszewski created Baltimore County’s first dedicated Department of Housing and Community Development to centralize Baltimore County’s housing efforts and streamline planning for key outcomes. In 2023, the administration secured the passage of a foundational package of housing legislation including the creation of the Housing Opportunities Fund, establishment of a definition in County Code of “vacant structure”, adjusting zoning regulations to allow more creative ways to create affordable homeownership opportunities, and modernizing the County’s Accessible Dwelling Unit statute.
 
Additionally, the administration developed the groundbreaking and award-winning Master Plan 2030, a model framework for future sustainable growth; created the public-facing vacant property portal, which to date has documented over 500 vacant properties, and encouraged developers to utilize the portal to revitalize vacant structures and create new housing opportunities; and further incentivized vacant properties to move from vacancy towards occupancy by establishing penalties for owners of vacant structures.
 
Earlier this year, Olszewski, in partnership with MCB Real Estate announced the largest attainable housing deal in County history, preserving 460 housing units of attainable housing at three multi-family properties in Baltimore County in Nottingham, Parkville and Sparrows Point for up to 40 years. 
 
According to data compiled by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Community Development Network of Maryland, Baltimore County has more than 50,000 households paying more than 30% of their income on rent. “These are people who live in Baltimore County; workers in offices, hospitals and retail establishments, older adults living on social security and disability income trying to make ends meet, and the market alone will not address their needs,” said Community Development Network of Maryland Executive Director Claudia Wilson Randall. “We need to build a county with opportunities for everyone and we applaud County Executive Olszewski for issuing this much-needed order.”

The full text of the Executive Order is available here.