Author: Jane Lyons

EVENT: Courageous Conversations on Housing, Land Use, and Racism
What’s the history of your neighborhood?
We’re hosting a series of courageous conversations on housing, land use, and the history of redlining and segregation in Montgomery County.
You’ll learn about how federal and local housing policy and exclusionary development practices impacted who could live where. This history continues to impact socioeconomic outcomes today. These facilitated workshops are an opportunity to learn, listen, reflect, share, and brainstorm ideas about the future of land use policy.
These workshops are free, open to the public, and will be limited to 50 participants. Please only register for one workshop to ensure that more people have an opportunity to attend. Click on the buttons below to go to the registration page for your selected event:
Saturday, August 15, 2020 @ 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The East County event is now full. You can also sign up for the waitlist!
Saturday, August 22, 2020, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The Bethesda/Chevy Chase event is now full. You can also sign up for the waitlist!
Saturday, August 29, 2020, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The Upcounty event is now full. You can also sign up for the waitlist!
All events will be held via Zoom (link and password will be sent prior to the event).

Thank you to Kaiser Permanente for sponsoring this workshop series. The workshops will be facilitated by Challenging Racism.
Images from National Archives (Mapping Segregation in Washington DC)
Testimony supporting Maryland tenant rights and protection legislation
February 18, 2020
Environment and Transportation Committee
House Office Building, Room 251
Annapolis, MD 21401
HB 744, Landlord and Tenant – Residential Leases – Tenant Rights and Protections (Tenant Protection Act) (Support)
Testimony for February 18, 2020
Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager
Thank you, Chair Barve, Vice Chair Stein, and Environment and Transportation Committee members. This testimony is on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We are in favor of HB 744, a bill that establishes long overdue basic rights for tenants.
HB 744 is an omnibus renter’s rights bill which includes a requirement that security deposits be returned within 30 days, allowance for a tenant to terminate their lease if the landlord fails to make in-unit repairs within a reasonable timeframe, and an authorization for a tenant to terminate their lease without fear of future liability in cases where they have faced harassment and stalking, and must move for their safety.
Renters are a growing population in Maryland. Currently, nearly 40 percent of residents are renters. As this trend continues, it will only become more important to ensure that Maryland’s tenant protections are of a high quality. Home is the center of life and family security – the improvements to landlord-tenant law in HB 722 can make all the difference in someone’s life and to their family.
Right now, we’re behind. Maryland ranks 32nd for tenant rights. Strong tenant protections can mean the difference between a community being welcoming and inclusive, or not. Inclusive policies that protect more vulnerable community members are especially important as neighborhoods grow and change. Tenant empowerment helps residents stay in their neighborhoods and benefit from new amenities.
This bill is part of a larger bill package called “Homes for All,” which includes two other bills: HB 1149, which creates a program to finance social housing projects, and HB 1406, which legalizes the construction of multifamily housing in neighborhoods with higher incomes, an abundance of job opportunities, and access to public transit. Fixing the lack of affordable housing is critical to Maryland’s economic competitiveness, and the three bills together will increase the supply of affordable housing, improve access jobs, and provide greater security for renters, enabling them to focus on work and improvement, and their children to have the home security they need to do well in school.
Therefore, we urge you to support HB 744 and protect the rights of nearly 40 percent of Marylanders. Thank you for your consideration.

RELEASE: CSG and partners launch a pro-transit coalition to counter Maryland’s I-495/I-270 widening
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 3, 2020
CONTACT:
Jane Lyons, Coalition for Smarter Growth
jane@smartergrowth.net | (202) 675-0016
Lindsey Mendelson, Maryland Sierra Club
lindsey.mendelson@mdsierra.org | (240) 706-7901
Maryland Advocates React to Hogan-Franchot Agreement and
Launch Coalition to Change Direction of State Transportation Policy
MARYLAND — Following today’s announcement of an agreement between Governor Hogan and Comptroller Franchot and in advance of Wednesday’s Board of Public Works vote, 18 non-profit and community advocacy organizations launched a new coalition to change the direction of state transportation policy. The groups share a concern for protecting the environment and communities, and more effectively addressing the state’s transportation problems — through transit, transit-oriented development, and demand management strategies.
Formation of Maryland Advocates for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) follows public outcry against Governor Hogan’s and former Secretary Rahn’s ill-conceived and harmful plans to expand the Capital Beltway and I-270. The outcry prompted a delay in the December Board of Public Works vote to approve a hastily revised Public-Private Partnership (P3) proposal for the highways. A premature vote is now scheduled for January 8th.
The coalition is calling on the Governor and incoming secretary to reverse course on the administration’s misguided highway expansion plan and to steer the state toward better solutions. MAST members sent a letter to Administrator Slater calling on him to change MDOT’s approach to transportation policy if he is confirmed by the Maryland Senate.
Reliable, transit and land use focused solutions — MAST supports transportation solutions that effectively address the climate crisis and our transportation problems, rather than exacerbate them. These integrated solutions include expanding reliable transit, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure; using transportation demand management; encouraging more transit-oriented land use with affordable housing; and a maintenance-first approach to road and bridge infrastructure. This approach will allow Maryland to grow without increasing driving, traffic, and greenhouse gas emissions.
MAST will support a bill to increase capital investment in the Maryland Transit Administration, which has a deferred maintenance backlog of $1.5 billion and is facing funding cuts by MDOT, and another bill that addresses the weaknesses in the state’s P3 law.
Flaws in the I-495 and I-270 proposal: MAST joins with state legislators and local elected officials and planners who have identified significant shortcomings in MDOT’s toll lanes proposal, including:
- Faulty P3 process and lack of transparency — MDOT’s P3 process for I-495 and I-270 has been flawed from the outset, including being rushed ahead of the environmental review process and the lack of objective alternatives analysis. MAST calls on MDOT to release their financial analyses, toll projections, and traffic modeling for independent review.
- Failure to account for induced demand and increased air pollution — Research and experience shows that adding highway capacity inevitably leads to more vehicles on the road and more pollution from those vehicles, with expanded highways filling-up in as few as five years. MDOT’s study fails to consider an integrated transit-oriented development, transit, and demand management alternative.
- Financial risks — The early Virginia experience shows that poorly structured P3 deals carry heavy financial risks, with taxpayers shouldering the bill when tolls cannot cover the costs of the project as planned or other problems occur.
- Environmental harm — The highway expansion proposal would take valued park land, streams, and rivers in a number of locations; exacerbate stormwater runoff; require the loss of a number of homes; and directly affect 1,000 or more private properties.
“It is unlawful to proceed in securing implementation partnerships and contracts without completion and consideration of Environmental Impact Studies and related mitigation,” said Audubon Naturalist Society Executive Director Lisa Alexander.
“Transit and walkable, transit-oriented development are not only more effective in reducing vehicle trips, they attract jobs and residents. Marriott’s move to Bethesda Metro and Amazon’s move to Crystal City/Pentagon City are a testament to the value of transit-oriented development,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth.
“Maryland has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, yet toll lanes will fuel more long-distance commuting, which increases driving, emissions, air pollution, water pollution, and traffic,” said Nancy Soreng, League of Women Voters of Maryland.
“Sustainable transportation solutions also spur more economic development and increase opportunities for socioeconomic mobility,” said Kimberly Brandt, Director of Smart Growth Maryland.
“The state must work together with local jurisdictions to find transportation solutions that are good for local residents, good for the environment, and good for Maryland taxpayers” said Brian Ditzler, Chair of Maryland Sierra Club.
Presently, 18 organizations have signed MAST’s principles statement. Follow the coalition by visiting MAST on Facebook and Twitter. A MAST website is now in development.
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Maryland Advocates for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) is a coalition of 18 non-profit and community advocacy organizations pushing for more sustainable alternatives to highway expansion. Signers of the coalition’s principles statement include: 350 Montgomery County, Audubon Naturalist Society, Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition, Bike Maryland, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Corazón Latino, Friends of Sligo Creek, Greater Farmland Civic Association, Greater Greater Washington, Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA), League of Women Voters of Maryland, Maryland Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Neighbors of the Northwest Branch, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Smart Growth Maryland, and Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
Dan Reed’s Speech to CSG’s Smart Growth Social 2019
“Good evening! My name is Dan Reed, and I’m an urban planner at Toole Design Group and writer who’s been active in this community for over a decade. first off, I want to thank all of you for being here, for taking time out of your busy days to support the Coalition for Smarter Growth and all of the hard work they’ve done over the past 20-plus years to make this region a stronger, more sustainable, more equitable place and I’d also like to thank them for having me, and for moving up tonight’s event so you’ll have a chance to watch the big game at 9pm tonight — by which I mean the High Heel Race.
“At first I was going to make a slideshow but I remembered how restless I get when there’s a speaker at events like this, so instead I’ll tell you what my slides would be about, and I’ll keep it quick.
“A few months ago I was speaking in Montgomery County and someone in the audience told me that they’re 51 years old and have lived in 34 different places in their life. I was surprised by that, but I stopped to think about it and realized that, at 31, I’ve lived in 15 different houses.
“I’ve lived in 15 different houses, in DC, in Maryland, in Pennsylvania. I’ve lived in garden apartments and high-rise apartments and a Canada Dry bottling plant converted to condominiums and a rowhouse converted to apartments and dorm rooms and a 1950s group house where we put out bowls to catch the roof leaks.
“The average walkscore is 46. The lowest walkscore was 21, in Suitland, in Prince George’s County, where I came home to after I was born. My mother bought this bright yellow townhouse in 1984 when she was 23, a bank teller with a high school degree who decided to trade in her Trans Am for a Honda Accord and head back to school. The highest was 90, in West Philadelphia, a Victorian rowhouse with a big front porch where I lived when I quit a good job and left everything and everyone I had ever known to live in a new place and go back to school myself.
“A house can be many things. It is a shelter, a container for the people and things you care about, a platform for building a life, a launchpad for hopes and dreams, a fine tether to a better life. A house can be a choice: the choice to take a risk to take a job to leave a job to start a family to step out on your own to try on a new place to return to your home town.
“A house gave my mother’s family a chance in this country when they emigrated here from the Caribbean, as my grandparents sent their thirteen children one by one to a studio apartment in a Columbia Heights still reeling from the 1968 riots. A house gave my dad a chance in this city when he moved here after college from rural North Carolina, led by an article in Black Enterprise magazine saying this was the best place for a young black person to make a life.
“A house gave my cousin a second chance when he got out of jail and put his life back together in the split-level my parents bought in Silver Spring, the same house I moved back to after school, three times, each one unemployed with nowhere to go.
“Every day people in this city in this region pour their blood sweat and tears out just to afford to live here, to build a life or a career or a family. And every day the simple goal of having a container for the people and things you care about gets farther and farther away, as prices skyrocket and as commutes lengthen.
“The median home price in DC topped $600,000 this summer, and in the surrounding counties it isn’t much better. Home prices are three times what they were in 1990, and the Urban Institute found that nearly a half million households are at risk of displacement. They say we’ll need 374,000 new homes by 2030 to meet the chronic shortage of housing, a majority of which need to be priced for low- and moderate-income households.
“Meanwhile, the obstacles seem numerous. In Maryland, Montgomery County has effectively banned new homes in its most jobs- and transit-rich communities because of schools. In Virginia, real estate speculation in anticipation of Amazon’s HQ2 has raised concerns about displacement from working-class, inside-the-Beltway neighborhoods. And as DC mayor Muriel Bowser announced a plan to place affordable housing in all eight wards, thousands of homes are tied up in lawsuits from wealthy homeowners who care more about their needs than those of the community as a whole.
“Our housing crisis – the intertwined challenges of gentrification and displacement closer in, and disinvestment and sprawl further out – is really a social crisis, an economic crisis, and an environmental crisis. Instead of giving people more choices, we’re taking them away: if you’re on a budget, your choice is to pay an impossible sum to be near friends, family, school, jobs, and all of the things that make life good, or a punishing commute to the edges of the region for something you can afford.
“And that is nothing short of a tragedy. It shouldn’t be a luxury to have a place to live in a neighborhood where you can walk and bike safely, access your daily needs, send your kids to decent schools, and be near the people you care about. Not that long ago, it wasn’t a luxury here.
“Just as I learned of the stories how my family came to this area, I’ve watched as friends and family leave for places where life just seems easier. Many of my relatives have left the region, or are planning to. Our family friends raised a family in Prince George’s County and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina because their kids couldn’t afford to raise families here, and they didn’t want to miss out on their grandchildren.
“That’s why the work CSG does is so important. Each day, the hard working staff of this organization fights to make this region a place where people can afford to stay in the communities they care about, where people aren’t trapped in polluting, unhealthy car commutes, where our region can properly be the engine of social and economic opportunity that draws people from around the country and around the world to make their dreams come true. And they have built a community of supporters around this work.
“CSG has supported me throughout my career, going all the way back to 2012 when they graciously gave me a scholarship to travel to California to attend a transit conference. Over the past seven years, I’ve had the pleasure to work with Stewart, Cheryl, Jane, and many other current and former CSG staff who I all count among my friends, fighting for better transit, safer streets, affordable housing, and strong, accessible, diverse neighborhoods that give people – my people, my friends, my family – the chance to stay here.
“Fingers crossed, in three days my partner and I will be closing on house number 16, a townhome in East Silver Spring, where we’ll be close to our jobs (walking distance no less) and to all of the people we care about. For a long time I’d assumed it would never happen, that we would inevitably end up somewhere else, that every neighbor or elected official who railed against new people and new homes was a message that were didn’t belong here anymore, in the place where we grew up. I’m glad that I was wrong. I’m glad that we get to keep up the fight for everyone else who feels they don’t have a place here anymore, and I’m glad that CSG is here to keep up that fight. Thank you again, I hope you have a great night, and go Nats!”

CSG & partners call for progressive MCDOT director appointee
A copy of the letter below was sent on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 to the Montgomery County Council and County Executive. The PDF can be found here.
Dear Council President Navarro and County Councilmembers:
We thank and commend Al Roshdieh, the departing Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) Director, for his public service and the commitment he has shown to promoting sustainable, safe, multimodal transportation options. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
When considering an appointee for Mr. Roshdieh’s successor, we urge the Council to ensure that the next MCDOT director is a leader in implementing modern transit, green and complete streets that are safe for all users, and transit-oriented development. The next director must be committed to achieving the county’s Vision Zero and climate goals, reducing vehicle miles traveled, and making major shifts in mode share to transit, walking, and bicycling. We also believe the next director should pledge to be a frequent transit user.
Specifically, we ask that the next director be committed to the following priorities:
- Hold MCDOT accountable to the county’s Vision Zero initiative.
People want to safely bike and walk in Montgomery County. However, in 2019 alone, more than 300 people have been injured or killed due to inadequate pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and the prioritization of cars on our roadways. This is up 14 percent since 2018, with 38 percent of crashes on county roads. Since the Vision Zero resolution was passed in 2017, at least 50 people have died.
MCDOT is the lead agency on many of the most critical pieces of the county’s Vision Zero initiative, and it is the responsibility of the director to hold the department accountable to those goals. This requires tough choices that will substantially cut traffic fatalities, such as remaking arterials and roads into streets that encourage walking and biking through road diets, including protected bicycle lanes, fewer and narrower vehicle lanes, tighter turn radii, pedestrian refuges, bumpouts and well-marked crosswalks and other infrastructure improvements.
Vision Zero implementation should be especially prioritized around schools, where children are at high risk of injury or death simply when trying to walk or bike to school. In addition, providing safe pedestrian and bicycle access to future Purple Line stations, and during construction, is essential. We also hope that the new MCDOT director will collaborate with the Planning Department to implement the Bicycle Master Plan and forthcoming Pedestrian Master Plan.
- Commit to implementing the county’s planned bus rapid transit (BRT) network in a timely manner.
The groundbreaking of BRT on Route 29 and funding for preliminary engineering of BRT on MD-355 and Veirs Mill Road are steps in the right direction. MCDOT must continue to prioritize the creation of a gold standard BRT network. We need a visionary BRT system that addresses the county’s economic development, social equity, and greenhouse gas emission reduction challenges.
When designing BRT, MCDOT must prioritize dedicated lanes; off-board fare collection; frequent, reliable service; and stations with real-time travel information. These standards are essential for generating high ridership, improving the commutes of all users, and creating a key economic asset. Phase 1 of the planned BRT network alone is projected to bring in over $871 million in net fiscal revenue over 25 years.
- Maintain and expand transit opportunities through RideOn and external collaboration.
Ride On has the second highest ridership of any suburban bus system in the country at over 22 million trips in 2017. MCDOT been innovative through programs like Ride On Extra, and can build upon those successes. We encourage the next director to support a redesign and upgrade of the combined Ride On and WMATA bus network to ensure service is frequent, reliable, equitable, and customer-focused. There may also be opportunities to better integrate with other transit services, like MetroRail, MARC, BRT, MetroBus, and TheBus.
The director will need to collaborate and coordinate with outside agencies to effectively expand transit opportunities, such as BRT routes and road diets on state roads and the construction of new Metro entrances. Transit opportunities will not grow without close collaboration with such agencies as the Maryland State Highway Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
- Further the county’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2035.
MCDOT must work to meet the mobility needs of residents throughout the county with environmental sustainability in mind. Meeting the county’s climate change goals requires transportation projects and programs that promote sustainable transportation options. Moreover, MCDOT should not support highway expansion projects, such as Mid-County Highway Extended, which incentivize single-occupancy vehicle trips and damage the natural environment. Finally, the director should strive to move all MCDOT vehicles towards electrification and continue to increase electric vehicle infrastructure.
In conclusion, the next director should have as a key objective creating a transportation system that supports the environment and people. We recognize that for the future director to implement these priorities, MCDOT requires support from the operating and capital budgets passed by the County Council. Therefore, we also call on the County Council to prioritize funding for these crucial projects.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Signed,
Jeffrey Weisner
President, Steering Committee
350 Montgomery County
Denisse Guitarra
MD Conservation Advocate
Audubon Naturalist Society
Julio Murillo
Government & Strategic Relations Specialist
CASA
Jane Lyons
Maryland Advocacy Manager
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Barbara Noveau
Executive Director
DoTheMostGood Montgomery County
Diane Hibino, Kathy McGuire
Co-Presidents
League of Women Voters of Montgomery County
Walter Weiss
Administrator
Montgomery County Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
Michael DeLong
President
Montgomery County Young Democrats
Shruti Bhatnagar
Chair
Sierra Club, Montgomery County Group
Maurice Belanger
President
Takoma Park Mobilization
Johanna Wermers
Transportation Representative
The Climate Mobilization
Margaret Schoap
Organizer
Transit Alternatives to Mid-County Extended
Greg Billing
Executive Director
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
CC: County Executive Marc Elrich
Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Montgomery_County_Transit_Ride_On_2017_Gillig_LF_Advantage_Diesel.jpg

Coalition Re-releases Fairfax Healthy Communities Platform
Coalition for Smarter Growth, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, Audubon Naturalist Society, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Friends of Accotink Creek, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Potomac Conservancy, Friends of Dyke Marsh, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action, Fairfax County NAACP
Fairfax Healthy Communities: Sustainable, Inclusive, Livable
A Joint Vision for Fairfax County in 2019
We support a vision for Fairfax County that is sustainable, inclusive, and livable and urge candidates for local and state office in Fairfax County to support this vision and to commit to the implementation steps necessary to make this vision a reality.
We share a vision for Fairfax County where the County commits to:
- Providing housing opportunities for people of all incomes, ages, and stages of life in every district in the county, investing in improving affordable housing and access to opportunity in communities where there are concentrations of poverty, and fostering greater racial and economic integration in single-family, low-poverty neighborhoods.
- Ensuring transit, walking, bicycling and other modes of active transportation are well-funded, safe, convenient and accessible for people of all ages, giving residents more choices and reducing traffic congestion.
- Creating vibrant, mixed-use, mixed-income transit-oriented communities which provide a range of housing choices and employment opportunities, while reducing vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled.
- Fighting climate change by dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, transportation and other sources.
- Restoring watersheds to ensure clean drinking water and healthier ecosystems.
- Expanding parks and trail networks.
- Ensuring access for all to affordable health care and healthy local food.
- Taking specific steps to realize its One Fairfax commitment to racial and social equity, community involvement, and the 17 goals laid out in the One Fairfax policy.
A sustainable, inclusive, healthy, competitive, and fiscally sustainable future for Fairfax requires a fundamental shift in land use, transportation, housing and energy policies toward walkable, mixed-use, mixed-income, and transit-oriented and green energy communities, and the full engagement of the community in achieving this future.
Signed:
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance
Audubon Naturalist Society
Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling
Friends of Accotink Creek
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Potomac Conservancy
Friends of Dyke Marsh
Audubon Society of Northern Virginia
Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action
Fairfax County NAACP
* The above signatories are 501(c)(3) organizations. This platform is strictly educational and is being shared with all candidates and the public. By law, our organizations are strictly prohibited from participating in, or intervening in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

Smart Growth Social 2019: Join us Oct. 29, buy your tickets now!
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 @ 6:30 PM – 9 PM
Eastern Market North Hall, 225 7th St SE, Washington, DC 20003
Buy your tickets here!
You can also join our Host Committee ($250 donation) when you register.
We also offer individual and corporate sponsorships, view our sponsorship guide, and please contact Stewart Schwartz at stewart@smartergrowth.net.
The Smart Growth Social is the Coalition for Smarter Growth’s most popular party of the year! A fundraiser to celebrate the smart growth supporters and urbanists who embody the smart growth movement in our region, this annual event (now in its seventh year) attracts over 250 of the best and brightest urbanists, community activists and advocates, and professionals from across public service, urban planning, and transportation in the DC region.
With refreshments from DC’s craft beer scene and food from local eateries, there’s so much to enjoy about Smart Growth Social.
