By Mark F. Gray
Staff Writer
mgray@afro.com
Metro’s Purple Line rail plan was created to ease traffic congestion for residents and commuters in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties; yet it could be painful for 17,000 homes that are affordable to families earning less than $70,000 per year. However, the Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC), a public-private-community collaboration between those municipalities, recently announced its recommendations for preserving housing affordability along the 16-mile Purple Line light rail’s planned route when it is completed in 2023.
The Housing Action Plan, which was developed by the PLCC’s Housing Action Goal Team, outlines 12 specific recommendations to work within the parameters of existing policies hoping to ensure that individuals and families of all income levels benefit from the rail line’s expansion. This is of particular significance to the impacted community where PLCC states almost 70 percent of the 170,000 people who live along the corridor are of color, with half of the households earning less than $70,000 annually.
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC) announced its recommendations for preserving housing affordability along the 16-mile Purple Line light rail’s planned route, due to be completed in 2023. (Courtesy Photo)
PLCC is recommending that developing tenant protections and increasing their accessibility to home ownership is vital to the stability of the community. The Housing Action Plan asserts that without “concerted investment,” homes along the Purple Line corridor will ultimately become unaffordable for the individuals and families who reside in the area. The report claims that state funding and public/ private investment options must be explored to promote housing affordability and economic opportunity along the Purple Line Corridor.
“Those 17,000 households are renters and we know they don’t have the protection from market forces,” Enterprise Community Partner Vice President David Bowers said. “We need protections in place that will keep those residents from being forced out,” he added.
The authors also suggest establishing tax and loan programs, along with incentives geared toward affordable housing, development, renovation and preservation of dwellings that already exist, in order to retain and create more diversity opportunities for ownership. It hopes to ensure there is a diverse mix of housing options by creating programs to rehabilitate those that need repair and preserving homes that are currently affordable. Those two options would reduce the barriers to developing mixed-income culturally diverse neighborhoods.
The 16-mile, 21-station Purple Line is now under construction and projected to open for service by early 2023. Evidence from other regions where new transit lines have opened demonstrate that home values, rents and land speculation can increase rapidly after service starts, bringing opportunity to some and displacing others.
The recommendations in the Housing Action Plan were developed through a series of listening sessions and focus groups with residents, small businesses and other stakeholders; a region-wide housing survey; research into existing work conducted by both counties in updating regulations and policy; and examination of other transit-oriented development case studies across the country.
Bowers added that PLCC stretches a “broad tent of advocacy for people of color” as the Purple Line project comes to fruition. He is encouraged that Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties and the community developers are working in concert to preserve the culture and the existing number of minority owned businesses.
“But we must remain vigilant to make sure the public and private sectors continue to work together and reach the goals while keeping the protections in place,” he said.