ACT Defends Attainable Housing in Anne Arundel County

Congratulations! On Monday night, the Council voted to strike down Bill 5-26, which would have weakened the Attainable Housing Act. ACT leaders stayed at the meeting until midnight to oppose the bill and defend affordable housing in Anne Arundel County. 

Excellent work to the ACT leaders who powerfully testified against the bill: Kari Alperovitz-Bichell, Katie Burke, Ariana Kidder, Jack Hogsten, and Teresa Redd.

Rev. Tim Stern also testified in support of Bill 9225, the Cottage Homes Development Ordinance.

Bill 5-26 would have carved out an exemption for an area near Severna Park Golf Center from following Attainable Housing Act’s affordable housing requirements, setting a concerning precedent.

Ariana Kidder testified, “I am a 30-year-old full-time county employee that has the incredible privilege to live in a 4-generation household owned by my parents, but I still can’t afford to live independently in Anne Arundel County and within commuting distance of my workplace, and apartment prices are only getting worse.”

Katie Burke testified, “The Housing Attainability Act of 2024 made it more possible for me and my parents, teachers and public servants, as well as members of other crucial community professions like nursing, firefighting, social work to buy homes throughout our county. I strongly oppose the precedent that this moratorium would set, to exempt themselves from countywide change in order to make sure that change would only happen “not in my backyard.”

ACT spearheaded the Attainable Housing Act in 2023 and 2024, turning out hundreds of people to support its passage. We are continuing to work to make Anne Arundel County a place where everyone can afford to live.

Read more in this Capital Gazette article.