Liberal Maryland town at war over plan to help middle-class homebuyers, with residents 'screaming at each other'

A leafy liberal town has erupted into intense debate after plans were announced to allow denser, multi-family homes in single-family neighborhoods. 

Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, introduced a plan in June of this year to allow denser housing in certain areas of the country. 

The plan, named the Attainable Housing Strategies, hopes to allow duplexes, and in some cases triplexes and quadplexes, in areas restricted to single-family homes. 

It would also permit townhouses and small apartment buildings to be constructed along major corridors and near transit hubs. 

Proponents say it is required to prevent home prices from getting further out of reach for the middle-class, but residents see it as a threat to their communities. 

Tensions came to a head last month after a packed out meeting to discuss the plans inside the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. 

The meeting, attended by The Washington Post, was made up largely of angry locals who are against the move. 

Opponents handed out notices with 'Press Pause to Montgomery County Re-Zoning' and fliers with images of Pinocchio on them, according to the outlet. 

Instructions handed over with the image of the fictional character advised: 'Raise this sign when you hear a lie from a government official.'

The school's former PTA president Lyric Winik accused officials of trying to push through the plans while rejecting concerns from locals.

She raised points about how it might overcrowd schools, cause an overtax on utilities, make parking harder and ultimately change the character of the area. 

In remarks the outlet said were received to 'thunderous applause', she stressed: 'That’s why this room feels like a battle.

'If you as public servants do not change course, the question will not be how can people live here, but why would anyone want to?'

Her concerns were addressed by Council President Andrew Friedson who reminded those gathered that extensive public input would be undertaken. 

Local resident Maddie Kapur, who supports the move, said that those against it should consider others who can't afford to live in the area. 

She said: 'I would also just ask all my neighbors to really think about personal values, if you think of yourself as somebody that values justice and you’re trying to keep people out of your community.'

As she spoke, the outlet reported that she was heckled by another woman who yelled at her before she was then drowned out by booing. 

Following this, a local man warned: 'This is a radical change that will be the death of single-family communities', which was welcomed by the audience. 

Supporters of the plan say that Montgomery County has become unaffordable, with the average detached single-family home selling for around $1 million. 

By allowing developers to build a quadplex, they hope to increase the housing supply and to halt a shortage that would push prices up. 

Opponents say the plan will lower the property values by bringing down the desirability of the neighborhoods. 

Steve Cohen, a retired naval architect, told the Washington Post: 'It's really a betrayal of the single-family homeowner.

'It destabilizes the community and it makes the homeowners pay the price. Every homeowner has a basic expectation that there's going to be stability in their home price. This is going to destroy all that.'

County Planning Director Jason Sartori and County Executive Marc Elrich have both butted heads over the plans. 

Elrich strongly opposes the idea, but does not oversee Sartori's department and has no official stance on whether it is approved. 

Sartori told the outlet: 'People talk about what it’s going to do to their neighborhood: "All of a sudden we’ll have duplexes and triplexes".

'And you know, these neighborhoods exist already around us. And they don't even realize it. And they would never describe these neighborhoods as undesirable.'

According to the local planning department around 200 properties are tore down every year. 

If a small portion of those are built into multiplexes rather than expensive homes worth millions, the county will maintain a stream of modestly prices homes. 

Elrich argues that the development risks pushing out lower-income residents of color. 

He told the outlet: 'If I know I'm displacing people by a housing policy and I know they've got nowhere to go, I'd say it's pretty racist.

'In my opinion, you’ve got a bunch of New Urbanists who think this is a city and they hate suburbs and this is their opportunity to try to turn this into city-type density.'

As the debate continues to heat up, a petition has been set up by Jennifer Lavorel, who works with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

She launched the petition to 'protect single-family zoning in Montgomery County, it has gathered over 1,500 signatures. 

Others have created a Press Pause website with the heading 'Love Your MoCo Neighborhood??? The County Council is about to change it...Forever.' 

Council President Friedson, who has not committed to any details of the plan, has hinted that the legislation that the council will eventually vote on might not be as vast as the recommendations initially put forward. 

He told the outlet: 'There’s a lot of room between doing nothing and doing everything that the planning board has recommended. I don't think it's easy to hear, when people are screaming at each other.'