Reason 9: To increase housing affordability

As land is consumed by larger houses, stores, and office parks, the supply of affordable housing and business space shrinks, increasing the cost of living and doing business in Maryland. Many moderate income workers, not to mention lower income workers, cannot afford to live in the communities or even in the counties where they work. In much of Central Maryland, housing and transportation costs are unaffordable when compared against standard benchmarks. For example, the percent of home sales in Maryland that were affordable to the State's teachers declined from 41 to 26 percent between 2002 and 2008.

Percent of Housing Sales Affordable by County Teachers in 2008

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