Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) promotes and preserves homeownership through housing policies and creates community development initiatives that support the needs of the state. DHCD offers a number of programs that help low-income families purchase homes or secure affordable housing, and maintains a portfolio of community development and revitalization programs that help Maryland's towns and cities thrive.
A high quality of life for service members and their families is key to supporting military readiness; this includes the quality of housing. Service members and their families deal with frequent relocations; therefore, it is important that defense communities offer stability and support services for day-to-day life and quality housing for military families who are looking for off-base housing or other privatized living options. DHCD's array of programs are applicable to Maryland's military families and defense communities looking to support affordable housing for military service members.
DHCD's
Neighborhood Revitalization Division hosts a portfolio of loan, grant, and technical assistance programs with the goal of helping local governments, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations reinvest in and revitalize their communities. These programs offer a wide range of opportunities and options for communities surrounding military installations looking to diversify community offerings and amenities for base personnel. Additionally, DHCD's
Community Development Administration is specifically focused on providing single and multifamily housing and finance resources for home seekers.
DHCD plays a key supporting role in implementing the recommendations of the
2019 Statewide Joint Land Use Response Implementation Strategy related to housing and quality of life to support community and military compatibility.
Compatibility Factors relevant to the Department of Housing and Community Development: Coordination/Communication, Legislative Initiatives
Relevant Programs and Plans
The
Opportunity Zones Program is an economic development tool created by
the U.S. Treasury that encourages investment and the creation of jobs in
distressed areas by providing tax credits to investors.
Maryland has 149
Opportunity Zones that have been designated by the
U.S. Treasury, based on eligible Census tracts nominated by the Governor.
An Opportunity Zone designation is active for a 10-year period and includes
some communities that border or are near military installations.
DHCD administers the program with support from Commerce
and offers a
portfolio of programs to enhance investment in Opportunity Zones. This
includes programs that support affordable housing and homeownership, business
creation, expansion, and retention, community development and revitalization,
and job creation and workforce training.
DHCD has developed a series of resources to facilitate information exchange
and collaboration to maximize financial and other incentives that are available
at the state, county, and municipal levels. This includes the
Opportunity Zone Information Exchange, a virtual resource for investors,
developers, fund managers, and local stakeholders to find information on
projects and businesses in Opportunity Zones, as well as available financial
incentives.
Opportunity Zones in communities that border, or are near a military
installation, are encouraged to consider the financial incentives and programs
that are offered to stimulate and strengthen economic and community development.
For example, the Town of Indian Head, which hosts Naval Support Facility
Indian Head in Charles County, secured additional funding for the development
of the Velocity Center, a collaborative learning space utilized by the Navy
and the community that supports workforce development and economic growth
in southern Maryland.
Visit DHCD's Opportunity Zone webpage to access the
Incentive Lookup tool and other
fact sheets on Opportunity Zones to assist in identifying state and
local financial incentives, tax credits, and other grant opportunities,
for a business or project.
DHCD's
Sustainable Communities Program is a place-based designation facilitating
access to the department's neighborhood revitalization capital grants. To
be eligible for
State Revitalization Program funding (see program below), a project
must be within a Sustainable Community. Local governments and nonprofit
501(c)(3)s are eligible grant recipients. Funding supports neighborhood
and community revitalization, environmental and economic sustainability,
affordable housing, blight remediation, and open space development projects,
among other quality of life areas. Competitive funding is available annually
and the Sustainable Communities designations must be renewed every 5
years. The Compatibility Mapping Tool includes a layer displaying all Sustainable
Communities in Maryland.
As part of a new or renewal Sustainable Communities application, jurisdictions
must complete an action plan outlining the revitalization strategies it
intends to implement over the five-year designation period. Proposed revitalization
projects that align with action plans are more likely to be funded as part
of the annual competitive grant process. Sustainable Communities must be
within locally designated
Priority Funding Areas, and ideally should include only those portions
of a jurisdiction considered to be an established community. DHCD, which
is supported by an interagency review team, is less likely to approve a
greenfield area (or undeveloped area) for designation.
A Sustainable Communities designation requires a Sustainable Communities
Workgroup to be formed. The workgroup helps develop the application and
implement the action plan, including the proposal of revitalization projects.
Local governments should include military representatives on the workgroup
if the community applying is located near an installation or when the identified
projects will impact a nearby military installation. A military representative
can help local governments identify where an installation would like to
avoid development. Equipped with this knowledge, local governments can better
align their Sustainable Communities boundaries to promote civilian-military
compatible use. Local governments, community organizations, and military
installations can also partner on action plan development to ensure that
projects included in the action plan support the mission of the local military
installation are included and those that are incompatible are excluded.
DCHD offers a suite of
State Revitalization Programs (SRP) with the goal of providing a range
of funding to further revitalization goals in communities across the state.
To be eligible for a SRP, projects should be located within a
Sustainable Community and support the outcomes that are a part of the
Sustainable Communities Action Plan.
Similiar to Opportunity Zones, many Sustainable Communities are
located near a military installation . SRP funding is most commonly
focused on revitalization projects that are targeted to commercial and residential
areas and could be a valuable tool in increasing desirability of these communities
and providing additional ammenties for military families that move to the
area, as well as economic and site development outside of the gates that
supports the military mission and community development goals. To learn
more about the list of funding programs that are a part of the SRP, visit
their
webpage or read more about the program guidelines. The state also has
regional project managers who can answer questions about these programs,
eligibility, and current funding opportunities.
