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Residents warn Montgomery County that 25-year tax abatements in Bill 2-25 could shift costs to homeowners
Summary
Public testimony on Bill 2-25 (payment in lieu of taxes / tax abatements for office-to-residential conversions) focused on a proposed 25-year tax abatement and whether that incentive would produce equitable housing outcomes or merely transfer costs to existing taxpayers and neighborhoods facing displacement risks.
At a public hearing on Bill 2-25 — a proposed payment-in-lieu-of-taxes/tax-abatement framework for converting high-vacancy commercial properties to residential use — residents and community groups expressed concern the incentive would amount to a long-term public subsidy benefitting property owners without guaranteeing deeply affordable units.
Several witnesses invoked the Office of Legislative Oversight and county fiscal context in criticizing the scale of proposed abatements. Karen Bolte, representing the Wildwood Manor Citizens Association, said OLO concluded…
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