Emery Grove task force presents interim findings and vows reparative recommendations

The Montgomery County Planning, Housing and Parks Committee received an interim briefing on Feb. 23 from the Emery Grove Urban Renewal Task Force about the history and community impact of urban renewal in the Emery Grove neighborhood.

Selena Mendy Singleton, senior racial equity manager for the county council, said the task force was created by state legislation to study how urban renewal displaced Emery Grove residents and to recommend potential remedies. "The goal of this legislation is to study how urban renewal caused the displacement of residents from the Emery Grove community," Singleton said.

Reverend Timothy Warner, senior pastor of Emery Grove United Methodist Church and a task force member, described the community’s social life before urban renewal and the long-term cultural loss that followed. Warner said the church-formed nonprofit, Heritage Emery Grove Community Development Corporation, plans to build "39 townhouses next to us on the 4 acres of land that we own" and expects to enter the entitlement process in the next few weeks, with the possibility of groundbreaking in about 14 months.

Jim Stowe, director of the county Office of Human Rights and the task force chair, summarized the interim report and the group’s four work phases: historical research, legislative review, community-impact study and recommendation development. He reported the interim work identified about "110 different homes" in the original community and said roughly 500 people were displaced as a result of urban renewal. On the timeline, Stowe said the task force is on target to deliver its final report on Dec. 15, 2026.

Council members pressed the task force on the form reparations or remedies might take and on outreach to descendants and former owners. Councilmember Gerando asked whether models used in other U.S. jurisdictions — including a program in Evanston, Illinois that ties housing funding to local ownership — were under consideration. Stowe said the task force has organized work groups, engaged historians and student researchers from the University of Maryland, and is studying national examples to inform local recommendations.

Warner emphasized the scope of the effort beyond building housing, noting plans for youth programs anchored to a renovated Johnson Park ballfield and an envisioned partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools to convert the historic Longview School into permanent pre-K space. "We are envisioning youth programs…focused around a newly renovated baseball field," he said, and described efforts to "repatriate" families to a restored community.

The briefing produced no formal votes. Council members thanked the presenters and reiterated support for a restorative approach. The committee closed the Emery Grove discussion and moved on to other agenda items. The task force’s interim report (dated Dec. 15) and ongoing outreach appendices are on file with county staff; the task force plans further community engagement and to present a final report by Dec. 15, 2026.