$5M To Create Housing Opportunities Trust Fund In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Howard County Executive Calvin Ball on Wednesday unveiled an inaugural investment of $5 million that will create a new Housing Opportunities Trust Fund in Howard County.

The transformational fund, the first of its kind in Howard County, will be administered by the county department of housing and community development and will be used to:

• Assist first-time home buyers
• Develop, preserve and rehab affordable housing in Howard County
• Increase affordability for low-income households

“With the Housing Opportunities Trust Fund, we now have a financial tool to help implement our Housing Opportunities Master Plan – the first completed in more than a decade,” Ball said. “We will increase homeownership opportunities, help stabilize neighborhoods, expand wealth-building for future generations and more.”

The fund will implement strategies and recommendations contained in Howard County’s Housing Opportunities Master Plan, completed last year. With funding now in place, Howard County can invest more in already existing programs to help with homeownership and rental assistance, like the Settlement Down Payment Loan Program, the Moderate Income Housing Unit program and rental subsidies.

The Housing Opportunities Master Plan identified current housing challenges in Howard County and provides a clear strategy to improve access to housing and guide housing-related decisions for the next 5 to 10 years.

The master plan identifies three overarching strategies Howard County can employ to improve housing opportunities:

• Revising land use, planning and zoning regulations to improve the availability, accessibility, affordability and diversity of housing;
• Supporting housing stability through the improvement of existing policies and programs and the creation of new ones; and
• Addressing both housing and infrastructure needs in Howard County to ensure that neither form of demand eclipses the other.

“Since the completion of the Housing Opportunities Master Plan in 2021, we have been working to create and fund a housing trust fund,” Howard County Department of Housing and Community Development Director Kelly Cimino said. “We appreciate the support of the advocates and organizations at the event today as we continue to work together to increase housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents in the county.”