Image by Dan Reed.

Weekly, Maryland Policy Director Dan Reed and DC Policy Director Alex Baca will share with you an action you can take in the immediate future that has the potential, sometimes great and sometimes small, to increase the number of homes in our region, decrease the trips people take by car, make all of it safer, and not screw people over in the process. This week: Wednesday’s happy hour has been rescheduled; give Metro your two cents; join us for Lobby Day in Annapolis; and come and work with us!

If you have any questions, email dreed@ggwash.org about Maryland and Virginia Do Somethings, and abaca@ggwash.org about Washington, DC, Do Somethings—or, about whatever you want to talk about.

Everyone

We’re cancelling our happy hour tonight in Riverdale because many of us are still digging out of the snow, but don’t fret: we’re rescheduling for Wednesday, February 11! Same time (6:00 to 8:00 pm), same location (Denizens Brewing Company, 4550 Van Buren Street). You can RSVP for the new event here.—DR

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Riders’ Advisory Council has a survey open until Wednesday, February 25. Responses to it will be used to inform the RAC’s annual report to WMATA’s board of directors (for example, here’s FY25’s), so the more opinions and feedback from riders, the better. It’s only six questions, and you should respond regardless of where in the region you live. Here’s the survey in English, and in Spanish.—AB**

DC

Everything I have to share with you about the DC Council’s performance oversight hearings is in last week’s Do Something. Go there if you’re interested in testifying on how effectively government agencies have fulfilled their mandate in the last year. You can always submit written testimony to the record rather than giving it in person.

Residents of Cleveland Park, and only residents of Cleveland Park (or ANC 3C), should reach out to Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin (mfrumin@dccouncil.gov) and Council Chair Phil Mendelson (pmendelson@dccouncil.gov) to ask them, nicely, to move forward on an alley closure necessary to enable the construction of six townhomes on a parking lot near the Metrorail station there. (It was supposed to be nine, originally. Also, ANC 3C supports it.) They are dithering on doing so. I don’t like asking people to ask their councilmembers to support alley closures, which are a normal, if somewhat uncommon, occurrence necessary to allow for developments that may be reconfiguring a parcels’ access to an alley. Unfortunately, some opponents are making this into a big deal and, thus, if you live nearby, it would be helpful to say this is fine by you. Again, do not do this if you do not live nearby.

Lastly, we’re hiring a DC organizer! I’m super-excited for this new role on the advocacy team. You’ll work most closely with me and Kai, as well as Dan and Mark and, from time to time, the rest of the GGWash staff. More details here, but, basically, you’ll be our Advisory Neighborhood Commission person: You’ll work to get urbanist candidates elected, and support and coordinate with them when they’re in office. Apply before February 11.—AB**

Maryland

The world is on fire right now, and the Maryland General Assembly session–which started two weeks ago–has been a nice reminder for me that we can still play a part in making it a better place. That’s why I’m stoked to invite you to our second-annual Lobby Day in Annapolis, where we’ll meet with Maryland delegates and senators to advocate for key housing legislation in this year’s General Assembly session. This half-day event is a great way to learn how our state government works and hang out with people who care about the same stuff you do.

Click this link to find out more and to RSVP. We’re meeting with legislators who represent Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, so please make sure we have your current address so we can match you with your representatives!

Can’t wait for Lobby Day? Here’s how you can show your support for two bills that will give people more choices in where to live and how to get around safely and conveniently.

House Bill 78, from the once and future housing MVP Del. Vaughn Stewart, would allow cities and counties to create a land value or split-rate tax, in other words, they could charge different property tax rates for land and for buildings on that land. This can be a powerful way to keep landowners from sitting on vacant lots and put them to productive use, growing the local tax base while potentially lowering taxes for homeowners. Stewart introduced a version of this bill last year. We’re supporting this bill, and here’s our testimony.

Senate Bill 173/House Bill 249, both from the Moore administration, would allow Maryland to go after drivers from other states with traffic violations. It’s based on one introduced last year by Montgomery County delegate Linda Foley and Baltimore delegates Jackie Addison and Robbyn Lewis, which in turn was inspired by DC’s STEER Act. Reckless drivers don’t care about jurisdictional lines, and their behavior puts all of us in danger. We’re supporting this bill, and here’s our testimony.

**If you have a few minutes: **Find your delegates, and if they’re on the House Ways and Means committee, email them to say you support House Bill 78.

• In Montgomery County, that’s Jheanelle Wilkins (District 20, Silver Spring); Bernice Mireku-North (14, East County); Julie Palakovich Carr and Joe Vogel (17, Rockville and Gaithersburg); and Greg Wims (39, Germantown).
• **In Prince George’s County, **that’s Derrick Coley (24, Capitol Heights and Largo); Kent Roberson (25, Largo and Suitland).

**Then: **Find your senators, and if they’re on the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, email them to say you support Senate Bill 173.

• ****In Montgomery County, ****that’s Will Smith (20, Silver Spring); Jeff Waldstreicher (18, Kensington); and Sara Love (16, Bethesda).
• **In Prince George’s County, **that’s Nick Charles (25, Largo and Suitland) and Anthony Muse (26, Fort Washington).

All you really have to say is: “My name is [YOUR NAME], I live in [YOUR DISTRICT], and I support [THIS BILL]. I urge you to give it a favorable report.”—DR

Your support of GGWash enables us, Dan and Alex, to do our jobs. Our jobs are knowing how development and planning works in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. If it’s appropriate to take action to advance our goals, which we hope you share, we can let you know what will have the most impact, and how to do it well. You can make a financial contribution to GGWash here. And if you want to see Do Something in your inbox, scroll down and sign up for our daily emails.