April 23, 2025

RE: Testimony In FAVOR of Affordable Housing Projects FY 2026 Howard County Capital Budget

As a member of the Affordable Housing Coalition of Howard County, the League of Women Voters of Howard County was very pleased to celebrate the groundbreaking for the new Cultural Arts Center and 174 housing units earlier this month.

The League has noted that the North Columbia Fire Station and the Replacement for Fire Station 7 (the Banneker Fire Station) are both included in the FY 2026 Howard County Capital Budget. We continue to support the timely completion of these necessary public safety projects. We do note that the 100 affordable Senior Housing units slated to be attached to the Replacement for Fire Station 7 are not listed in the Capital Budget document. Please ensure that those units remain in the plan (or are restored to the plan) and will actually be built.

We look forward to celebrating the completion of both of these Fire Stations, as well as the attached Senior Living Housing units to be built in conjunction with the Replacement for Fire Station 7 in Downtown Columbia.

Thank you for continuing to make progress on the goal of increasing the amount of affordable housing available for residents of Howard County. We look forward to hearing more such news in the future.