Seven Storeys Was Too Tall for the Neighbours: A Maryland Church Redraws Its 120-Home Plan

• Silver Spring United Methodist Church is planning affordable housing on its campus
• Neighbours questioned a proposed seven-storey height and parking
• The church will stay within Montgomery County’s Faith ZTA height limit
• It will keep 120 or more units to stay competitive for tax credits

Silver Spring United Methodist Church in Maryland is redesigning its plans for affordable housing on its land after listening to neighbours, according to an October 2024 update from the church’s Building Beloved Community Committee.

The committee presented design concepts to the congregation and community on September 29. The wider master plan also includes a new nursery, a restroom beside the sanctuary and “much-needed accessibility improvements to Fellowship Hall.” Four listening sessions followed. The project won general support, but the main concern was “the proposed 7-story height of the project,” along with questions about parking for future residents and for the church.

Church leaders met Montgomery County planning officials to discuss “building height and size, traffic flow, green space, and the zoning approval process.” On October 20, the committee made key decisions. It agreed to stay “within the height limit imposed by Montgomery County’s Faith ZTA (Zoning Text Amendment)” while keeping “the number of units in the multifamily structure at or above 120 to maximize competitiveness for tax credits.” It also approved “the demolition of the gym and adjacent classrooms in the current education wing.”

The revised plans were to be presented at a congregation and community briefing on November 10, and, under Methodist governance, the preliminary architectural plans would later go to a vote of the congregation.

The Silver Spring process is a useful model for Jamaican churches thinking about housing on their land: listen to neighbours early, adjust height and parking, and keep enough units for the project to pay for itself. It also shows how long the road is, with committees, consultations and votes before a brick is laid. Diaspora members of Jamaican congregations who sit on church boards abroad can bring this kind of structured planning experience home.

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