2026 Candidate Questionnaire
County Council At-Large
Vicki Vergagni (D)
Website: vickiv4us.com
Find all candidate questionnaires here.
Housing Leadership
In your view, why are many Montgomery County residents struggling to afford housing?
There are several factors that are working against affordable housing – both rental and owned.
1. Supply: There is a general shortage of affordable housing due in part to the return-on-investment that is expected by developers. Thus, there is an inordinate focus on “luxury” rentals and “luxury” owned housing instead of affordable rental and owned housing.
2. Development Costs: Prices for land, labor and construction materials, as well as restrictive and over-reaching government regulations, are exacerbating the ability to deliver an adequate supply of affordable housing on time and on budget.
3. Stagnant Earnings: Earnings of renters and homebuyers who represent the essential services base of our workforce are finding it extraordinarily difficult to earn or save enough to secure even affordable housing.
4. Cost to Rent: Square footage is going down while prices are going up. Newer, more affordable units have become little more than caves or overcrowded domiciles.
5. Cost to Purchase: Downpayments are the greatest challenge to purchasing, particularly for the first-time buyers. Rising mortgage interest rates and excessive settlement costs in Montgomery County exacerbate the need for significant financial resources.
6. Operating Costs to Own: Property taxes in Montgomery County, insurance premiums, utilities, and the maintenance, repair and replacement costs of homeownership are a major challenge for all. Those costs are insurmountable for our most vulnerable populations.
What is one housing initiative you would plan to spearhead, if elected?
I am most interested in flipping the County’s housing focus from rentals to homeownership with a revolving downpayment fund coupled with seven years of homeownership mentoring for buyers. Borrowing from the Habitat for Humanity model, I would recommend homeownership buy-in via classes and “home-work” projects on existing housing by those seeking homeownership, along with the return of downpayment money in full within seven years of purchase to support other homebuyers.
Zoning, Supply, and Housing Prices
In your view, how does current zoning policy in Montgomery County affect the supply and price of housing?
The County’s zoning policy, while designed to increase supply and possibly decrease the price of housing, does not recognize other workable alternatives or how the choices being made are negatively impacting those most impacted by them.
1. Supply. Allowing duplexes, triplexes and small apartment buildings to be built without limit in existing single-family neighborhoods along transportation corridors is an unreasonable burden on current owners/residents. I would support limiting density by bedroom count or some other method to assure that density does not create an overcrowded neighborhood that destroys the character of the community. It is too easy for the County to ignore the range of environmental justice principles that support quality of life, and then the County wants the “sacrifice” zones along these corridors to become “special tax districts” that only adds insult to injury to the owners/residents who already are being forced to put up with issues that may be for the “public good” -- but not for that “public”.
2. Housing Cost: It is doubtful that this zoning approach to housing will generate affordable rental or owned housing – unless the increased dense development creates an undesirable place to live.
3. Missing Opportunities: Creating “villages” similar to Friendship Heights that are located a few miles from a transportation hub and provide “rapid” bus service to/from that hub during rush hours and every 30 minutes during the balance of public transportation hours could decrease the pressure to crowd every possible home along the Corridors. Space is an important element of one’s quality of life; yet, the County’s approach to zoning is simply “packing in more sardine cans per square mile with more sardines in each can”.
What changes would you support to Montgomery County’s zoning policies to support greater housing affordability?
Home Types: Through whatever tools the County has, I would encourage housing policy to include housing models from other cultures such as family homes with central common facilities and one end of the home for the grandparents and the other end for the mature children or the growing family. This would allow for easier, more affordable eldercare, or for affordable in-home day care or the presence of an adult in the residence at the end of the school day. Shared housing with common area facilities and individual apartments that have been designed for the needs of special populations (e.g., elderly, disabled) would be helpful, particularly given the County’s serious lack of accessible housing.
Location of Zoning Changes: With the exception of the Agricultural Reserve, all land should be considered with regard to changes to commercial and residential zoning. Zoning should positively address key issues (e.g., walkability and bike-ability to local shopping and public schools, public recreation and transportation, storm water management, environmental hazards) that includes existing communities' point of view.
Timeline and Conditions for Development: The current timeline is too long, and the conditions for development do not result in win-win outcomes for all stakeholders. To expedite the process, the Planning Board should spend as much time facilitating involvement between the developer and the community that will be impacted by the development as they do working with the developer to clear the Planning Board’s concerns. It also would be helpful to fund the People’s Counsel to explain to those being impacted by development how those in existing neighborhoods can negotiate with the developer to create a project that provides a reasonable ROI for the developer and a complimentary addition to the neighborhood. Right now development is an adversarial process; it should be more collaborative. While there always will be some friction related to change, if parties understand each other’s expectations, there can be more common ground than dissension which should limit the objections to the development process.
Affordable & Market-Rate Housing
Please explain what you see as the role that each of these types of housing play in the housing landscape in Montgomery County, and the needs they fill for Montgomery County residents:
a. Affordable (subsidized) housing
Affordable housing is key to secure and retain workers with limited incomes who provide so many of the services needed by County residents – and by employers. Affordable housing also will support economic development because it will assure the availability of local entry-level, technical, senior and special needs personnel. In short, studies show that affordable housing increases neighborhood stabilization and safety, increases workforce retention and mobility, improves health and educational outcomes, offers social equity and inclusiveness, fosters economic vitality and growth, and encourages community investment. Affordable housing can be a win for everyone in Montgomery County.
b. Market-rate (unsubsidized) housing
Market-rate housing is intended to be an anchor for community development because it can serve as a catalyst for economic growth and provide housing options that decrease the pressure on older, lower-cost homes. By increasing the housing supply/options, it can indirectly improve housing affordability. Due to their higher value, market-rate housing improves the overall quality and safety of the housing stock, and of course, increases local tax revenue. Market-rate housing also can be key to neighborhood revitalization, economic growth and investment. This form of housing also can support economic diversity in high-income and transitioning neighborhoods. Market-rate housing can add to the County’s housing landscape if it builds on the best and fills in the voids of its intended neighborhood.
What is one policy change in each area that you would pursue, if elected?
a. Affordable (subsidized) housing
I would support “going all in” to build a model community of basic, affordable homes that offer a full range of support services that address essential elements that predict personal success (e.g., jobs; education; nutrition; transportation; healthy social, physical and recreational environment). Developer James Rouse was able to achieve significant results with that model. We want people to want to live there because these are the homes that support success.
b. Market-rate (unsubsidized) housing
I would support a “collaborative” approach to market-rate housing in a transitioning neighborhood that involves focusing on what that housing could amplify and also improve for those neighbors. The neighbors would have to be partners in the initial stages instead of critics after the fact. There is much wisdom in the “local mariners” because they know more about what is happening locally than do outsiders who have the “technical” insights. It takes both to create a win for all stakeholders.
Transportation & Smart Growth
What would you do to prioritize transit frequency and access if elected?
Post-COVID, we should have a reasonably solid handle on the need for public transit by time of day, type of vehicle, starts and destinations, etc. The fare boxes alone should be a significant source of data.
I think that we need to identify solutions to the “service” factors that limit individuals’ interest in public transit: cost, time, crime, safety, cleanliness, convenience.
Cost: What cost keeps the “rider by choice” on the rails or in the bus?
Time: How much time does it take to get from the most-used starting points to the most-used destinations, and what can be done to decrease that time? Should we be using “express” rail during rush hours that stops at every other station instead of at every station?
Crime: The transit hubs and rails in particular feel relatively unsafe to riders. More visible, engaged security is in order.
Safety: A public campaign that stresses the safety of public transportation could alleviate the concerns of some who feel that cars are the safer option.
Cleanliness: The smell of urine and feces in the elevators, sticky spillage on the floors and seats, and the presence of homeless individuals asleep in the cars and buses are major turn-offs.
Convenience: Frequent, reliable service that minimizes the number of changes from one transport to another is critical to rider satisfaction.
Finding rider-friendly solutions to the aforementioned along with greater promotion of “employee benefits via public transit” to employers whose workers can use public transit could go a long way to encourage greater usage. That, in turn, would allow greater frequency and encourage ridership by “choice” to get on board.
What would you do to ensure safe walking and biking access to transit, stores, schools and services for residents of existing and new housing?
Safe walking and biking can be built into new housing; however, the greater challenge lies with the existing neighborhoods. We can begin with sidewalks that are safe from the vehicular traffic; then move on to adding bike lanes when the roadways become more congested – if and only if those bike lanes are safe from the vehicular traffic. It is critical to go to the neighbors to come up with a plan. Engage with them at the outset instead of after a plan is formulated. Inclusion at the front end can save time at the very end – and gain supporters instead of detractors. Get local buy-in.
Community Input & Stakeholder Engagement
What organizations, stakeholders, datasets, or other sources of information would you turn to to understand the nuts and bolts of housing policy implementation, and how to craft effective policies that meet Montgomery County’s housing needs?
Through national and international government associations whose members deal with these issues, one can find successful models – some of which might mirror Montgomery County’s challenges.
We must find consensus builders in: development and real estate (affordable and market-rate housing); housing investment; banking and mortgages; commercial and residential construction; planning and zoning; housing foundations; housing advocacy; community managers; civic and community associations; etc. Form a working group that can succinctly define the challenges and find out-of-the-box solutions for the County that will work for all stakeholders. The aforementioned subject matter experts will have datasets to share from their professional associations and personal experiences that will inform policy outcomes.