Councilmember Adam Van Grack has made affordability for Rockville residents a central focus of his work on the Mayor and Council, supporting policies aimed at keeping Rockville affordable for families, seniors, renters, homeowners, and future generations.

Just this past week, with Councilmember Van Grack’s strong support, the Rockville FY2027 budget was adopted without any increase to the City property tax rate… protecting residents from additional tax burdens at a time when many families, seniors, renters, and homeowners continue to face rising costs. Councilmember Van Grack supported a fiscally responsible budget that maintained core city services, strengthened public safety investments, funded infrastructure improvements, and continued key resident programs while prioritizing affordability and financial stability for Rockville residents.

With Councilmember Van Grack’s support, the City of Rockville has continued advancing policies and programs focused on making Rockville more affordable for residents, renters, seniors, working families, and future generations. Councilmember Van Grack believes Rockville must remain a community where residents of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds can afford to live, work, raise families, and stay rooted. That means supporting more housing choices, protecting renters, helping residents in financial crisis, and ensuring city and state policies reflect the real cost pressures facing Rockville families.

As part of the Mayor and Council’s focus on housing, Rockville developed a Housing Strategies Work Plan to improve housing affordability and stability, backed by $250,000 in annual dedicated revenue and $750,000 in one-time funds for housing preservation and production.

Councilmember Van Grack supported efforts to expand practical housing tools, including updated regulations for detached accessory dwelling units, changes to Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit requirements so more developments must set aside affordable units, and zoning changes that reduced parking requirements for deed-restricted affordable townhouse units.

He has also supported direct assistance for residents facing immediate hardship. Rockville expanded the Rockville Emergency Assistance Program, and the city reported that more than 100 residents avoided eviction or utility shutoff through REAP assistance; a Mayor and Council-approved update increased the maximum assistance available to help more residents remain safely housed.

Councilmember Van Grack also supported Community Development Block Grant-funded rehabilitation projects at properties serving low- and moderate-income households. These rehabilitation projects addressed safety and code compliance issues to help ensure that families can live in quality, healthy housing while preserving existing affordable housing stock within the community.

In addition, he supported a pilot code assistance program for residents who struggle to bring their property into compliance after receiving code violations. The goal of the program was to help residents (particularly seniors, working families, and homeowners facing financial hardship) navigate the compliance process and maintain safe, stable housing without unnecessary displacement or escalating penalties.

Councilmember Van Grack has also advocated for important renter protections at the state level and policies on the city level. On behalf of the Rockville Mayor and Council, Councilmember Van Grack testified in support of HB 1257, legislation requiring greater transparency in residential lease fees so renters know the true cost of housing before signing a lease. That testimony emphasized that hidden fees for parking, trash, package delivery, and other mandatory charges can add hundreds of dollars to monthly housing costs.

Councilmember Van Grack has also testified in support of HB 801, the Maryland Financial Empowerment Center Network Pilot Program, to expand one-on-one financial counseling and coaching for residents working to build savings, reduce debt, improve credit, and achieve greater economic stability.

Rockville has further supported state legislation to protect tenants from unfair rent-setting practices, including HB 434, which would prohibit landlords from using certain algorithmic software to set rents and lease terms. This testimony noted that nearly half of Rockville households are renters and that strong tenant protections are part of making the city more affordable and stable.

For Councilmember Van Grack, affordability is not one policy. It is a commitment: build more housing, preserve existing affordability, protect renters from unfair practices, support residents in crisis, and make Rockville a city where families can afford to stay.