Even as Frederick remains the fastest growing county in the state, one in every five households are cost burdened. This information comes as County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced the results of Frederick’s year long housing study on Thursday.

The study, which was conducted across 2025, was done as a joint effort between Frederick County and City. In that time, the county received more than 1,700 responses to its housing survey. Fitzwater explained this study not only addresses the needs of today, but also looks out across the next decade. “We’ve paired the stories that we heard from our community with the consultants' data analysis to develop a strategic plan to meet the need for affordable housing,” Fitzwater said.

The “housing gap”

A household is considered cost burdened when they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Across Frederick, more than 20,000 homes qualify, earning $75,000 or less annually, compared to the county’s median household income of $120,000.

In order for the county to catch up with its “housing gap,” the study shows Frederick will need to create 31,000 new housing units by 2035. That’s approximately 3,500 homes per year. Of that total units required, 10,000 homes will be needed for families making less than 60% of the area median income.

The data references an additional study done by the state which outlines that housing development has been cut nearly in half since 2000. A key finding was the drop is largely connected with a decrease in the construction of single-family homes.

What’s the plan?

The housing study outlines 5 major goals, broken down into 26 individual strategies. Fitzwater acknowledged this is a good start, but clarified the work must continue. “Government alone cannot solve this problem,” Fitzwater said. “We need and rely upon strong partnerships with other levels of government, the business community and our residents.”

To ensure a clear path forward, Fitzwater outlined five ideas she thinks the county is ready to address now.

• Revising policies to encourage the development of moderately priced dwelling units.
• Exempting committed multi-family developments from certain requirements.
• Setting spending priorities for the housing initiative fund.
• Developing ongoing processes to evaluate and adjust county policies and fees that prevent housing development.
• Enhancing communication and community engagement.

Vincent Rogers, Director of Frederick’s Division of Housing, explained this means a change to the way the county enforces the construction of moderately priced dwelling units (MPDU). In 2011, the county adopted a policy which allowed developers to pay a fee to avoid building MPDUs.

Rogers explained that every single developer in the past 15 years chose to pay the fee. Those fees account for approximately 40% of the county’s Housing Initiative Fund, which Rogers clarified they can’t just get rid of, though there are plans for change.

While there’s no evidence raising the fee would help, he said Frederick is one of the few jurisdictions that allow developers to choose whether they pay. “We’re going to propose eliminating the buy-right component…” Rogers said. “They will be able to still pay…but they need to build some of the units.”

This would need to be proposed as a new policy and voted on, but he clarified the county may also begin taking a more “green tape” approach to affordable housing. Instead of bogging down developers in red tape, regulations and bureaucracy, the county could begin to prioritize developers who put MPDUs first.

This could mean in front-of-the-line policies, reduced fees and other regulatory passes for affordable housing. Rogers warned development must be built carefully. “How do you ensure that you’re not creating housing that’s going to overburden our schools and infrastructure,” Rogers said. “At the same time, how do you build the schools and expand the infrastructure to accommodate the population growth that we know is coming?”

Partnership

Frederick City Mayor Michael O’Connor announced the city will be holding a 60 day work group to review the study and create new solutions. He doesn’t want to re-study the issue when the data is right there in front of him, instead he says it's time to do something. “We need this task force to bring together the best brains that we can find to make recommendations for policy changes the city can make that will move the needle,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor pointed out the study reveals additional inventory is needed regardless of the type of housing. From apartments to town houses, single family homes to multi-family dwellings, Frederick needs more options.

Fitzwater made it clear the county is looking at how to use its own land to this end. A 7-acre property next to Frederick’s prospect center is planned to hold approximately 150 affordable and deeply affordable units.

Rogers said the county wants to work with its municipalities to determine where affordable housing can be built without stepping on the toes of the communities and residents who live there.