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Sunday, July 15, 2007
Attempted Burglary
On 07/15/07 at 4:00 p.m., police responded to the unit block of Walker Avenue for the report of an attempted burglary that had occurred earlier. Circumstances indicate that between 4:00 p.m. on 07/14/07 and 3:00 p.m. on 07/15/07, unknown suspect(s) attempted to enter the residence through a rear door. Indications are that the attempt to gain entry was unsuccessful.

Walker Avenue is in Olde Towne, between MD355 & Russell Ave.

Burglary
On 07/15/2007, at about 4:49 a.m. police where called to the unit block of Desellum Ave. The victim told police that when he came down stairs he saw the below listed suspect exiting a bedroom in the his home. Once the suspect saw the victim, he turned and ran out of the house. The suspect entered the home through the front door using a key. No one was harmed and no property was taken.

SUSPECT: Male, 6′00″, slim build, Grey hooded sweatshirt, Grey sweatpants.

Desellum Ave is near Gaithersburg High School.

Thursday, July 12, 2007
Aggravated Assault
On 07/12/07, at 12:00 a.m., police responded to the area of West Side Dr for an assault. An officer located a female lying in the street bleeding. It was determined that she had been stabbed by her boyfriend who had fled the scene. The incident is still under investigation.

Burglary
On 07/12/07, between 4:45 and 5:00 p.m., the suspect entered an unsecured detached garage and stole a bicycle in the 200 block of Winter Walk Drive.

Winter Walk Drive is in Quince Orchard Park, near Great Seneca & Quince Orchard Road.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Strong Arm Robbery
On 07/11/07, at 1:30 a.m., police responded to the unit block of Brighton Drive for a report of a woman bleeding and appeared to have been beaten up. Upon arrival, police was advised by the victim that she was in a vehicle with two unknown male subjects and when she got out of the vehicle, she was beaten up, and had her purse taken from her by the passenger.

Suspect 1: White male, approximately 21 yrs old, dark crew cut hair, skinny, tall, with a narrow face and wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and had a tattoo with the name “Justin” on his right arm.
Suspect 2: Black male with long braids

Brighton Drive is between Summit Hall & I-270.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Armed Robbery
On 07/10/07, at 4:30 a.m., there was an armed robbery in the unit block of State Ct. Suspects entered a residence armed with handguns and assaulted one of the residents. No property was taken.

Suspect 1 - Black male wearing a ski mask armed with a handgun.
Suspect 2 - Black male wearing a ski mask armed with a handgun.
Suspect 3 - Black male wearing a ski mask armed with a handgun.

This would be the “home invasion” reported earlier.

Burglary
On 07/10/07, between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., unknown suspect(s) entered an apartment in the 400 block of Muddy Branch Road and stole US currency.

The City will hold a work session on Monday night to discuss the details of a home ownership assistance program. You may recall that a dispute, ostensibly over the funding of this program, nearly shut down the City government earlier this year. The following is text of the cover sheet to the background materials for the work session:

On July 9, 2007, the Mayor and City Council approved a rezoning application for the property at the intersection of MD 355 and West Deer Park Road, the site of Broadstone Apartments. As a result of the rezoning approval and planned redevelopment of the property, the Broadstone tenants will have 120 days to locate other housing, with final vacancy scheduled for November 15, 2007. In addition, it appears likely that the Archstone redevelopment project on East Diamond Avenue will move forward.

In light of the pending and potential redevelopment projects, this work session will focus on various components of a potential homeownership program for residents displaced by residential redevelopment.

To assess various options for a City homeownership assistance program, staff surveyed homeownership programs at the federal, state and local level and also reviewed similar programs across the country. A table summarizing programs currently available to City residents is attached to this coversheet.

In addition, staff held a series of internal review meetings in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the West Deer Park Pilot program, identifying successful elements of that program as well as factors that would create additional success.

Staff also met with representatives of the Housing Opportunities Commission, the agency charged with administering the pilot program, to seek guidance on ways to improve participation levels. Although the program achieved a measure of success given that seven former tenants attained homeownership and remain in good standing today, staff identified a number of issues that contributed to the relatively low participation rates achieved by the program. Those include:

1. There was a relatively high vacancy rate at West Deer Park Apartments by the time the program was ultimately approved and underway.
2. Housing prices were exceptionally high when the program was initiated, putting homeownership out of reach for many occupants even with the available assistance.
3. The one-year term in which tenants were required to purchase a home did not provide sufficient time for this population of residents to cure poor credit records and otherwise arrange their financial affairs.
4. Insufficient contact information was compiled to sustain communication with residents once they vacated the premises.
5. Higher grant amounts (ie, $15,000) would have likely increased participation.

Staff recommends that these factors be considered in formulating any future homeownership assistance program for the City.

In addition to evaluating the West Deer Park Pilot program, staff examined various funding sources needed to support the proposed homeownership assistance program as well as other programs in the event of future redevelopment projects. On June 21, 2007, the Council adopted the City’s FY08 budget in which $300,000 was allocated for a homeownership assistance program designed to assist residents faced with relocation. Of that $300,000, $147,000 remained from the West Deer Park Pilot Homeownership Assistance Program while $153,000 in new funds were allocated.

One additional viable source of funding would be the use of CDBG funds which may be used to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to households earning up to 80% of AMI. An analysis of the income data of Broadstone residents shows that 80% of those residents earn below 80% of AMI and thus fall within this category of eligibility under federal guidelines. Other sources of funding would be required to assist the remaining 20% of that population, those earning above 80% of AMI and thus ineligible for CDBG funding. Potential revenue sources for those residents include permit fees or, alternatively, a special redevelopment fee.

While allocating a portion of permit revenues for the homeownership assistance program would reduce City revenues in the current fiscal year, the redevelopments would generate higher City property tax and income tax revenues when complete. For example, ACM Tomasello has calculated that the positive economic impact of the redevelopment project would be approximately $140,000 per year.

The form in which this assistance may be provided also requires consideration. Under the West Deer Park model, direct grants were awarded to eligible participants. One possible alternative format is a loan-based program in which zero percent deferred loans, repayable upon sale or refinancing of the property, are issued to qualified applicants. Under this model, participants would not be required to make monthly repayments, but would be required to repay the loan at the time of sale or refinancing. Alternatively, the City might consider adopting the Montgomery County model which provides low interest (5%) loans on a 10 year term.

In summary, the adoption of a homeownership assistance program requires the Mayor and Council to consider a number of policy questions prior to implementation. Those questions are:

1. Should the program be grant-based or loan-based?
2. How should the program be funded?
3. May participants purchase units outside of City limits?
4. How large of a grant or loan should be made available to residents?