For those of you not in Maryland, the purple line is a planned add on to public transportation in the Washington metropolitan area.

CASA pushes for rent control near Purple Line
By: Brian Hughes
Examiner Staff Writer

August 1, 2010 Maryland's largest pro-immigrant group is pushing Montgomery County leaders for laws that would keep rent from rising in a Hispanic enclave in Silver Spring near planned construction of the light rail Purple Line.

In a letter obtained by The Washington Examiner, CASA de Maryland implores Montgomery County Council members to develop affordable housing, along with employment guarantees for minorities that would keep residents in the overwhelmingly Hispanic Long Branch community from being uprooted.

Without protective measures taken by the council, CASA officials say the Purple Line, a light rail route expected to connect Bethesda and New Carrollton, would cause housing prices to soar and essentially displace Long Branch residents.

Among the "demands" issued by CASA: requiring no net loss of existing affordable housing, more local funding to keep housing prices down, and recruitment of minorities and individuals from pre-identified training programs for construction jobs tied to the Purple Line. [bold added]

"Because the Long Branch community is the county's most diverse, displacement in that community would adversely affect the county's level of diversity overall," wrote CASA staff attorney Zorayda Moreira-Smith. "Increase in rent for the existing community is not a viable option."

There are 3,500 apartments in the Long Branch area and more than three-quarters of residents are minority, according to CASA figures. The median household income is nearly $60,000.

Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large, a vocal supporter of rent control, said he also has concerns about displacement but that rent control would require an unrealistic amount of new construction in the area. And he balked at the job demands.

"I'm not interested in tailoring jobs for any one race of workers," he said. "Jobs should go to people who need jobs, period." [bold added]

The council last week approved a functional plan for the Purple Line and trains could start running in 2016.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local ... z0vPIKpRJu