ty enjoyed population growth during the 1970s, service workers were priced out of the housing market. Teachers and others who sought jobs in Montgomery County were unable to afford housing close to their work, and had long commutes as a result. Businesses and other employers (including the county) had difficulty attracting and retaining quality workers, and the issue that underlies all of Montgomery County's planning at this point is how to ensure that the people who provide the economic support for the county's growth through their employment can live relatively close to that employment so that quality workers can be attracted to the county. Up to this point, that issue has been resolved through the planning process with the focus on affordable housing.
Prior to any planning and zoning issues, market issues controlled the shape of Montgomery County. Affluent families moved in, able to afford the high cost of housing, but those families need services provided, such as quality police, fire and schools. In addition, businesses have located to Montgomery County, and they need quality workers. Since workers are unwilling to commute long distances from their homes, but they are unable to afford the housing in Montgomery County, the problem developed. One of the ways that the market might have resolved the shortage of housing is for employers (both the private and public sector) to increase salaries so that service workers could afford the housing in Montgomery County without additional subsidies from developers or the government. In this situation, the cost of resolving the issue would be borne by the taxpayers being served by service workers, and the businesses employing the other workers. The employees would have incentive to stay in the county since they would be making more m
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