ROCKVILLE -- How many bureaucrats does it take to build affordable housing? In Montgomery County, a small army.

A relatively simple idea from County Council Vice President Steven A. Silverman (D-At large) of Silver Spring -- building housing on surplus county property -- continues to move forward at a snail's pace.

Silverman, who first suggested the idea in February 2002, said he has become frustrated by the red tape.

County housing officials have outlined a 10-step, 200-plus-day process simply to transfer surplus land from the county to its own Department of Housing and Community Affairs. If the land is owned by the school system, add five more steps and months to the process. And that's before private developers will be asked to come up with proposals and seek to get the land. That's another eight steps or so.

Bureaucrats from the Department of Public Works and Transportation, Montgomery County Public Schools, the county Office of Management and Budget, the state Board of Public Works, the State Interagency Committee on School Construction, the hearing examiner and the county Planning Board each could have their crack at the projects.

Silverman said he is hopeful that the time frame could be shortened. He added that it would be ironic if the county's own red tape delays its efforts at building affordable housing, given that it has created a "green tape" streamlined process for private developers who want to build it.

The county has identified seven sites for possible development: two in Potomac, one in North Bethesda, two in Washington Grove, one in Olney and one in Glenmont.

At the current zoning, even if all of the sites were developed, they would yield a bit more than 150 units. But Silverman said the council controls zoning and could upzone some of the properties to maximize their development potential while taking into account local concerns.

The Potomac properties, for example, are set in a two-acre-per-unit residential zone, allowing just 15 units on 30 acres.

Silverman said it makes sense to have affordable housing in Potomac, noting that it is the county's policy to encourage economic diversity and dispersal of affordable units.

"I think it'll be clearly be controversial," he said. "We have a housing crisis. ... It makes just as much sense to have affordable special needs housing in Potomac as in Silver Spring."

Councilman Howard A. Denis (R-Dist. 1) of Chevy Chase said he has not taken a position on any of the sites, but questioned whether putting them in Potomac made the most sense.

"Smart growth is one of the keys here," he said. "... Transit is very important so people won't be isolated. There aren't any Metro stations in Potomac, and there aren't going to be any Metro stations. You don't want to put housing there just to put housing there."

But Silverman dismissed that argument, saying that the people who live in affordable units drive just as much as those who live in upscale housing.

"Teachers, cops and firefighters aren't using Metro," he said.

Silverman said that among the possibilities are catering to county employees, especially those who are hard to recruit, as well as to seniors or the developmentally disabled.

Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton said her communities in the east county, which already have more affordable housing than areas like Potomac, are looking for equity.

At any rate, it will likely be at least another year before any projects are approved, with ample time for public input.

And maybe, just maybe, a few hundred affordable housing units might be built. That would add less than one-tenth of 1 percent to the county's housing stock.