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Bill would remove barriers to production of additional affordable housing stock
esterday, Councilmember Andrew Friedson, chair of the Council’s Planning, Housing & Parks (PHP) Committee, and Council President Natali Fani-González introduced legislation to modernize the County’s Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) policies. The bill would eliminate an owner-occupancy requirement and eliminate licensing fees to build an ADU with affordability requirements. The legislation is cosponsored by Vice President Marilyn Balcombe as well as Councilmembers Shebra Evans, Dawn Luedtke, Evan Glass, Kate Stewart, Laurie-Anne Sayles, and Sidney Katz.
“With the guidance of national experts, this bill modernizes our ADU policies to better align with best practices to increase housing options and supply as one effective tool to address our housing supply crisis,” said Chair Friedson.
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In 2019, the Council unanimously adopted Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 19-01, with the goal of removing significant barriers for homeowners seeking to build ADUs. According to data from the Department of Permitting Services, there have been 222 ADUs permitted in Montgomery County since 2019.
In 2024, the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) identified easing or eliminating owner-occupancy requirements as an opportunity to further align the County’s ADU policies with recommended best practices. The report states that this policy change “allows owners who move to another home to still rent out both dwellings on their property. This can build wealth for the homeowner and can expand the supply of rental housing in high-opportunity neighborhoods.”
“Families are struggling to pay for essential services, particularly in the areas of housing, childcare and health care. On the housing front, I am committed to creating more housing opportunities that help our residents,” Council President Fani-González said. “ADUs are part of these essential opportunities to increase the housing stock in Montgomery County, bringing housing costs down. By allowing people to continue to rent out their homes and ADUs, we create more options for homeowners and renters. Everyone wins in this situation.”
In addition to the OLO report, Montgomery Planning staff analysis shows that jurisdictions with some of the nation’s highest ADU production rates, including Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles, have removed owner-occupancy requirements, and Montgomery Planning’s recent jurisdictional comparison found that high-producing jurisdictions generally do not retain these restrictions. The PHP Committee also heard from subject matter experts at organizations like AARP, who identified removing owner-occupancy requirements and promoting affordability as two best practices to increase the production of ADUs.
The legislation would also remove another barrier for ADU production by waiving various county fees for ADUs if the applicant enters into an agreement with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs to charge rent affordable to households earning 65 percent or less of the area median income for a period of at least 10 consecutive years.
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A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. A PHP Committee worksession for the bill is scheduled for Oct. 26.
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Read the original article at mcgov
