Montgomery County residents turned out in force at two public meetings on Monday to express concerns about a proposed rule change that would eliminate the special exception process for some accessory apartments, also known as “mother-in-law” apartments.
The zoning text amendment proposed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission staff would allow by right “attached” accessory apartments of up to 1,200 square feet that are located in certain residential and agricultural zones, and “detached” accessory apartments in specific residential zones. (See the zoning text amendment draft online for more details.)
Many residents objected, arguing that the special exception proceedings keep them informed and involved in the process.
“If they take away our voice by allowing accessory apartments by right, we don’t have a say,” said Kim Persaud, president of the Wheaton Regional Park Neighborhood Association. “These laws are going to change the way single-family homes look today.”
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An estimated 275 to 300 accessory apartments exist in Montgomery County today, Pamela Dunn told the crowded auditorium at the in downtown Silver Spring. Dunn is the project manager for the comprehensive zoning code rewrite underway at M-NCPPC.
Planner Gregory Russ, the coordinator for the proposed zoning text amendment, gave a brief presentation at the start of each meeting and led the question and answer sessions that followed. Russ explained that the motivation behind the rule change is to streamline the process for accessory apartments, while still protecting neighborhood character.
Current regulations require a special exception for every accessory apartment in Montgomery County, a process that usually takes nine to 13 months. The county's board of appeals approves special exceptions for an average of 10 apartments each year.
“It’s rare that we get one that’s denied,” Russ said.
Instead of the board of appeals subjectively deciding which special exception applications to approve, a by-right process would establish objective criteria, Russ said. Apartments that do not meet those parameters can still seek approval through the special exception process, while apartments that meet by-right standards would still go through a registration and inspection process prior to being inhabited. Homeowners would also still need a rental license from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
“It doesn’t mean no oversight; it just means no public hearing,” Dunn said.
Russ repeatedly said that streamlining accessory apartments would result in more affordable housing throughout Montgomery County and more opportunities for elderly homeowners to age in place on a fixed income.
Barbara Sanders, a Silver Spring resident, remembers when her son Greg returned to the area after earning a graduate degree and getting a job in D.C.--but was unable to afford anything more than a studio apartment. Then he found a family with a basement apartment in their 1930s-era colonial home, looking for a renter. The arrangement suited both sides perfectly, as the family used the extra income to send one of their children to college. But Sanders was one of only a few people in the audience with something positive to say about streamlining the accessory apartment process.
Many questions from the audience revealed a deep mistrust about the ability of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs to enforce accessory apartment codes.
"I'm really kind of cynical that you're going to be out there regulating this,” said Howard Nussbaum, president of the Kensington Heights Civic Association. “With the special exception, I know what's going on next door and I can put my two cents in."
Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich attended the afternoon public meeting and shared how he had recently accompanied some county housing inspectors on their rounds in Wheaton.
“They don’t even have the manpower to do what they do today in a reasonable amount of time,” Elrich said afterward. “How are they going to be able to go out and monitor everything else?" And there is no extra budget money to support them, he added.
He also noted that homeowners can exercise their constitutional rights and refuse these inspections unless the inspectors have a search warrant, making enforcement for accessory apartment rules very difficult.
Elrich added that if M-NCPPC sees affordable housing as a critical priority, more attention should be paid instead to transit-oriented development areas.
“This is about taking other single-family neighborhoods and radically altering them,” he said after the meeting.
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During the Q&A portion, Elrich asked whether the planning department had looked at revising the special exception process to shorten the time period rather than eliminating it altogether.
“It’s certainly on the table,” Russ said later.
Although DHCA participated in talks for the comprehensive zoning code rewrite, the working group for the zoning text amendment did not specifically consult the agency, Russ said. But he added that the time for DHCA to officially comment would come after the ZTA has been introduced by the county council, if it reaches that stage.
Monday’s public meetings marked the beginning of a lengthy public process.
The next step is for the Planning Board to make a recommendation to transmit the zoning text amendment to the county council. Then, if a councilmember chose to formally introduce the ZTA, it would be sent back to the planning board, which would hold another public hearing before sending back comments to the council. Next, the council would hold its own public hearing, and the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development committee would hold worksessions. Finally, the ZTA would come before the full council for a vote.
The Planning Board is scheduled to take up the ZTA in June.
Should certain accessory apartments be allowed by right? Or should all accessory apartments continue to go through a special exception process? Share your opinion in the comment section below.
I think it makes sense to allow accessory apartments within the specified limits without a permit process where there is no expansion of the building or a new building involved. Where there is, there such be a process that merges the building permit process with approval of the intended use. In most of the rest of the world, including affluent industrialized countries, the norm of number of people in a given floor space is much higher than int he U.S. For environmental and economic reasons, we need to accept that as an option for people.
You're right, buying a home is the most important investment someone makes. So why should your neighbors get to dictate what you do with your property, especially if what they're doing meets building codes and the local zoning? The size of the average US household has been falling for decades. A house in one of MoCo's older neighborhoods was built for much larger families than those who currently live in them now. If a family with an only child is living in a four-bedroom house, letting them build an apartment and rent it out to a single adult or a couple isn't "changing" the neighborhood - it's bringing it back to the occupancy level it was built for.
Furthermore, many of the currently existing by-right apartments (possibly a majority based on experience though I didn't do a statistical survey) in Wheaton and non-wealthy areas are placed in houses that already have large "families" in them. Sometimes they're family; sometimes they're not. Consequently, many houses in Wheaton are not being brought "back to the occupancy level" they were. Instead, they are increasing the number of residents from 8 to 12, for example. All one needs to do is drive by during trash pickup day and you will get an idea of how many people live in a house. It was never intended that one 1,500 sqare foot house would result in five trash cans weekly, not including recycling. This probably isn't the case as much in wealthier areas, and very few of the the very few accessory apartments in these areas will end up with multiple families. In practical terms, the County has little interest (and consequently, little funding) to enforce housing laws that limit the number of people. Still, I think your statement should be taken with a grain, or perhaps bag, of salt.
The current system, by providing minimal requirements and a lot of public input, makes it very hard to do the "right thing," which I define as accessory units that not only meet building, safety and zoning codes, but are designed to be functional, attractive and contextual to their surroundings, and very easy to do the "wrong thing," either by creating units that meet the minimum standards but aren't very nice to live in, or by ignoring the process altogether and building illegal units. We should make it easier to do the right thing, and part of that means streamlining the process, even if that requires less public input. Instead, we should make it clearer what the "right thing" is. For instance, Vancouver, BC has a manual for designing accessory units (http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/lanewayhousing/pdf/LWHhowtoguide.pdf). Housing in MoCo is more expensive than it should be, whether it's in Wheaton or Potomac, and the only reason people do things like creating illegal units or overcrowding is because they can't afford to do otherwise. We should ensure that new accessory units are safe, habitable and fit into their neighborhood, but requiring the neighbors' approval isn't the best way to do so.