Accessory Apartments--What Happened Tuesday Night at the Council Hearing

[Meredith Wellington]

Dear Neighbors,

On Tuesday night, civics, affordable housing advocates and the County Council began a dialogue about accessory apartments and what’s right and what’s wrong about the new proposal to relax standards for accessory apartments.

Here is an excellent summary of Tuesday night’s hearing:

Summary by Jean Cavanaugh and Woody Brosnan, both of Silver Spring
 
On September 11, the County Council held a public hearing on ZTA 12-11 <http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/zta/2012/zta_12-11.pdf> , the proposed loosening of the rules on accessory apartments; the principal change is elimination of the public notice and public participation component in the current code. The hearing lasted more than two hours with 27 witnesses. Seven council members were present. Council members Valerie Ervin and Nancy Navarro were absent. We did not observe anyone from the county executive’s office or the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, so one could surmise the county executive is still trying to come up with a position.  There was widespread misinformation about what is allowed and not allowed with regards to nanny, caretaker, and mother-in-law suites (allowed under Registered Living Unit <http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/dhctmpl.asp?url=/Content/dhca/Licensing/registered_living_units.asp>  program), and the business of a homeowner renting an apartment to a tenant with the goal of financial gain for whatever motive (paying mortgage, living in a bigger house, financing college education, etc).

As the next step, the Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee will hold a work session on the Zoning Text Amendment at 9:30 a.m., Oct. 8, in Committee Hearing Room 7. Councilmember Nancy Floreen, the committee chair, said they could be having many sessions on ZTA 12-11. The first is an information and fact gathering session, Ms. Floreen said.

The 27 witnesses were split roughly three-ways between civic federations opposed to eliminating special exception hearings for accessory apartments, affordable housing groups supporting the ZTA as proposed by the Planning Board, and "smart growth" groups like Action Committee for Transit (ACT) who want to eliminate the ZTA's distance requirements and cap. The Montgomery County Renters Alliance testified on rent stabilization and tenant rights.  There were those who were willing to consider the ZTA if there were more safeguards added for appropriate parking, public participation and an effective inspection process with consistent follow up and reporting on violations.

Public process, enforcement and parking were the major concerns. "When residents have to hunt for parking spots on their own streets, you create a  problem," said Marilyn Piety, Vice President/Chair of Zoning Committee, Sligo Branview Citizens Association.

Councilmember George Leventhal was very appreciative of the efforts of the folks in a “citizens coalition” who formed around the issue of accessory apartments, analyzed the proposed ZTA and made specific recommendations for changes <http://wearemoco.org/task-force-needed-to-improve-accessory-apartment-zta/#more-1947> . He asked Ms. Piety, a coalition coordinator, if she could support some changes on accessory apartments if they could resolve the parking problems described in her testimony. Ms. Piety responded that it would depend on the details, but that she was not saying "no accessory apartments, no way,” a view shared by many of the civic associations.

Jean Cavanaugh, Silver Spring, urged the county to make a concerted effort to locate illegal accessory apartments before it considers changes to the current special exception process. The county cannot meet local distance limits or countywide caps if it does not know how many accessory apartments exist, she testified, referencing research showing most accessory apartments are illegal.

Affordable housing advocates argued that the length and cost of the special exception process was hindering the development of legal accessory apartments. Barbara Goldman Goldberg, a director of the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County, said accessory apartments "have been driven underground by the high cost of compliance."

But Councilmember Marc Elrich challenged Goldberg and others to prove the assertion that the special exception process costs homeowners as much as $20,000. He said he's talked to accessory apartment owners who have gone through the process with no lawyer or consultant and filled out the forms by hand. The expense comes from complying with building and fire code, not the special exception hearings, he said.  Code compliance will remain obligatory regardless of any change in accessory apartment approval processes.

Wheaton civic leader Kim Persaud said that without the special exception hearing they could not have stopped a property owner from, in effect, opening a boarding house in their neighborhood. At the special exception hearing the neighbors were the ones who exposed the fact that all County officials, from DOT staff to DHCA, had underestimated by half the actual size of the accessory apartment being proposed.

Naomi Spinrad, Vice President/Development, Chevy Chase West Neighborhood Association and coalition coordinator, recommended the County create a task force of interested parties and stakeholders to find common ground, research facts and best practices, and present to the Council and Executive a more robust proposal for improving safety of tenants and protection of neighborhoods.
 
Woody Brosnan, Silver Spring, pointed to Ms. Persaud’s example as proof of why the county needs to retain some form of public notice and appeal rights for new accessory apartments. Mr. Brosnan suggested a streamlined process where a zoning examiner could make a finding, but that finding could be appealed on the basis that the examiner made a mistake in determining whether the accessory apartment met county standards.

Some of the witnesses, like Ben Ross from Action Committee for Transit, argued for eliminating the cap of 2,000 as well as the 300 foot distance limit between accessory apartments proposed by the Planning Board. Mr. Ross, on behalf of ACT, argued for measures to make "two-family houses" the norm in Montgomery County.

Overall, the hearing had a constructive tone. Affordable housing groups seemed willing to back the ZTA as proposed by the Planning Board. Civic associations called for retention of the public notice and public participation components in the current code. Most Council members present seemed to understand the complexity of the issues.

The hearing will be re-broadcast at 9 p.m. on Friday, September 14, on Comcast channel
6, RCN 6, and Verizon 30.
 
Jean Cavanaugh
jeanca...@fastmail.fm

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Neighbors, I will be back in touch soon about the zoning rewrite. The zoning rewrite is before the Planning Board, while the accessory apartments issue is at the Council.

Stay Tuned!

Meredith

Neighborhood Montgomery
A Neighborhood Network for Sensible Growth
http://groups.google.com/group/neighborhood-montgomery