As Montgomery County, Maryland considers a new law to allow more development of accessory dwelling units. The devil is in the details.
"Members of the Montgomery County Council continued Tuesday to hash out details of a proposal that would open additional parts of the county for the addition of accessory dwelling units at private houses," reports Dan Schere.
The changes to Montgomery County's accessory dwelling unit regulations are the result of legislation proposed by at-large council member Hans Riemer, first mentioned by Planetizen in February.
"At issue are several details such as whether the county’s current requirement of 1,200 square feet should be deleted, whether only to allow the units at existing homes and how much parking should be required," according to Schere.
Among the points of discussion at this weeks meeting was the potential to adjusting parking requirements for new ADUs built within a mile of existing Metro stations and future Purple Line stations.
As noted by Schere, there are already 472 accessory dwelling units scattered around the country, not counting those in municipalizes like Rockville and Gaithersburg. Many of those existing units are illegal, however, because they fail to conform to the zoning code.
FULL STORY: Proposed Accessory Apartment Rule Changes Challenged
Chicago eliminates parking requirements near transit
In 2025, Illinois barred cities from mandating parking near train and bus stations.
Pittsburgh Mayor Proposes Zoning Changes to Curb Housing Shortage
The mayor’s plan includes legalizing ADUs in single-family neighborhoods, eliminating parking requirements, and adding new affordability requirements to buildings with over 20 units.
Can Zoning Reform Save Pittsburgh’s Affordable Housing?
With home sale prices growing faster than anywhere in the country, the Steel City could enact major reforms to boost density and lower housing costs.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association