For Immediate Release: Friday, September 15, 2017
Montgomery Council Committee to
Review Short-term Rentals and Licensing for
Bed and Breakfast Establishments
Also on September 18: The Housing Initiative Program, Tree House Child Assessment Center, and update on
MCPS fund balance
ROCKVILLE, Md., September 15, 2017— The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Floreen and includes Councilmember Leventhal and Council Vice President Riemer, will meet on September 18 at 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room to review Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 17-03, Accessory Residential Uses – Short-term Rentals, and Bill 2-16, Transient Housing – Licensing and Registration, which were the subject of a September 12 public hearing. ZTA 17-03 and Bill 2-16 represent the County Planning Board’s recommendations to balance the substantial economic potential for County residents of short-term residential services like Airbnb with concerns about regulating these services.
ZTA 17-03, Accessory Residential Uses – Short-term Rentals, would make a bed and breakfast a limited use in most residential and mixed-used zones. It would limit short-term residential occupancy through services like Airbnb, FlipKey, and HomeAway to 90 days when the owner is not present and residing at the property. It would also establish limitations on the number of adult overnight guests per unit and per bedroom, and require one off-street parking space be provided for each rental contract.
Bill 2-16, introduced on February 2, 2016 by lead sponsor Council Vice President Riemer and cosponsor Councilmember Rice, would revise Chapter 54 of the County Code to update the provisions for hotels, delete forms of transient housing no longer allowed by the Zoning Code, establish a less burdensome method of licensing for bed and breakfast establishments, and assign responsibilities for licensing between Executive departments.
A public hearing was conducted on September 12, during which most of the testimony favored the Planning Board’s recommendations. Suggested amendments which were discussed during the hearing have been included as issues for the meeting.
The staff reports on these interconnected issues can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7407&meta_id=142911 and http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7407&meta_id=142913
The PHED Committee also will review the implementation of Bill 31-12, Accessory Apartments – Licensing, which was sponsored by the PHED Committee. Bill 31-12 amended the process for approval of an accessory apartment. Under the new procedure, in most cases, the review of compliance and issuing of a rental license for an accessory apartment is administered by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
Council staff has proposed that the PHED Committee discuss three main issues regarding administration of the units: (1) the timely posting of applications and reports on the website, (2) the posting of Director’s reports that do not have findings on all requirements, and (3) whether the current requirement for proof of primary residence is sufficient.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7407&meta_id=142962
Also on September 18, at 9:30 a.m., the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Leventhal and includes Councilmember Rice and Council President Berliner, will meet in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room to review Executive Regulation 7-17 - Requirements for the Housing Initiative Program, which supersedes Executive Regulation 20-12 to establish the requirements for the Housing Initiative Program. The objective of the Housing Initiative Program is to build to new housing units, with a focus on constructing new affordable housing units, buying land and providing loans for the building of affordable housing, and providing rent subsidies to low- and moderate-income families.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7406&meta_id=142903
The HHS Committee will close out its meeting with a briefing from the Tree House Child Assessment Center, a non-profit organization is dedicated to reducing trauma and promoting healing for child victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. During discussion of the FY18 Operating Budget for the County’s Department of Health and Human Services, the HHS Committee requested an update on the Tree House wait list and its transition to an independent nonprofit.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7406&meta_id=142905
The ED Committee also will meet at 2 p.m. to review the FY17 Year-end Financial Report of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), consider a resolution to approve categorical transfers for the MCPS FY17 Operating Budget and FY17 Grant Funds, and discuss the fund balance in the operating fund and group insurance fund.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7408&meta_id=142907
The Committee meetings will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon. The meetings also will be available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .
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Release ID: 17-278