Posts tagged Accessory Dwellings
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Breakfast links: Elect
Vote now; Transportation on other ballots; Time change leaves Metro riders stranded; Storm gives New York temporary BRT; Accessory apartment for rent?; Less driving not just the economy; And…. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Busy busy legislators
Microgrids for MoCo?; Accessories get the nod; Tougher rules for scooters?; car2go hits 6,000 trips; Arlington taxis have company; Prince Georgeans want hens; Development drives Alexandria race; Camera revenue numbers mean little. Keep reading…
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Support accessory dwellings in Montgomery today
Tonight, the Montgomery County Council is holding a public hearing on the proposal to allow many homeowners to rent out parts of their houses, like basements and garages, without a burdensome special exception process. If you live in Montgomery County, please ask the council to approve the proposal and eliminate some of the more onerous restrictions. The hearing is at 7:30 pm. Keep reading…
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Don’t be silent; speak up for a better zoning code
The DC Zoning code shapes the form of our city and influences how walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented it is. Yet the code hasn’t been comprehensively updated since 1958. Priorities have changed a lot since 1958 — and that’s why it’s so important to get involved in this effort to create the framework to help us ensure the gains we’ve made in… Keep reading…
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Legalize two-family houses in Montgomery County
Let’s say you own a house in Montgomery County and you’re having trouble paying the mortgage. Or you have more space than you need and would like some extra income. If the zoning code is rewritten the way county planning staff proposed last week, you will be able to split your house into two apartments and rent one of them out … if you are five feet seven inches… Keep reading…
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Montgomery’s McMansions will need to find a new purpose
Skeptics of Montgomery County’s proposal to allow homeowners to build accessory apartments more easily claim it will change or harm single-family neighborhoods. But recent trends in housing suggest that those neighborhoods will change anyway. Slightly less than half of Montgomery households live in single-family homes today, and pretty soon they may no longer be… Keep reading…
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Building accessory dwellings in Montgomery County can be easier and more predictable
Citing increased housing costs, Montgomery County planners want to make it easier for homeowners to add accessory apartments or “granny flats” to their property and rent them out. While the new policy is a step in the right direction, balancing neighbors’ concerns with the need to provide more housing in high-demand areas will be a challenge. Last week,… Keep reading…
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Why the angst over accessory dwellings?
While DC’s zoning update discourse has bizarrely revolved thus far around a small group of opponents spreading false information, there are serious policy differences to genuinely debate. One is the proposal to allow accessory dwellings in single-family zones in DC and Montgomery County. Planning departments in both jurisdictions want to follow many other places… Keep reading…
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To remain affordable, Alexandria must get creative
Rents in Alexandria are skyrocketing. Virginia’s state laws don’t make it easy to create affordable housing for people earning less than the area median income, so the city has to think outside the box. True sustainability means that we provide housing options that mirror our workforce. This reduces people’s commute times, and cuts down on regional congestion. Keep reading…
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Rewritten DC zoning code corrects past mistakes
Accessory apartments, corner stores, alley dwellings, and less parking, all of which were legal when DC’s historic neighborhoods grew into their current form, could become more prevalent under a proposed new zoning code. The first third of the code is now out as a public draft, and residents will debate these and other changes in the coming months. Formal Zoning Commission… Keep reading…