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Town attorney flags Maryland HB1466 changes for accessory dwelling units, requests local review
Summary
Town Attorney informed council that Maryland HB1466 (and an accompanying technical amendment) requires jurisdictions to treat detached ADUs like accessory buildings for setbacks and may require traffic studies to justify additional parking rules; council tasked staff to check whether existing parking/traffic studies suffice.
Town Attorney Ron told the council that the newly passed Maryland House Bill 1466 (awaiting the governor’s signature) will require jurisdictions to adopt policies treating detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) the same as other accessory buildings for setback purposes.
He said the law takes effect October 2025 with implementation obligations by October 2026. The statute requires jurisdictions that impose new parking requirements for ADUs to justify them with traffic studies. Ron noted the town of Somerset currently requires at least one on-site parking space for ADUs but does not impose ADU-specific setbacks, and advised the town to examine whether prior traffic or parking studies will satisfy the law’s justification requirement or whether a new study is needed.
Ron also described a technical amendment that clarifies the town’s authority to regulate multifamily buildings up to four units, which will allow the town to apply building requirements (setbacks, height limits, etc.) to duplexes, triplexes and quads under the existing land-use article.
Councilors asked staff to identify any existing studies that could satisfy the traffic-study requirement and to notify residents when the governor signs the law. The town agreed to follow the statute’s timeline while staff prepares recommended code revisions if needed.
Next steps: staff and the town attorney will assess existing parking/traffic studies and prepare a timeline for any code changes required to comply with the new law.
