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Prince George's County ADU task force agrees draft size, code and permit reforms but leaves parking and definitions unresolved
Summary
A county task force laid out draft recommendations for ADUs including size caps (attached 850 sq ft, detached 75%/1,200 sq ft), a 22-foot height cap proposal, sprinkler exemptions and streamlined permitting; questions remain on parking, baseline definitions for conversions and owner-occupancy.
Veil Adams Stafford, councilmember for District 5 and vice chair of the Accessory Dwelling Units task force, opened the meeting by saying the group hoped to "come out of this with some very strong legislation that will be impactful for so many folks here in our county."
The task force heard reports from subgroup chairs and staff about recommended code and zoning changes. Rena Hightower, committee director for the Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee, summarized the building-code subgroup's suggestion to adopt appendices from the International Residential Code (citing the 2024 IRC Appendix B and the 2021 IRC appendices) to cover tiny homes and manufactured units. Hightower also described a subgroup recommendation to exempt ADUs from a new sprinkler requirement when the principal residence does not have sprinklers, noting that "that is something the entire task force would need to vote on."
Cheryl Abrams Davis, speaking for the Building Code & Standards subgroup, asked staff to ensure prior recommendations are not lost amid new updates and urged…
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