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Planning Commission recommends zoning text amendment to align ADU rules with state law
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Summary
The Gaithersburg Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend a technical zoning text amendment (CTAM 103072026) that clarifies multiple sections of Chapter 24 and amends accessory dwelling unit (ADU) parking rules to comply with State House Bill HB 1466.
The Gaithersburg Planning Commission on April 22 recommended that the mayor and city council adopt a technical amendment to Chapter 24 of the city code that clarifies language, fixes typographical errors and revises accessory dwelling unit (ADU) provisions to comply with State House Bill HB 1466.
Caroline Seiden, a city staff member, read the staff recommendation for text amendment CTAM 103072026 and told commissioners the joint public hearing was held April 6, 2026; "there was no public testimony during the hearing," she said, and the record currently contains eight exhibits. Seiden described the package as changes to multiple sections of Chapter 24 intended to clarify definitions and correct errors.
The most substantive change discussed involved ADU parking. The chair asked whether the draft language means the city may require an additional parking space only in neighborhoods that have an existing parking permit program. Seiden explained: "If we don't have a parking program in place, we would not be able to require...an additional parking space. If later we do have a parking program and then a new ADU comes in, we would then have the ability to require a new space." She added that the city’s parking program would serve as the parking study referenced in state law, noting that the state language prevents requiring an additional parking space "except if there's been a parking study."
After brief discussion, a commissioner moved that the Planning Commission, "based on the exhibits and based on the evidence in the record and the staff reports recommend adoption of text amendment CTAM 103072026 to the mayor and city council." The motion was seconded, called to a vote by the chair and passed unanimously.
The commission's action was a recommendation to the mayor and city council; it does not itself amend the city code. The amendment package, as presented by staff, focuses on clarifying multiple numbered sections of Chapter 24 and aligning ADU provisions with the state law requirement about parking studies. The staff presentation and the planning commission record are the principal sources for the commission's recommendation.
The Planning Commission concluded its business and thanked Seiden for the presentation; the matter will proceed to the mayor and city council for final action.
