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Council removes tiny-house allowances from building and zoning codes
Summary
In second readings, Bowie councilors approved two ordinances that delete tiny-house provisions from the building code and zoning-use chart, citing infrastructure and water-supply concerns. The measures passed by voice roll call.
The Bowie City Council approved two ordinances in second reading to remove tiny-house provisions from the city's building and zoning codes.
Ordinance 2026-3 amends Chapter 3 (building and construction codes) to delete Appendix Q of the 2018 International Residential Code, a step the council described as restricting new tiny-house construction going forward. Councilors said the change responds to infrastructure capacity and concerns about the number of meters the city's water plant would need to serve.
A companion measure, Ordinance 2026-04, deletes tiny houses in their entirety from the residential uses chart in the planning and zoning section of the code. Council members said the tiny-house allowance had been adopted earlier as a pilot or future review item and that current conditions (infrastructure limits and lack of demonstrated affordable-housing outcomes) supported removing the use from the code.
Both measures were presented as second readings, moved, seconded and approved by roll-call assent from the councilors present.
Staff and councilors noted the ordinances do not retroactively remove existing tiny houses already permitted under prior code language; the change applies to new construction going forward. Council members also tied the decision to ongoing prioritization of water and utility capacity while the city pursues system upgrades and grant funding.
