A vote on a tenant safety bill and public hearings on proposed zoning changes to allow campgrounds and potential charter amendments top the Montgomery County Council’s agenda this week.
The council will meet at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Council to vote on tenant safety bill inspired by fatal Silver Spring apartment fire
The council will vote whether to pass a bill that would require a residential lease to include information related to renter’s insurance, automatic sprinkler systems and emergency evacuation and safety plans.
Council Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) is sponsoring the legislation inspired by the deadly February 2023 fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartment complex in her district, as well as last summer’s massive power outage at The Grand,l a North Bethesda apartment complex.
The bill would require multiunit apartment complex owners to notify residents and prospective renters about whether their buildings have sprinklers and to provide information about the risks of living in a building without sprinklers.
Melanie Diaz, 25, died following a three-alarm fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartment complex on Feb. 18, 2023. At least 17 other residents and three firefighters were hospitalized, and nearly 400 residents were displaced after their units were condemned. The complex’s lack of sprinklers, which weren’t required under state law, came under scrutiny by public officials.
At a public hearing in April, Diaz’s family members and other survivors of the fire urged the council to pass the bill.
Public hearing on campground zoning ordinance
The council will hear from residents on a proposed bill introduced last month that would allow campgrounds to be built in more types of zoned areas throughout the county, including the upcounty Agricultural Reserve.
Currently, campgrounds are only allowed in the Rural (R) and Residential Estate 2C (RE-2C) zones under the county zoning ordinance.
The proposed zoning text amendment is sponsored by councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2), Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3), Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) and Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7).
If passed, it would allow campgrounds for tents and recreational vehicles in the Agricultural (AR) and specific Residential Rural (RC) zones. The Agricultural Reserve is a 93,000-acre zoned area in the upcounty where only one house is allowed per 25 acres, according to zoning laws. Overnight stays also would be allowed, with a goal of boosting agritourism in the county, according to county officials.
Under the county code, a campground is defined as a “parcel, lot, or tract of land used for two or more tent or recreational vehicle campsites.” This definition does not include manufactured homes.
Public hearing on proposed charter review ballot measures
The council will also hear from the public on three proposed ballot measures for the November election.
Some council members are seeking to put a question on the ballot that would ask voters to decide whether county budget decisions could be approved by fewer members than the number now required under the county charter.
Councilmembers Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3) and Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large) are sponsoring a resolution that would change the number of councilmember votes needed to approve certain budget decisions, based on a recommendation from the county’s Charter Review Commission.
According to the resolution:
- At least two-thirds of councilmembers would need to approve an operating budget that exceeds the total of the previous year’s operating budget, a change from the current requirement of approval by seven councilmembers;
- At least two-thirds of councilmembers would need to approve passing an operating budget that exceeds spending affordability guidelines, a change from the current requirement of approval by eight councilmembers; and
- At least two-thirds of councilmembers would need to approve passing an increase in the property tax rate, a change from the requirement that all councilmembers must approve a proposed increase.
Under the current model of the 11-member council, two-thirds would be equivalent to at least eight votes. For purposes of the amendment, two-thirds would be calculated by multiplying the number of current councilmembers by two-thirds and then rounding up to the nearest whole number.
Another proposed charter amendment, recommended by the commission and sponsored by Katz, would amend the county charter to confirm automatically any appointment made by the county executive to a non-merit position if the council has not voted on the appointment within 60 days after receiving a nomination from the county executive.
According to the county code, non-merit positions include directors of the regional services centers, the director of the Office of Community Partnership and the director of strategic partnerships, assistant chief administrative officers and special projects managers.
A third proposed ballot measure has been proposed by members of the public via petition. It could place a referendum for a two-term limit on the county executive on the November ballot. The initiative is sponsored by the Committee for Better Government, which is led by former Montgomery County Republican party chair and 2022 GOP county executive nominee Reardon Sullivan. The committee has submitted a petition to the Montgomery County Board of Elections to request that the referendum be placed on the ballot.
The elections board announced last week the petition is 626 valid signatures short of the minimum of 10,000 required to place the question on the ballot. The committee has until July 29 to submit additional signatures to the board. Sullivan told MoCo360 in an email Friday that he delivered over 7,000 more signatures to the board to be vetted.