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two big events related to diversity in MoCo tonight: a town hall with @kojoshow on the achievement gap in schools, and a public hearing about making it easier to build accessory apartments, which I'm headed to soon
I'm going to livetweet as much of the @MoCoCouncilMD hearing on accessory apartments as I can, but may go home at a reasonable time, because after 13 years of this stuff I am trying to prioritize self-care 😬
@MoCoCouncilMD first up is the assistant to County Executive Marc Elrich, who says accessory apartments will create more traffic, overcrowd schools, won't be affordable, and will threaten the county's "carrying capacity" #MoCoADU (his full letter: dropbox.com/s/xslwhuemcsbf…) 
next up is Joel Rubin from the Town of Chevy Chase, who worries the new rules will create duplexes, and someone from Chevy Chase Section 3, who says it'll "destroy single-family neighborhoods" and invite "strangers who have no allegiance to the community" #MoCoADU
Casey Anderson offers the Planning Board's comments: accessory apartments "won't solve the affordable housing problem, but if we want to seriously address the shortage of affordable housing, we need to consider this." #MoCoADU
Miche Booz from the "historic town" of Brookeville, which legalized accessory apartments 20 years ago: "One-fifth of our households have ADUs, and so far our town hasn't experienced any negative effects." #MoCoADU
Architect resident Ralph Bennett said "Montgomery County is experiencing a housing crisis of serious proportions" then some audience member audibly scoffed, so it's time to bring out the MoCo population growth GIF #MoCoADU
high school teacher Shannon Heaton: "My husband and I have a mortgage worth of student loan debt that has kept us from buying a house…with accessory apartments, public school teachers might be able to afford to live in the county where they teach." #MoCoADU
Larry Dickter of Four Corners says there's a "silent majority" who opposes accessory apartments. “How many people on the campaign trail asked you to destabilize their neighborhoods, unravel their social fabric, and undermine their unity and cohesion?” #MoCoADU
Tina Slater from the Sierra Club: “If people leave the county to find affordable housing, we'll still have to deal with their traffic.” She cites a recent study saying that most existing accessory apartments in MoCo are near transit: montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/Resour… #MoCoADU
Barry Wides in White Oak and Kim Persaud in Wheaton both talk about issues with unlicensed accessory apartments, which can be found in many East County neighborhoods. I wrote about one way back in 2007: justupthepike.com/2007/08/one-ad… #MoCoADU
Kim in Wheaton: are accessory apartments only for "predominantly white, affluent areas like Takoma Park and Chevy Chase? Will the county continue to ignore the way black residents live in overcrowded, rat-infested neighborhoods?" #MoCoADU
Carl Elefante of Takoma Park wants an ADU to help cover housing costs. "I pay over $5,000 a year in taxes on my property. This is about being able to stay in my house as I age." His neighbors live in an ADU, and “they’ve made my neighborhood a better place.” #MoCoADU
Janet of Janet Road (!) says illegal apartments take up parking on her street: "We have a household with 10 vehicles across from one with 7 vehicles across from one with 9. The county doesn't do anything to relieve the people who've been here for 40 years." #MoCoADU
Both John Paukstis from Habitat for Humanity and Cheryl Cort from @betterDCregion note that accessory apartments have benefits across generations. Cheryl: They “can help an older family age in place, or a younger family buy their first home.” #MoCoADU
Like some East County speakers, Dan Wilhelm of the Greater Colesville Citizens Association opposes the new rules, but then: “We agree that housing in the county is expensive, and county policies make housing so expensive that new housing will not be built.” #MoCoADU
ironically, I know two families in Colesville who live in *legal* accessory apartments, both of whom moved into their aging parents' homes and built them for their parents, while taking over the main house to raise their kids. #MoCoADU
Architect Paul Gaiser is describing in detail how the proposed rules could create some design issues and brought pictures, but only the councilmembers have a copy of the pictures to look at, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #MoCoADU
Another architect, Ileana Schinder: "I urge you to welcome more and different types of families in Montgomery County. This will allow teachers to afford to live near the schools they teach at, and nurses to live near the hospitals they serve at." #MoCoADU
also, @ileanaschinder wrote this great explainer laying out how accessory apartments work and how you can build one for @ggwash: ggwash.org/view/70577/the… #MoCoADU
Bernard Brill of Potomac lives in a homeowners association. "Will accessory apartment residents be able to use HOA amenities like basketball courts, swimming pools, and walking paths? Will they pay HOA fees and abide by the HOA rules?" #MoCoADU
Paul Jarosinski of Olney calls accessory apartments “a serious breach of trust for homeowners who have invested a half-million dollars or more in their home,” and this isn't the first time we've heard that #MoCoADU
Eric Brenner of Forest Glen: “The county doesn’t have a lot of money lying around to buy or subsidize housing. Low-income residents or people who are just plain frugal should have more options, and ADUs give them that.” #MoCoADU
"My politics are probably more centrist than most of the [accessory apartment] supporters who were ahead of me," Eric jokes, which reminds me of @JonCoppage's "free-market" argument for ADUs: rstreet.org/wp-content/upl… #MoCoADU
Cheryl Gannon also brings up aging in place: "Many seniors need a helping hand, but don't want to be a burden and want to live where they want. Accessory apartments can bring dignity and independence and peace of mind to families like mine." #MoCoADU
Edmund Morris's family spent years trying to build an ADU in Rockville. “We’re asking for the option, not the requirement. If you don’t want one, why should we not have access to do this because of some vague sense of threat to the neighborhood?” #MoCoADU
Mary Ann Dillon from the Housing Initiative Partnership seconds that: "No one is forcing you to build an ADU. It is giving you a choice for what you can do with your home. Most homeowners aren’t going to choose to have this. But they’ll have the option." #MoCoADU
Richard Hoye from Bethesda closes this hearing out: "This builds social capital. I've seen the great unmet need of citizens around the county. The real power in [accessory apartments] is to build social networks through integrated communities." #MoCoADU
the council vending machines are gone—memories of sneaking treats in during these brutal dinnertime public hearings—so uh I guess it’s time to raid the fridge at home
@threadreaderapp unroll please, thank you!
