Two New County Laws Go Into Effect on Sunday

Owners of short-term rentals through services such as airbnb will be required to register and license the properties. Graphic from Wikimedia Commons Two significant pieces of legislation will take effect in Montgomery County on Sunday, July 1. One will require owners of short-term residential rentals to register and license their rental properties. The second will raise the county’s minimum wage, … Read More

$300,000 Dale Drive pedestrian safety study to begin in July

Residents form coalition to address Dale Drive safety issues

An example of the aftermath of an accident on Dale Drive. Photo by Julie Englund. A $300,000 study on potential long-term pedestrian safety enhancements to Dale Drive will begin in July following the County Council’s final budget approval yesterday. The funding for the Department of Transportation work was proposed in March by Councilmember Tom Hucker (D-District 5) during a hearing … Read More

Council schedules hearing on deportation legal assistance funding

Photo from Wikimedia Commons The County Council has scheduled a public hearing on a special appropriation that would provide funding for legal assistance to “Residents Detained for Deportation Proceedings,” according to a press release. The hearing will be held Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. on the proposal to appropriate $374,957 from the general fund’s undesignated reserve. The special … Read More

Zoning change, budget hearings to highlight council’s week

Stella B. Werner Council Office Building. Montgomery County photo. A change in zoning regulations to attract large companies and a series of operating budget hearings highlight this week’s County Council business. County Executive Ike Leggett requested that the council introduce Zoning Text Amendment 18-05, Uses, Use Standards, and Regulatory Approvals – Signature Business Headquarters, which would revise the review process … Read More

Local students stage walkout, march to Washington for gun control

Students head down Colesville Road for a march on Washginton. Several hundred Montgomery Blair High School students joined others from the area yesterday to march on Washington to demand new gun controls in the aftermath of the high school killings last week in Parkland, Fla. The students began gathering at 9:30 a.m. and walked down Colesville Road accompanied by a … Read More

Council vote allows prepayment of 2018 property tax

Montgomery County graphic County residents may prepay their 2018 property taxes under emergency legislation passed Tuesday by the County Council. The council acted in reaction to legislation signed last week that revamped the U.S. tax code. Among other provisions, the law limits the state and local income tax, sales tax and property tax deductions for those who itemize to $10,000 … Read More

County Council Votes to Approve $15 per Hour Minimum Wage

The County Council voted unanimously to require all county employers to pay employees a minimum wage of $15 an hour by July 1, 2024. In addition, the bill requires that the minimum wage be adjusted annually for inflation according to the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, starting July 1, 2022. The county is one of … Read More

Proposed Zoning Amendment Would Regulate Antennas for Wireless Service

Photo from Wikimedia Commons. County Executive Ike Leggett has released a draft zoning text amendment to regulate the deployment of small cell antennas for wireless service in the county. Leggett has scheduled a public meeting to get input on this proposal before sending legislation to the County Council. The meeting will be held Monday, Oct. 23 from 7-9 p.m. in … Read More

Council approves measures to regulate short-term rentals

Graphic from Wikimedia Commons. Short-term rentals including bed and breakfast uses will be licensed and regulated under the terms of two unanimous actions taken by the County Council this week. Zoning Text Amendment 17-03, Accessory Residential Uses–Short-term Rentals, will permit short-term rentals in most residential and mixed-use zones under services such as Airbnb, Home Away and others. under these conditions: … Read More