Single-Family Zoning

February 9, 2026

Here is a second JotForm letter from our good friends at the Citizens Coordinating Committee for Friendship Heights (CCCFH) explaining why we should all be opposed to SB 36 / HB 239. In short, these heavy-handed bills are trying to remove zoning from the purview of local government and provide a state-wide, one size fits all approach which will suit no area well. Most importantly, these bills seek to end single-family zoning in the State of Maryland which will strain aging infrastructure and cause irreparable harm to our neighborhoods.

Here is an opportunity to sign on to a letter to Members of the House Economic Matters Committee and the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee.

Please sign this JotForm letter without delay and you may also share it through your social networks.

https://form.jotform.com/260327766730157

February 8, 2026

January 31, 2026

See below for background on bills being pushed in Maryland limiting local control of property zoning laws. Hearings for these bills are scheduled for Feb 12th and Feb 17th.

Just below are instructions for being counted in opposition to these bills, or submitting written or oral testimony.

You may submit oral or written testimony or you can simply indicate your sentiment regarding a bill under consideration.

Please note the limited time window for submission of both sentiment and testimony!

Sign up for a MyMGA account so that you can be counted by the Committee members hearing these bills as being against them. They need to hear from lots of people so spread the word to your family and friends in Maryland. With a MyMGA account you can also follow each bill's progression and actually view the hearings live via YouTube!

Here are the links to the committees witness guidelines:

Senate - Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee Witness Guidelines

House - Economic Matters Committee Witness Guidelines

Here’s how to make your voice heard (takes just a few minutes).

Step 1: Go to the Maryland General Assembly website -

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Account/Register/Tracking

Step 2:Create a MyMGA Tracking Account (or log in if you already have one)

Step 3: Sign Up to Testify (TIME-SENSITIVE)

For HB0239:

Must be completed on Tuesday, Feb. 10^th between 8:00am – 6:00pm

HB0239 hearing is scheduled for Feb 12th

Inside MyMGA, go to Witness Signup and enter the following exactly:

Committee: Economic Matters

Bill: HB0239

Organization: Leave blank (unless testifying on behalf of an organization)

Position: Unfavorable

Testimony:

If you plan to speak, select “Both” and upload written remarks as a PDF

If you do not want to speak or submit written testimony, select “None” — your unfavorable position will still be officially recorded

🔴 VERY IMPORTANT: Click “Save” at the TOP of the page, or your submission will NOT be counted.

For SB0036:

Must be completed on Friday, Feb. 13^th between 8:00am – 6:00pm

SB0036 hearing is scheduled for Feb 17th

Inside MyMGA, go to Witness Signup and enter the following exactly:

Committee: Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee

Bill: SB0036

Organization: Leave blank (unless testifying on behalf of an organization)

Position: Unfavorable

Testimony:

If you plan to speak, select “Both” and upload written remarks as a PDF

If you do not want to speak or submit written testimony, select “None” — your unfavorable position will still be officially recorded

🔴 VERY IMPORTANT: Click “Save” at the TOP of the page, or your submission will NOT be counted.

Background Material:

Montgomery County Planners have gone the back door to work with the State to submit their legislation to eliminate single-family housing just about everywhere in the State where there is sewer and water. These bills were submitted under the Governor’s name with no listed cosponsors. These bills would make just about every SFD lot in the State eligible to replace a single house with three houses on the same lot while reducing the side setback to just 5 feet and the front setback to 10 in BOTH the front and rear of the property! For example, an investor could buy the houses on either side of your SFD house and build within 5 feet of your property line and within 10 feet of the curb or County property line if there is no curb.

Virtually every single family development in the State of Maryland was designed by civil engineers to maximize the return on investment for the developer while providing desirable homes for future residents with the proper infrastructure and amenities for the zoning present at the time of construction. To go back decades later and allow the density to as much as triple is certain to create serious infrastructure problems if the original civil engineers were competent in their work especially when you consider that the original infrastructure is likely decades older then when the community was first built. Under SB0036/HB0239 these communities will begin to fail and it will be too late to go back and undo the over-densification. The exodus from Maryland will be even greater then it is now! Who would want to invest in a house in a community that could dramatically change the next week?

Be aware the CE Elrich has testified that there is NO shortage of building permits to build houses in MoCo. There are 30,000 approved permits and another 80,000 in the pipeline. There is no excuse for overbuilding in our existing communities where infrastructure failures would be rampant especially water runoff due to more impervious surfaces, parking, emergency access, schools, etc. These new tiny home communities should be designed by civil engineers for their density from the ground up to provide the necessary infrastructure just like the SFD communities were designed. Governor Moore has stated he wants to use vacant State land and parking lots to build these smaller homes so let’s encourage him to do that rather then compromising our existing SFD communities that are the most popular style of living in Maryland (more green space to fight climate change).

Please spread the word and call your representatives especially if they are on the two committees reviewing these bills (see attached). You can find your representative’s phone numbers here: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District Sign up to testify using the links above. Elected officials are under heavy pressure to be “yes” men for the Governor. Let’s tell them this piece of legislation is misguided and will lead to droves of citizens leaving the State for jurisdictions with stable neighborhood zoning.

January 27, 2026

From "Empowering People in Communities":

Why this matters right now:
Two bills introduced at the state level — SB36 and HB239, known as the “Starter and Silver Homes Act” — would change zoning rules across Maryland. The proposal would allow more housing types in areas currently zoned for single-family homes and would limit how much control counties and local governments have over those decisions. Supporters say it could increase housing supply, but many questions remain about how it would affect existing neighborhoods, infrastructure, schools, displacement risk, and local planning. What’s most concerning is the timeline: the bills were introduced in mid-January, with hearings scheduled for early February — giving residents, civic groups, and community leaders very little time to review the details or understand the potential impacts. Regardless of where people stand, changes of this scale deserve transparency and meaningful public input. Communities deserve more time.

What you can do:
Click the link to send a short email directly to your State Senator and Delegates — the legislators who represent your district. It takes less than a minute, and your message will be automatically routed to the correct elected officials based on your address. Please also share this link with friends, family, and neighbors across Maryland. These bills would affect communities statewide — not just Montgomery County.

Click here https://epicofmoco.salsalabs.org/epicsb36hearingdelayactionjan2026

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More from EPIC:

What You Need to Know About Governor Moore’s Housing Plan

Maryland is facing a very large housing shortage — one that state officials say is contributing to high housing costs, long commutes, and families being priced out of the communities they grew up in. In response, Governor Wes Moore’s administration has set out a new statewide housing strategy that is now shaping the 2026 legislative session in Annapolis.

The Plan

At the core of the Governor’s effort is the “Housing Starts Here” executive order and associated policy proposals. These include:

1. First-ever statewide housing targets
A new report from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development lays out housing production benchmarks through 2030 for every jurisdiction with land-use authority. The goal is to build about 36,000-37,000 homes annually by the end of the decade, nearly double the current pace of housing permits issued each year.

2. A legislative package for 2026
Governor Moore has endorsed three major pieces of legislation to support this housing strategy:

Maryland Transit & Housing Opportunity Act of 2026 – relaxes certain zoning and parking requirements and unlocks state-owned land near transit for development.
Starter and Silver Homes Act of 2026 – authorizes smaller single-family homes on smaller lots as a way to expand housing options.
Housing Certainty Act of 2026 – aims to reduce regulatory delays and stabilize approval conditions so developers can begin construction more quickly.

Public statements from state officials emphasize building housing near transit, modernizing zoning rules, and removing barriers that slow down construction.

How This Could Impact Us

If these policies are implemented, they could lead to more housing built across Maryland, including Montgomery County. That sounds positive at first glance, but several practical impacts require community attention:

State Targets vs. Local Control
Statewide housing targets set expectations for every county and city — but they are being generated at the state level without any requirement for local public approval. This is a new approach to land use that could limit local decision-making authority.

Changes to Local Zoning Norms
Bills like the Transit & Housing Opportunity Act could encourage or require changes to longstanding zoning rules, especially near transit stations. This could affect planning in our residential neighborhoods and major corridors.

No Guaranteed Infrastructure or Services Funding
While the plan outlines how many homes the state wants built, it does not provide comprehensive funding or timelines for the infrastructure needed to support that growth — including roads, utilities, schools, environmental protections, or community facilities.

Housing Quantity vs. Affordability
Increasing the number of homes does not automatically lower housing costs. If most of these units are market-rate townhouses or smaller homes without income-based affordability requirements, many working families may still be unable to afford them.

Why We Should Be Concerned

These proposals represent a significant shift in how housing policy is managed in Maryland:

How housing decisions are made (locally vs. at the state level)
How community input is incorporated into planning processes
Whether housing growth is coordinated with infrastructure capacity
Whether new housing will be affordable to current residents
How changes may affect neighborhood character and long-term stability

EPIC OF MoCo- Empowering People In Communities of MoCo

http://www.epicofmoco.com

The letter below is from The Citizen's Coordinating Committee for Friendship Heights.

The CCCFH (The Citizen's Coordinating Committee for Friendship Heights) represents more than 18 communities with more than 20,000 residents in southwest Montgomery County, Maryland.

Note the link below to a "Jotform" which will allow you to very easily sign on to a letter to local State Senators on the relevant committee in Annapolis.

Click Here to create your "MyMGA" account which will allow you to follow bills, submit testimony and/or watch the hearing. Follow instructions below to sign your name to a letter to two local Senators on the relevant committee requesting to delay this initial hearing.

From the CCCFH:

Request to Defer the Hearing Date for SB 36 and send this letter by completing the linked Jotform:

https://form.jotform.com/260258911583158

The Starter and Silver Homes Act, Senate Bill 36, proposes a sweeping override of local zoning powers. As a resident of Montgomery County, I am extremely concerned about the potential impact of this legislation on our communities, including adverse consequences for infrastructure, environmental and fiscal conditions. If the hearing on this legislation cannot be delayed to allow for proper consideration, please know that I am OPPOSED to it for undermining the power and authority of local government and the long-established and core principle of community residents’ input into zoning.

The very short timespan — just three weeks — from the mid-January introduction of SB 36 to the February 4 hearings makes it extremely difficult for Maryland residents and our neighborhood and community civic associations to evaluate the legislation, determine our positions and prepare testimony before the hearing date. Residents like me and my neighbors are not zoning experts and need enough time to understand the zoning changes proposed and how they will affect us, our families, our neighborhoods and our communities. Our neighborhood and community civic associations typically meet only once a month and also need sufficient time to evaluate the bill, consult with their members to formulate a position and develop testimony.

If enacted, Senate Bill 36 appears likely to impose dramatic and unfavorable changes in single family communities throughout Maryland. In order to permit Marylanders and their neighborhood and community civic associations to participate fully and thoughtfully in the process, please delay the hearing date on SB 36 to the latter part of February or later.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your service to the people of Maryland.

Sincerely,
The CCCFH Board
[email protected]

Please follow the link below to send the letter above to request a delay of the upcoming hearing that is scheduled in Annapolis on February 4th.

Request to Defer the Hearing Date for SB 36 and send this letter by completing the linked Jotform:

https://form.jotform.com/260258911583158

Additional Resource from CCCFH:

ZTA 25-02 vs Starter & Silver Homes SB36_1.2026

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