Prince George's County to consider accessory dwelling unit rules July 2
County planners will weigh ADU rules July 2, as state law forces local authorization by Oct. 1 and residents brace for fights over density, parking and single-family streets.
Prince George’s County will take up new rules for accessory dwelling units at its July 2 Planning Board meeting, putting backyard cottages, basement apartments and other small homes at the center of a countywide fight over where they can go. The proposal, listed as LDR-142-2026, is a legislative drafting request that would add definitions, designate areas and set regulations for permitted ADUs.
The timing is driven by state law. Maryland General Assembly approved HB 1466 in 2025, and it took effect on Oct. 1, 2025, requiring counties and municipalities with planning and zoning authority to adopt a local law authorizing ADUs on land with a single-family detached dwelling unit by Oct. 1, 2026. In Prince George’s, that deadline has turned a long-running planning debate into a concrete deadline for action.
County officials have cast ADUs as one answer to the pressure on housing costs and a way to make existing neighborhoods more flexible for multigenerational families. The county planning department’s September 2024 ADU white paper said it used a geospatial analysis of eligible residential parcels to estimate how many detached ADUs could be built. Its housing materials also say ADUs are currently prohibited in Prince George’s County, which means the July 2 discussion will help determine where the county starts, and where it still says no.
The county has already been working through the details. Prince George’s created its Accessory Dwelling Units Task Force under CR-091-2025 to develop implementation ideas, building on the state’s 2023 ADU policy task force and its final report. Task force agendas in 2026 have walked through ADU definitions, tiny homes as ADUs, setback requirements, height standards, zoning applicability, use permissions and permitting procedures. Those are the kinds of choices that will decide whether ADUs remain rare exceptions or become a real option in more parts of the county.
Public input has also been built into the process. The county’s ADU questionnaire asks residents what types of ADUs they want, how large they should be, how tall they should be and who should be allowed to live in them. That mix of questions points to the likely fault lines ahead, with supporters focused on affordability and caregiving and critics expected to push back on density, parking and the character of single-family streets.
Residents can view the full agenda and sign up to speak by noon Tuesday. The Planning Board offices at Largo Headquarters remain closed to in-person visits during construction, but board business continues remotely and staff can be reached by phone, email or the hearing-impaired relay service.
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