Carroll County landowners who have or wish to build in-law apartments or tenant houses on their property might soon be able to rent them to anyone, under a proposal that's being considered by the county commissioners.
If adopted, the proposed amendments would allow homeowners in residential and conservation zones to build and rent in-law apartments, which are called "accessory dwellings" in county zoning laws. Under current regulations, such apartments cannot be rented.
In addition, the proposed amendments would allow property owners in agricultural districts to rent tenant houses to people who are not farmhands or relatives. Tenant houses now must be used by a family member or someone who works on the landowner's farm.
And, at the request of Commissioner Donald I. Dell, who owns a Westminster dairy farm and has a tenant house on his property, the proposed amendments would also give property owners in agricultural districts the right to subdivide their property so they can sell the tenant house and adjoining land.
That proposal had been rejected by former Commissioners W. Benjamin Brown and Richard T. Yates.
Dell declined to comment on the proposals Friday.
Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier and board President Julia Walsh Gouge could not be reached.
In the past, Gouge has given lukewarm support to the proposal.
Last year, she suggested the board consider creating an appeals process that would allow property owners and their neighbors to address any issues that come up as a result of the in-law apartments.
The board took no action on her recommendation.
Frazier, a self-proclaimed protector of property rights, has been a strong proponent of the zoning amendments. In January, she told members of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce that changing the zoning laws to accommodate in-law apartments was among the goals she hoped to accomplish this year. Such a change would help meet the need for affordable housing in Carroll, she said.
The issue has been the subject of discussion since 1998. In November of that year, Brown and Yates agreed on a proposal and ordered that a public hearing be scheduled. Dell had recused himself from voting then.
But not enough time was left in the previous board's term to advertise and hold the public hearing, steps that must be taken before the commissioners can vote on proposed zoning changes. The issue was tabled until February 1999 -- two months after the current board took office.
