Category: Take Action

Final opportunities to support Accessory Living Units in Fairfax County!

Posted on by Becca Dedert

Detached Mother-in-law suite, courtesy of the Sightline Housing Solutions Photo Library, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

Time is running out – our window is closing to make Accessory Living Units a real housing solution for Fairfax County. While the most recent staff recommendations include some big wins, the county is still unwilling to let go of minimum lot sizes for standalone ALUs.

To be clear, this is not a standard policy for accessory homes. None of our neighboring jurisdictions require minimum lot sizes, but Fairfax County wants anyone with less than 36,000 square feet (that’s almost an acre!) to go through a burdensome special permit process to access this housing option. Join us in urging the county to remove the minimum lot size requirement ahead of the upcoming hearings! 

How can I take action?

If you haven’t yet, NOW is the time to send a letter to the county. Your voice is extremely important!

Send a letter

Want to make an even bigger impact? We cannot over-emphasize the importance of testimonials. Luckily, Fairfax County makes it very easy to offer testimony. We’ll be there in-person, but you can also testify by calling in or recording a video.

Oct. 29 – Planning Commission
Nov. 17 – Board of Supervisors

Please email becca@smartergrowth.net if you have questions – we are more than happy to help you with signing up, drafting comments, or finding the right format for you.

So – what’s in the Staff Report? 

First, the good news. County staff heard your voices and supported key recommendations we pushed for in our initial campaign, including: 

  • Removing mandated parking requirements (this is big!)
  • Dropping owner-occupancy requirements.
  • Allowing standard-compliant ALUs by-right, without the need for additional administrative permits.
  • Dropping permit renewal requirements.
  • Permitting at least three occupants per unit, with the potential to go up to four. 

The proposed minimum lot size requirement excludes 86% of homeowners from building backyard cottages, and is particularly challenging for homeowners with smaller, transit-adjacent lots. This creates a major tripwire that will undermine the intention of this policy to create access to a flexible, cost-effective housing option. Help us finish the campaign strong by sending a message to the county – we want to see real housing reforms!

Learn More

Why Accessory Dwellings Matter for Fairfax County

Known as granny flats, in-law suites, or backyard cottages, accessory dwellings are among the most versatile and cost-effective housing options available.

  • Flexibility for Every Stage of Life: ALUs allow older adults to age in place with dignity, offer young adults a place to live while saving money for college or their first home, and make intergenerational living accessible.
  • Affordable by Design: Because of their smaller footprint, ALUs are naturally lower cost to construct and rent, expanding housing choices without requiring massive infrastructure changes.
  • Meeting Our Housing Goals: Fairfax County needs tens of thousands of new homes over the next decade to meet our housing needs. Letting homeowners safely build ALUs on their own property is one of the easiest ways to increase our housing supply.

We have the ability to make ALUs a powerful tool in the effort to expand access to housing for more Fairfax residents. We hope you will express your thoughts to the county in support of relaxing the current ALU regulations and making this an actionable housing strategy. 

Take Action: Tell DC Council to build affordable mixed-income homes at the Chevy Chase Civic Core

Take Action: Tell DC Council to build affordable mixed-income homes at the Chevy Chase Civic Core

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

September 29, 2026

We are close to fulfilling the promise of offering 90 quality affordable homes for DC residents who otherwise would not have the chance to live in Chevy Chase DC. The DC Council is now considering a bill to approve the agreement (B26-801) to build a new Chevy Chase library, community center, and affordable, mixed-income housing.

But this will not happen without people like you speaking up. The opponents are vocal, and bending the ears of our elected leaders. Tell your DC Councilmembers that yes! – you want 90 new affordable homes in a mixed-income redevelopment that builds a new library and community center for Chevy Chase. 

TAKE ACTION

After years of planning, hearings, and debates, the District is ready to authorize the building of mixed-income housing along with a new Chevy Case library and community center. Here’s what’s in the plan:

  • A new library, community center, and public outdoor space
  • 90 affordable homes — more than half of the new 177 homes
  • 30% will be deeply affordable at 30% and 50% of area median income
  • 20% affordable for households earning up to 80% of area median income
  • 87 apartments will be market rate
  • All affordable homes remain affordable for the 99-year ground lease (which is actually an air rights lease).

This is a chance to create 90 new affordable homes at this rare public site in Ward 3. By using this public site, we can eliminate the otherwise high land cost which deters building affordable housing, especially in Ward 3. 

What’s next? We need Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Matt Frumin to schedule a joint hearing on legislation that would allow the development to proceed. Tell them you support this proposal and it’s time for the DC Council to act. We’ll follow up with you about the hearing once it is scheduled — or to push for the hearing if the Councilmembers delay in scheduling one.

Action Alert: Support ADUs in Prince George’s

Action Alert: Support ADUs in Prince George’s

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

On September 3, 2026, the Prince George’s County Council will consider a bill (CB 74) to permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs). This bill is driven by a state law that requires local governments to ease restrictions on ADUs and allow them by right in single family zones. After years of talking about it, now something is finally happening! Send a letter of support to the County Council. Also take a short Council survey on the proposal. Tell them we want ADUs – without a lot of onerous restrictions. 

Send a letter

Why we love ADUs

The bill would allow this flexible housing type on a single-family lot, diversifying housing options that can better meet the needs of families and the community. Here are some of the benefits:

  • Allows smaller, less costly housing in an existing neighborhood with existing services;
  • Helps an aging couple add a dwelling so that their adult children can live on the same lot;
  • Enables a family to add a unit for an adult child with a disability, providing both proximity and independence, or provides a caregiver living space;
  • Helps a young family cover the costs of homeownership by renting out a backyard cottage or basement apartment.

What’s in the bill 

The current bill (CB 74-2026) at a County Council committee will legalize ADUs with reasonable rules — which follow the state law which requires local governments to allow ADUs. 

The bill would allow an ADU as a matter of right that:

  • Is on the same lot with a single-family detached house;
  • Is not greater than 75% of the size of, and is subordinate to the principal house;
  • Can be a separate structure (e.g. garage conversion) or an addition to, or inside the existing house (e.g. basement apartment);
  • No taller than 22 feet, or shorter than the principal house;
  • Does not add more than 900 square feet of lot coverage as an addition to the principal house.

These are basic rules that still allow a one or two story accessory independent living unit that is smaller than the principal single-family detached house. This works!

Beware of excessive restrictions

ADUs are often stymied by excessive regulations such as owner-occupancy requirements, and complicated forms, extra reviews and approvals. Send a letter — say you want to welcome ADUs into Prince George’s neighborhoods, without a lot of onerous restrictions. 

Weigh in before the Council’s committee meeting on September 3, 2026