Executive Cassilly Warns Against Legislation Allowing Detached ADU's

Harford Executive Bob Cassilly today issued a letter to the County Council outlining the potential impacts of Council Bill No. 24-001, which would change existing law to allow detached accessory dwelling units (ADU) occupied by non-relatives on residentially zoned property of an acre or more. The letter was in response to a request from the council for an analysis of the fiscal impact of the bill introduced by Councilmember Aaron Penman.

The letter reads, in part:

“As amended, Bill-24-001 would immediately increase the allowed density on residentially zoned properties of an acre or more countywide, beyond what was originally permissible and intended. Without knowing how many existing and future homeowners might put an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on their property - or when - the primary challenge is to predict the public costs and revenue that would be generated. Today, there are 1,722 developed and undeveloped residential lots of 1+ acres in the Development Envelope alone, plus many more outside of the Development Envelope.

The scope of this challenge includes estimating the added costs for schools, roads, emergency services, water & sewer infrastructure, government services, and public amenities such as libraries and parks.”

Roughly estimating the cost of each ADU for public schools alone, the letter states:

“For school operating costs, based on current per pupil yield estimates, one ADU will yield .38 students. Based on the current local appropriation, Harford County government spends $8,494 per pupil, which is our state-required maintenance of effort (MOE), equating to $3,228. One ADU, at a projected assessed value of $125K with a resident earning the median income of $43.5K is estimated to generate $2,221 in property and income tax revenue. Therefore, each ADU creates an ongoing annual deficit of $1,007 for education alone.

On the capital side of education, (based on state-rated capacity and current cost per square foot for public schools prorated by the .38 student yield) one ADU would require $33,611 in school construction costs alone. Each ADU could potentially generate $6,825 in one-time revenue from impact fees and recordation tax. This creates a deficit of $26,786 per ADU.”

Read the county executive's full letter here: https://www.harfordcountymd.go...