Election Day Special

Election 2018: Vote Tuesday!

Every election is a chance to make a difference in your community. GCAAR members have a chance to shape their governments - local, state, and federal - for years to come.

Every. Vote. Counts.

With more than 8,000 Maryland and 3,000 DC REALTORS® and Affiliates, GCAAR is poised to make a huge impact on the future of our region.

You can find all the endorsed candidates from GCAAR in Montgomery County and Maryland REALTORS ® for local and state office here on the statewide Home Ballot .

 You can find DCAR's five endorsed candidates for the District of Columbia here . When you head to the polls on Tuesday, we encourage you to remember how instrumental Councilmember Anita Bonds was in pushing forward the TOPA Single-Family Exemption legislation earlier this year.
Montgomery County
Council Delays Action on Small Cell Tower Zoning Text Amendment

On October 30 the Montgomery County Council removed Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 18-11, Telecommunications Towers from the Council agenda. As October 30 was the last opportunity in 2018 for the Council to enact zoning legislation, the bill will be tabled until 2019.

The legislation would a llow existing utility poles or light poles to be replaced with similar sized telecommunication towers in rural-residential and residential zones.

As currently written, 'towers' could be placed where a current pole is 22+ feet tall, and the current pole/replacement tower is at least 60 feet from a dwelling. Additionally, all applications for new replacement poles in residential zones would need to be heard and approved by the hearing examiner.

Though many have health concerns regarding these towers, the Council is preempted by Federal law from using any public health concerns as basis for its decision on legislation

District of Columbia
Short-Term Rental Regulation Update

The DC Council voted last month to delay the final vote on short-term rental regulations until Nov. 13, due largely to uncertainty surrounding the breadth of the affected homes and the impact the bill could have on those homes.

While regulation is likely to pass, we remain hopeful the Council will take the words of hundreds of DCAR and GCAAR members into account when deciding on final terms. There is a way to fairly regulate without stifling; the question is now whether or not several swing Councilmembers will agree and make common-sense changes to the bill.