On February 24, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko testified before the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee in opposition to SB 829 – Land Use – Multifamily Developments and Mixed-Use Developments – Authorization (Bring Back Main Street Act).
As drafted, the bill would override county adequate public facilities ordinances (APFOs) and other growth management tools by effectively requiring that any commercial or recreational parcel served by public water and sewer—regardless of available system capacity—be opened to multifamily or mixed-use development at the county’s highest allowable densities.
While counties have partnered closely with the General Assembly in recent years to expand affordable housing supply — including landmark measures like the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act of 2024 and statewide authorization of accessory dwelling units — this proposal departs from that collaborative approach.
As drafted, the bill would preempt long-standing comprehensive planning frameworks, weaken infrastructure safeguards, and limit local affordability strategies, creating significant operational, fiscal, and community impacts without a tailored path forward.
By imposing sweeping preemption on counties while excluding most
municipal zoning regimes, SB 829 creates an uneven framework and candidly misses many of the main areas eligible for infill development. Indeed, the potential to draw development away from “Main Street” downtown belies the very title of the bill.
SB 829’s cross-file, HB 1137, was heard on March 5 in the Economic Matters Committee. Dominic Butchko testified in opposition to this bill.
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