The Montgomery County Council is set to make two major decisions Tuesday, Nov. 10: pick a long-term path for the Dickerson trash incinerator and vote on a bill that could reshape how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are rented across the county.

Both votes are scheduled during the council's regular weekly meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. at the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville, Bethesda Magazine reported.

Incinerator: close it or fix it

At about 10 a.m., the council is expected to adopt one of two competing resolutions on the county's solid waste future.

One resolution would express the council's desire to refurbish the incinerator for long-term use. The other would call for closing it and shifting to long-haul trucking of waste to an out-of-county landfill. Both resolutions support starting an in-county food scrap composting facility.

The Dickerson incinerator, formally called the Resource Recovery Facility, has operated since 1995. County officials say roughly 600,000 tons of waste is processed and converted to energy there each year. Leftover ash goes to a landfill near Richmond, Virginia.

The county extended its contract with the facility's operator through April 2031 in November 2024, while keeping an option for early termination. Upgrading the incinerator would cost about $356 million, WUSA9 reported in October.

County Executive Marc Elrich urged the council in a letter to adopt the closure resolution. If the council is not ready to support closure, Elrich wrote, the vote should be postponed pending more information.

"There is a path from where we are today to a more comprehensive waste management system that continually reduces trash, increases recycling, and recovers valuable resources," Elrich wrote.

Council President Natali Fani-González said in an Oct. 22 email to colleagues that several follow-up decisions, including whether to find a new ash disposal site and whether to invest in advanced waste processing technology, "will follow from the threshold decision" about whether to close the incinerator.

Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton and the Rockville City Council sent an Oct. 12 letter urging county leaders to consider how the decision will affect neighborhoods around the Shady Grove Transfer Station. Residents there have raised concerns about a projected increase in truck traffic if the county decides to long-haul its waste.

Fani-González is scheduled to hold a press briefing about the council's decision at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

ADU bill heads to full council

At about 2:15 p.m., the council is expected to vote on Bill 41-26, sponsored by Fani-González and Councilmember Andrew Friedson. The bill would relax requirements and fees for ADUs, which county code defines as a second residential unit subordinate to a principal dwelling. Tiny homes and in-law apartments are examples.

The biggest change: the bill would remove the current rule requiring that either the main home or the ADU be owner-occupied. That means both units on a property could be rented. The Montgomery County Planning Board has recommended approval.

Bill 41-26 would also waive licensing and permitting fees for ADU owners who agree to charge rent affordable to households earning 65% or less of the area median income (AMI) for at least 10 consecutive years.

Elrich called the bill "bad policy" during an Oct. 14 media briefing and vowed to veto it if passed as introduced. He argued that eliminating the owner-occupancy requirement could allow "major corporations" to buy homes and ADUs with no intention of offering either for sale.

The council's Planning, Housing and Parks Committee reviewed the bill Oct. 26 and recommended amendments. One, from Councilmember Will Jawando, caps any single person at operating no more than two ADU rentals countywide. Jawando said at the committee meeting he would also seek language to prevent the same corporation from skirting the cap through multiple LLCs.

Whether those amendments satisfy Elrich's concerns remains unclear. The council needs a supermajority to override a veto.

The Town of Chevy Chase submitted written testimony on the bill, according to county records. The content of that testimony was not available for this report.

The council meeting is open to the public at the Stella Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.