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Planning commission recommends zoning amendments to add townhouses as permitted use
Summary
The Leonardtown Planning Commission voted to recommend ordinance 230 to the town council, which would update Chapter 155 to add townhouses as a permitted use in some residential and commercial districts and update definitions to align with the 2025 comprehensive plan.
The Leonardtown Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Town Council adopt ordinance 230, which would amend Chapter 155 (zoning) to implement elements of the town’s 2025 comprehensive plan, including new definitions and changes to permitted uses.
Planning Department staff said ordinance 230 updates and adds definitions in Section 155-4, creates townhouses as a permitted use in the Residential Single-Family district, removes townhouses from the multifamily classification, and adds townhouses as a permitted use in the Commercial Highway district. Staff presented page and line references for the redlined changes in the draft ordinance and said additional zoning chapters will be reviewed in the future to support the comprehensive plan.
Planning staff said the ordinance is intended to provide a wider range of housing options across the town and to help the town meet state requirements to increase housing diversity and affordability. “So in order to kind of come into compliance with everything that's kind of going around with the planning world, we decided to break those out as separate uses,” staff said, adding that the changes are the first step of a broader zoning code review.
Commissioner Janine asked for clarification about why the changes were needed; staff explained the approach and said a table of permitted uses and further revisions on parking and landscaping will follow. A motion to recommend ordinance 230 to the Town Council carried by voice vote.
