Montgomery County commissioners approve rezoning at 161 Ridge Drive for mini-storage

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 16 approved an ordinance amending the county zoning map to reclassify a parcel at 161 Ridge Drive in Troy from Residential 1 to Commercial Conditional to allow a mini storage facility.

Planning staff told the board the request covers about 6.11 acres (parcel ID noted in the staff report) and that a staff report and the planning board recommendation are in the packet. “All of the 5 conditions have been individually met,” planning staff said during the public hearing. Staff also confirmed the proposed developed area would be well below the Watershed 4 District maximum built-upon area of 24 percent.

The planning board reviewed the request on Aug. 25 and moved to recommend approval. A commissioner asked about impermeable-surface limits in the watershed; planning staff said the project’s current planned built-upon area is roughly 6 percent and therefore inside the watershed limits.

Commissioner Taylor moved to approve the rezoning; Commissioner Jeffrey Pope seconded. The board approved the ordinance during the meeting.

The rezoning request and staff report appear in the meeting packet; staff recommended approval based on consistency with the Montgomery County land-use plan and the tests for conditional commercial zoning. The planning board’s approval and staff’s recommendation were cited in the motion approving the map amendment.

No public speakers signed up for the item at the meeting, and commissioners did not request additional studies or conditions beyond those listed in staff’s report. Future permit or site-plan reviews will be required before construction of the mini-storage facility.