Pocomoke to pursue architectural design standards and mural guidelines to guide modular and infill housing

The Pocomoke City Planning and Zoning Commission voted May 29 to initiate a text amendment that would add architectural design minimum requirements to residential zoning districts and to advance a separate mural-design guideline the commission previously reviewed.

Staff said the change is prompted in part by state House Bill 538 (the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act), which requires jurisdictions to permit manufactured and modular homes in single-family zones but allows local jurisdictions to impose design and compatibility standards applied uniformly. The proposed ordinance would require a neighborhood compatibility worksheet for infill projects and alterations that change a structure’s footprint, foundation or roofline. Developers would survey surrounding properties and document predominant neighborhood features; staff would review the submission. The draft sets minimum design guidelines for foundations, roof pitch, height, setbacks, exterior materials and façade elements and contains a relief process and an administrative appeal path to the planning commission.

Commission discussion included procedures for public notice. One commissioner said a five-business-day notice period was too short; the commission amended the draft to require 10 business days’ notice and to post results on the city website. Staff emphasized that modular and manufactured homes placed under the new standard must be on a permanent foundation and taxed as real property; the measure is not intended to permit mobile homes on temporary underpinnings.

A motion to initiate the zoning text amendment for architectural compatibility and to move forward with the mural guidelines (with the 5-to-10 business-day notice change) passed unanimously. Staff said it would circulate the draft ordinance and that interested parties may file an informal administrative appeal within the posted notice period.