Planning commission asks commissioners for more time to rewrite citizen-sponsored TDR amendment

At a May 2025 meeting, the Queen Anne's County Planning Commission agreed to seek an extension from the County Commissioners so staff and the applicant can reword a citizen-sponsored text amendment that would change rules for the county's transfer-of-development-rights program.

The amendment, introduced in the planning commission meeting by Stephanie Jones, long range principal planner, would permit administrative subdivisions or reconfigurations of parcels created when development rights are lifted under the county's TDR program. Jones told the commission the current code "says that those transfer of parcels cannot be subdivided or reconfigured," and that the program's deed restrictions historically preserve soils and open space for agricultural uses.

Planning Director Amy Mordock said staff is not making a formal recommendation at this time and wants the commission to discuss the "nuances between reconfiguration [and] administrative subdivision" before the amendment goes to the County Commissioners.

Jeffrey Thompson, counsel appearing for landowner Shirley Schaefer and speaking as the applicant, said he modeled the amendment on an earlier noncontiguous development-rights text amendment and that his primary request is to allow "administrative subdivision only" to accommodate lot-line adjustments. Thompson said he does not intend to reconfigure TDR-protected land and described the change as intended to alter ownership lines while leaving the underlying restrictions intact: "The TDR is going to stay with the same restrictions that always had. The only thing that's going to change is the ownership."

Jones and other staff flagged several issues commissioners should consider, including whether the amendment would permit new building pads or perk sites, and whether allowing reconfiguration could change the soils that the original deed restriction was meant to protect. Jones referenced the recorded covenant requirement in the county code (noted in the staff report as section 18104) that currently states a transfer parcel "may not be subdivided or reconfigured," and said any change would require coordinated edits to both the ordinance and the recorded legal documents that implement the TDR restrictions.

Commission members and staff discussed broader precedent concerns: Jones noted similar language in the county's noncontiguous development-rights program and warned that approving a broader reconfiguration allowance for one program could lead applicants to seek equivalent changes across other conservation and open-space programs.

Rather than act on the amendment at the meeting, commissioners agreed to ask staff to draft precise language that would limit relief to administrative subdivision (and explicitly prohibit reconfiguration) and to request an extension from the County Commissioners so the edited text can be presented at a later meeting. Jones said she would work with the applicant on revised language and submit the edited wording for the commissioners' consideration. The planning commission did not take a formal recorded vote on the amendment that day.

Commissioners and participants asked the applicant to provide clear graphics or parcel maps illustrating the requested changes; one commissioner asked for a visual depiction of how lines would be moved to make the commission's review easier.

The discussion included practical examples from Thompson of past property arrangements that he said were constrained by TDRs, and he said, if the amendment is limited to administrative subdivision, the attached county map showing TDR parcels would not change. Thompson said if the amendment is not approved he intends to pursue reciprocal easements to achieve desired land-use outcomes but preferred that the ordinance be clarified instead.

The planning commission directed staff to prepare revised language that would (at minimum) permit administrative subdivisions for lot-line adjustments while explicitly prohibiting reconfiguration that would affect soils or create additional lots. The commission will request an extension from the County Commissioners to allow the redrafted amendment to be reviewed before introduction to the commissioners.