Council reviews zoning rewrite and comprehensive map amendment; staff proposes town‑center height bands, transit‑oriented density and a new missing‑middle zone

City zoning staff briefed the Mayor and Council on May 5 on the third work session for the zoning ordinance rewrite and the comprehensive map amendment, focusing on new town center zones, a proposed residential high‑density zone, height‑transition rules, and a missing‑middle residential infill zone.

Town center and MXTD zones: staff described a family of Mixed Use Transit District (MXTD) zones aligned to the Town Center Master Plan character areas: MXTD‑85 (edge), MXTD‑202 (core) and MXTD‑235 (Maryland 355 corridor), with bonus height provisions tied to affordable housing or champion projects. Staff also proposed applying an MXTD‑235 band to certain MXTD properties at Twinbrook and Shady Grove to keep those transit‑oriented locations competitive. Councilmembers expressed broad support for implementing the master plan heights and asked staff to consider similar flexibility for other transit corridors such as Veirs Mill where BRT is planned.

Protecting faith‑based uses: during the public comment period several speakers asked the council not to downzone church properties. The Mayor raised one example, Jerusalem Mount Pleasant United Methodist…