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Commissioners briefed on Owings Town Center rezoning request to expand 'core' district
Summary
Planning staff presented an application to rezone two parcels at MD 260 and Old Solomons Island Road to the Owings Town Center core district to allow redevelopment of an existing automobile filling station; staff characterized the session as informational and said formal hearings would follow.
Planning staff presented a work‑session briefing April 29 on a zoning map amendment application to reclassify two parcels at the intersection of Old Solomons Island Road and MD 260 in Owings to the Town Center core district.
Jason Frank, director of planning and zoning, and planner Will Hager described the proposal as a request to rezone 136 East Chesapeake Beach Road (an existing automobile filling station) and 150 East Chesapeake Beach Road (a single‑family lot) to Town Center Core so the site owner can demolish existing structures and redevelop a modern gas station/convenience layout with upgraded stormwater, landscaping and circulation.
Hager said the applicant’s package argued the current mix of Rural Commercial and Rural Neighborhood District zoning does not reflect the site’s location within the comprehensive plan’s proposed expanded Owings Town Center boundary. He said the town‑center zoning would allow the automobile filling station as a conditional use under the Owings Town Center regulations whereas the existing RC zoning leaves the site as a nonconforming use.
Planning staff noted traffic counts on MD 260 of roughly 7,045 vehicles per day (2023) and said the request would be evaluated against the county’s comprehensive plan and the forthcoming Owings Town Center master plan and zoning ordinance update. Staff said the map amendment process generally takes about six to eight months and that the county’s master‑plan/zoning update for Owings is scheduled to begin in July and conclude tentatively in January 2027.
Commissioners and staff discussed whether approving a map amendment now would create precedent ahead of the comprehensive town‑center review. Staff said that question — whether to consider the rezoning as a standalone map amendment or defer action until the broader Owings town‑center master plan process — would be part of the normal public‑hearing and Planning Commission review.
This session was informational only; staff said the site had not yet been posted for public hearings and no formal action was taken. If the applicant moves forward, staff said it will begin the public notification procedures required for a zoning map amendment.
