Planning Commission recommends rezoning to allow expansion of Owings filling station; 6-1 vote

The Calvert County Planning Commission voted 6-1 on Aug. 20 to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners approve a zoning map amendment (MA 25-01) to rezone 136 and 150 East Chesapeake Beach Road in Owings from rural commercial/rural neighborhood to the Owings Town Center Core district, a change the applicant says is needed to allow expansion of the existing automobile filling station.

The rezoning request, presented by Will Hager of the Department of Planning and Zoning, would move the two parcels into the town center core so the owner could demolish the existing service station (built in 1970) and a single-family dwelling and redevelop the combined site with a new facility. Hager told commissioners, “we received no written comments in regard to either, the map amendment or any of the text amendments,” and summarized that the proposal aligns the parcels with the comprehensive plan’s future land-use map.

Jason Brinkley, director of planning and zoning, said the department would "stop short of saying that planning and zoning believes it was a mistake" in how the parcels were treated during the prior comprehensive rezoning, but acknowledged the applicant had raised the issue with staff earlier and that policy decisions at the time affected how the properties were classified.

Attorney Matthew Tedesco, representing the applicant (Wills Group, care of Dashing Food Store Inc.), told the commission the property and project were the result of multi-year discussions with staff and that the applicant had the neighboring residential parcel under contract. He said the proposed redevelopment would allow "modernized" facilities, improved landscaping, updated septic and stormwater systems, and safer on-site circulation. Planner and site designer Mark Ferguson said the redevelopment could act as a catalyst for other private investment in Owings.

Commissioners debated two lines of concern: whether approving town-center zoning across MD 260 (a major thoroughfare) would set a precedent for future rezoning on the north side of the highway, and whether the commission should defer consideration pending the county’s upcoming Owings town center master plan update. Staff and several commissioners said the county’s comprehensive plan already includes the subject parcels in an Owings Town Center expansion area and that a separate, county-led town center master-plan process is expected to take roughly a year to finalize.

Commissioners also asked technical questions about the existing nonconforming use status of the filling station, limits on expansion of nonconforming structures (a roughly 50% expansion threshold was cited during discussion), and traffic. Hager cited Maryland State Highway Administration counts showing about 7,045 average daily vehicles on MD 260 in 2023 (7,971 in 2013).

After public comment (no members of the public signed up to speak), Commissioner Burry moved to close the record and recommend adoption by the Board of County Commissioners; the motion was seconded (second not specified in record). The roll-call vote was: Commissioner Burry — yes; Commissioner Freeland — yes; Commissioner Gadway — no; Commissioner Kernan — yes; Commissioner McQueen — yes; Commissioner Weems — yes; Chair John Tuohy — yes. The motion carried 6–1, and staff said the commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for final action.

The applicant said the adjacent parcel has been under contract for about two years and that delays could affect the feasibility of the redevelopment; staff noted that, if the comprehensive plan’s town-center expansion is adopted unchanged, the rezoning discussion could be moot but likely would not occur until roughly a year from now. The commission’s recommendation does not itself rezone the property; it forwards a consistency finding and recommendation to the county commissioners, who will make the final decision.

Votes and formal action on MA 25-01 will be recorded in the administrative record forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners.