Staff to prepare draft neighborhood compatibility ordinance; commission discusses ADUs, minimum floor sizes and a flexible redevelopment zone

Pocomoke City planning staff told the Planning Commission on March 19 that it will prepare draft zoning text amendments addressing neighborhood compatibility, accessory dwelling units and the city's minimum floor-area requirement for single-family dwellings.

Staff said a recently effective state law (referred to in the meeting as House Bill 538) has increased interest in placing manufactured or modular homes within the city and created urgency around a neighborhood compatibility ordinance. The staff speaker told commissioners a draft neighborhood compatibility ordinance could be presented as a work-session item at the commission's next meeting.

The commission also discussed the city's minimum floor-area rule for single-family dwellings, which the transcript records as currently 950 square feet. Staff said lowering that minimum — for example to 750 square feet — or creating a conditional-application process could allow smaller, lower-cost housing to be built; staff noted any change would require amendment to the general section of the zoning code.

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) were discussed at length. Staff said the state created an ADU task force and provides guidance through the Maryland Department of Planning, but staff told the commission it is not aware of a mandatory statewide requirement in House Bill 538. Commissioners raised questions common to ADU policy debates: owner-occupancy restrictions, size limits, parking, impact fees, basement or garage conversions, and the potential for ADUs to be misused as a loophole to create additional multifamily-style occupancy. Staff said model ordinances from other jurisdictions — including Worcester County and Montgomery County guidance mentioned in the discussion — could be examined for applicable language.

Staff also presented a section of the zoning code called the planned redevelopment district (a floating zone). Staff said that provision, previously unused in the city code, offers flexibility on lot area, width and frontage requirements, and could allow greater densities than the R-3 multifamily standard (which staff described in the meeting as 14 dwelling units per acre). Staff suggested the planned redevelopment district could be appropriate for a city-owned 74-acre tract off Old Virginia Road to encourage flexible design and streamlined review. Staff said further discussion will be held with the mayor and city manager to determine whether the planning commission should initiate a text or map amendment for that tract.

Staff clarified that the city code does not specify a maximum number of occupants per dwelling; occupancy is governed in part by the International Residential Code (IRC) and International Building Code (IBC), which staff summarized as allowing roughly one adult per 100 square feet of bedroom space for purposes of building-code occupancy calculations. The transcript records that other municipalities sometimes set separate limits on unrelated occupants (for example, limiting the number of unrelated persons allowed in a dwelling), but the Pocomoke City code currently has no such language.

Why it matters: Neighborhood compatibility standards, ADU rules and floor-area minimums shape the character, density and affordability of housing. The floating planned-redevelopment zone could materially change development patterns if applied to a large city-owned tract.

What’s next: Staff will prepare a draft neighborhood compatibility ordinance for the commission's review, and the commission will consider whether to pursue a zoning map amendment or text amendment for the 74-acre tract. Commissioners were encouraged to bring model ordinance language for ADUs or minimum-floor changes to the next meeting.