The Baltimore County Planning Board on Nov. 20 heard a presentation from Department of Planning staff on proposed updates to Division 2 (residential) of the Comprehensive Manual of Development Policy (CMDP) and then took public testimony before voting to defer final action on the residential section for 60 days.

Department presenter Jennifer Nugent described the CMDP update as primarily a modernization: reorganized subsections with independent pagination, hyperlinks to zoning references, updated graphics and the addition of a pattern‑book checklist for major residential developments. Nugent said the manual is enabled by section 504.2 of the Baltimore County Zoning Regulations and that, aside from formatting and clarifications, staff had not intended to make broad policy changes.

However, Nugent highlighted one substantive recommended change: increasing the CMDP guidance on overflow/visitor parking for residential development from 15% to 30%, based on staff experience and resident feedback about parking shortages in new developments. That change drew immediate concerns from the development community.

Patsy Malone, a land‑use attorney at Venable, told the board she and engineers had not been given adequate time to review the draft and urged the board not to vote that night. Malone said the parking increase "would have significant impacts on projects," citing pending applications in which a 30% requirement would add dozens of required visitor spaces.

Chris Mudd, who said he works with Malone, urged the board to send the draft to the Baltimore County Engineering Association and to home‑builder groups (MBIA) for review and recommended a delay so stakeholders could offer substantive feedback.

Board members questioned staff about the arithmetic and applicability: staff said the 30% proposal would apply to townhomes and multifamily uses and that visitor/overflow parking can include parallel or pocket spaces on site but could be difficult to accommodate on infill parcels. Nugent said the department could retain 15% if the board so chose but had proposed 30% based on prior reviews and resident complaints.

A motion to defer final voting on the residential section of the CMDP for 60 days (to allow additional stakeholder review) was moved and seconded; the board took a roll-call vote and the motion carried by recorded ayes. Members directed staff to solicit input from industry groups and return the item for further consideration at a subsequent meeting.