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Planning board schedules public hearing on residential updates to Comprehensive Manual of Development Policies
Summary
The Baltimore County Planning Board voted to schedule a public hearing for Nov. 20, 2025, on proposed updates to the residential sections of the Comprehensive Manual of Development Policies (CMDP). Department of Planning staff said the CMDP will be converted to a hyperlinked, living format and does not itself change zoning law.
The Baltimore County Planning Board on Nov. 6 moved to schedule a public hearing on proposed updates to the residential sections of the Comprehensive Manual of Development Policies for 5 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2025.
Chair Scott opened the meeting and introduced Jennifer Nugent of the Department of Planning to present the CMDP revisions. Nugent said the CMDP “is enabled by section 504.2 of the Baltimore County Zoning Regulations” and described the update as a modernization: a color, hyperlinked, living document intended to consolidate guidance now spread across zoning and subdivision regulations and other county guidance.
Nugent told the board the residential parts of the CMDP required a thorough review because recent legislation had left some language outdated. The department reorganized the residential chapter into three subsections—residential standards (visual and explanatory versions of zoning regulations), residential guidelines and residential compatibility—with the stated intent that the CMDP serve as a companion to zoning rather than a replacement for code changes.
Board members pressed staff on whether the CMDP creates new policy. Nugent and other staff repeatedly replied that the CMDP does not itself change zoning; any code or zoning amendments would require the separate zoning process and council approval. Staff offered to accept edits from board members and run significant suggested changes through the zoning-change process if the board wanted to pursue them.
The motion to set the public hearing—moved from the floor and seconded during the Nov. 6 meeting—carried after a voice vote. The board also approved the Oct. 16 meeting minutes earlier in the evening.
What happens next: the planning board will take public testimony at the Nov. 20 hearing before making a recommendation to the County Council. Any change that requires code or zoning amendments would proceed through the county’s legislative processes.
