Planning staff present Region 6 and Region 8 drafts, propose open-space increases and targeted zoning adjustments
Loading...
Summary
Office of Planning and Zoning briefed the council on comprehensive zoning recommendations tied to Plan 2040 for Regions 6 and 8 (Crownsville/Millersville and Davidsonville area). Staff recommended consistency changes, more open-space zoning, and a mix of modest upzones and preserved areas following broad public outreach.
Office of Planning and Zoning senior staff presented draft region plans and companion comprehensive zoning recommendations for Region 6 (Crownsville and parts of Millersville) and Region 8 (Davidsonville, Harwood, Lothian, Friendship, parts of Edgewater) during the Jan. 13 work session.
Patrick Hughes and Eric Ketterling explained the Region 6 and 8 processes, emphasizing Plan 2040 as the guiding policy document and noting substantial public outreach (mailings to ~39,000 property owners, stakeholder advisory committees, public open houses and online comment periods). "Plan 2040 is the latest version of the county's general development plan adopted in May 2021," Hughes said, describing the region plans as implementation steps for county policy.
Staff said the zoning work focused on aligning parcel-level zoning with the adopted planned land-use map and development policy area, correcting parcel misalignments, and applying open-space (OS) zoning to properties with environmental features. The proposals increase OS acreage countywide by reclassifying certain publicly owned parcels, floodplains and conservation areas, and adjusting zoning at the Crownsville Hospital site to support an envisioned master plan while keeping most surrounding areas at low density.
Where owner requests sought commercial upzoning or infill, staff often recommended retaining residential or lower-intensity zoning to protect neighborhood character; several requests produced disagreement among staff, Stakeholder Advisory Committees (SACs) and the Planning Advisory Board (PAB). Examples included an applicant request near Generals Highway (CRV0015) seeking C-3 while OPZ recommended C-1 and the SAC favored retaining RLD, and a Millersville site where owner-requested C-3 was recommended as C-2 by staff amid strong public opposition to upzoning.
Staff demonstrated a zoning web viewer (aacounty.org/region6 and /region8) showing parcel-level recommendations, SAC and PAB input, and consistency-change identifiers. They highlighted the holding-capacity analysis showing existing zoning can accommodate projected growth to 2040 in both regions.
Councilmembers thanked staff for comprehensive outreach and asked to continue public engagement in the next 45 days as the council moves toward public hearings and formal ordinance introduction.
No final zoning enactments were made at the session; staff asked councilmembers and the public to review the web viewer and submit comments ahead of formal actions.
