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Council raises concerns about roads and coordination as staff moves to draft ordinance for Trolley Drive rezoning
Summary
When staff sought direction on rezoning ZM202601 (Trolley Drive area), council members said road network deficiencies around Emirate and Beaver Creek raise coordination and timing concerns; staff emphasized no new accesses would be allowed on Emirate Road, estimated potential unit counts (practically ~60 units), and proposed outreach to county and state highway agencies before final action.
Council debated whether to proceed with a zoning change for an 8.79‑acre parcel near Emirate and Beaver Creek roads amid lengthy discussion about regional road capacity and multi‑jurisdiction coordination.
Staff introduced ZM202601 as a rezoning request to neighborhood mixed use and asked the council to indicate whether the record supported a change based on a change in character or mistake. Several council members said they did not oppose the rezoning itself but expressed deep concern about how multiple near‑term developments in adjacent jurisdictions would affect traffic on narrow, older country roads. One council member said the record did not show an interjurisdictional plan and urged staff to open dialogue with state highway and county engineers to avoid piecemeal outcomes.
Staff and the developer representative told the council that current direction to the developer includes a strong preference against new driveways on Emirate Road: "there will be no new driveways, no new street entrance coming in," the staff member said, and they estimated a practical development yield of roughly 60 townhouse units if the property were built at typical townhouse densities.
Why it matters: the rezoning debate illuminated how individual map changes can cascade into regional traffic and safety implications when multiple properties across city and county boundaries are developed. Several council members urged coordination with county and state agencies before final ordinance adoption.
Next steps: council instructed staff to draft an ordinance based on the zoning arguments in the record and to reach out to Maryland State Highway and county engineers for coordination on road improvements and access limitations; staff said they would consult the city attorney if the record needed reopening for additional testimony.
