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Chesapeake Beach commission agrees to restore RV2 strip after final map review
Summary
At its April 22 meeting, the Chesapeake Beach Planning and Zoning Commission agreed by consensus to restore a contested strip of properties to the RV2 zone, citing the area's existing businesses and off'street parking. Staff will update maps and present revisions at a public hearing May 20.
The Chesapeake Beach Planning and Zoning Commission on April 22 reviewed final revisions to the town's zoning map and voted by consensus to return a contested light-brown/peach area near routes 260 and 261 to the RV2 residential-village zone.
Planner Miss Franklin led the review, explaining that map edits clarified distinctions between RV1 and RV2 and added RPC underlying zoning for homeowners association areas. She said she "did a drive around to evaluate" parking and lot characteristics and adjusted parcels where field conditions or floodplain risk made prior assignments inconsistent with the criteria the commission adopted.
The decision matters because the RV2 district allows a broader mix of housing types and limited commercial or dwelling-in-combination uses than RV1. Commissioners noted that several local small businesses -- including the long-established cobbler and other home businesses in the strip -- had historically assumed RV2 status. "A lot of those little businesses have always thought that's what they were," Commissioner Brown said, arguing that reverting the area would avoid confusing longtime owners.
Commissioners and staff also discussed a parcel in the town's south that staff moved back into the RC/resource-conservation designation after finding it was largely in the floodplain and highly susceptible to sea-level rise and wetlands. Miss Franklin said that change aligns the map with comprehensive-plan guidance on vulnerable coastal areas.
The commission requested clearer printed and digital map keys for the next meeting and agreed that any further edge adjustments should be justified by the objective criteria the commission adopted (driveways, off-street parking, lot patterns). Miss Franklin said she would email higher-resolution maps to commissioners and produce printed copies for the next session.
The commission set a public hearing for May 20 to collect comment on the draft map and related land-use changes; staff will publish notice and provide an online comment option. The planner will update the map to show the restored RV2 strip and return the revised materials to the commission for review prior to the hearing.
Next steps: staff will update and republish the map and supporting materials, the commission will hold the public hearing May 20, and any further revisions will be considered after public input is received.
