Committee advances omnibus zoning text amendment to ease mixed‑use development at mall sites

The Montgomery County Planning, Housing and Parks Committee recommended Zoning Text Amendment 25‑13 to the full council after adopting a series of technical clarifications and amendments. The package aims to clarify several zoning definitions, restore a 30% gross floor area cap for residential uses in employment zones, and adjust development rules that affect large retail sites and accessory storage.

Ms. Nadeau, a member of council staff, told the committee the package removes the 1,200,000 gross leasable square foot threshold that had been required for sites in the Regional Shopping Center (RSC) overlay to qualify for increased building heights. She said the change is intended "to allow more mixed development at these mall sites," noting the RSC overlay covers Westfield Montgomery and Westfield Wheaton.

The amendment package also restores a 30% cap on gross floor area used for household living in employment zones (GR, NR, EOF), reversing an earlier lift intended to encourage commercial‑to‑residential conversions. Ms. Nadeau said the ZTA clarifies that commercial‑to‑residential conversions should use a 30% cap rather than be limited by a conflicting apartment definition.

On townhouse conditional‑use standards, council staff added a clarifying 'notwithstanding' so applicants may choose either the Design for Life standards or the Faith CTA affordability provisions, rather than being required to meet both sets of standards.

A significant portion of the discussion focused on outdoor storage of bulk items such as boats, campers and trailers. Staff recommended striking phrasing like "licensed, unlicensed, registered, or unregistered" and replacing it with "legal outdoor storage" on private residential property, and removing "portable storage unit" (pods) because those structures are regulated elsewhere. Ben Berber of Montgomery Planning urged adding an explicit exclusion for ordinary personal vehicles to avoid any misinterpretation that routine driveway parking would be prohibited: "I think in the spirit of tightening things up, adding ... just saying this does not apply to personal vehicles, I think would be the final thing to tighten this section up," he said.

The committee agreed to three recommended amendments — adding "or personal property" and "private residential property," striking the licensing language and portable storage unit references, and a wording tweak to clarify when parking rules apply — and asked staff to confirm with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) and Department of Permitting Services (DPS) that there are no enforcement conflicts.

Committee members also sought practical clarifications about trailers attached to a vehicle (treated as part of the recreational vehicle and permitted in driveways) versus unattached trailers or storage units (subject to accessory‑structure setbacks). Staff said they will provide setback tables and photos for the full‑council package.

By voice, the committee voted to forward ZTA 25‑13 as amended to full council with a 3–0 committee recommendation.

The committee’s action is a procedural committee recommendation; final adoption would occur at full council.