Howard County Zoning Board refers Dorsey Road rezoning petition to hearing examiner

The Howard County Zoning Board voted unanimously to refer ZB 1131M, a petition seeking to rezone property at 6871 and part of 6875 Dorsey Road in Elkridge, to the county hearing examiner.

Chair Youngman moved to forward the petition and Miss Walsh seconded; the roll-call vote recorded 'Yes' from Chair Youngman, Dr. Jones, Miss Young, Miss Rigby and Miss Walsh. Clerk Miss Berg announced the hearing examiner will hear the case on March 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

The petition requests a zoning map amendment to change Parcel 706 (6871 Dorsey Road) and partial Parcel 726 (6875 Dorsey Road) from Transit Oriented Development to Residential Single R12. Chair Youngman opened the meeting by citing Article 2 of the hearing examiner rules and Howard County Code section 16.203(a)(4) as the authority for holding this administrative scheduling meeting.

Before the referral vote, Zoning Board member Miss Walsh raised concerns about inconsistent applicant disclosures under Maryland public ethics law. "The discussion piece I have pertains to the required disclosures made by an applicant under the Maryland public ethics law in the Howard County section that's applicable to us," she said, adding she had seen a "pretty thorough" disclosure for the Palmetto case but noted an earlier matter heard that day (referred to in the record) lacked adequate disclosure and had stalled in the past (the Erickson case). She asked the board to find a way to identify and remedy missing disclosures in advance to avoid delay.

County counsel responded that the board generally cannot act while a matter is pending before the hearing examiner. "I don't think that there is something that the zoning board can intervene and do at this point until... the case comes back to [the board] on whatever recommendation the hearing examiner makes," counsel said, and offered to contact the petitioner's counsel to request the disclosures be assembled.

The board also heard a brief introduction from Nate Foreman, who identified himself as the new zoning counsel for Howard County and offered to serve as a resource to the board and as a community liaison. "I'm the new zoning counsel for Howard County," he said, and added he was prepared to help the board as needed.

Next steps: ZB 1131M will be heard by the hearing examiner on March 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.; the board will consider the examiner's recommendation when the matter returns to the Zoning Board for a final determination.