Planning commission hears public concern over Calvert County zoning overhaul and new community benefit agreements

CALVERT COUNTY — The Calvert County Planning Commission on Nov. 20 took public comment on an extensive draft rewrite of the county zoning ordinance that would reduce allowable town-center densities, create a new heavy-industrial district with conditions for data centers and add a process for community benefit agreements (CBAs) — a late addition that multiple residents urged the commission to defer.

Rachel Leche, the county zoning planner, told commissioners the November 2024 draft is intended to align the zoning ordinance with the Calvert 2040 comprehensive plan. The draft would replace the current 1-mile radius policy with new rural neighborhood and reconfigured residential districts, and would set a maximum of four dwelling units per acre within town centers. Staff said other changes include limiting family-conveyance lots to one, restoring certain transferable-development-rights (TDR) requirements to five, and revising town-center parking standards.

The draft also designates an I-2 Heavy Industrial district concentrated in three southern-county areas and lists data centers as a conditional use in I-2. Planner Will Hager outlined new conditions intended to govern data centers: a 200-foot setback from property lines, a 400-foot separation from any lot with an existing residential building or active residential building permit, facade treatments to avoid unbroken surfaces, compliance with the county noise ordinance, and a required public meeting in the election district prior to review.

Why it matters: The draft would substantially reorganize how Calvert County regulates land use — changing density calculations, shifting architectural review away from local committees to administrative processes, and creating a pathway (via CBAs) for regulated deviations from development rules in exchange for public benefits. That mix of land-use flexibility and procedural change drew scrutiny from residents who said the public and agencies had not had adequate time to evaluate some additions.

Public commenters repeatedly urged delaying action on the CBA language. "The CBA language was a late addition after the period of public and state and local agency comment had ended," Susan Dezurek, speaking for Keep Calvert Country, told commissioners. She urged the commission to defer inclusion of CBAs "until the public has a better understanding of the implications for the county."

David Burry, a resident who said he had previously misread draft language, said he now supports staff’s density reductions but agreed that CBAs should be paused so agencies and the public can evaluate what kinds of regulatory overrides developers might request. "Right now, I don't think that we have a good understanding of what an actual CBA in Calvert would look like," Burry said.

Myra Gallant, representing Calvert Citizens United, cautioned that CBAs are not legally equivalent to planned-unit developments (PUDs) and stressed the need to define the authority and membership of any CBA review body. "That's impossible. You're not, you can't do that," Gallant said of substituting CBAs for PUD procedures.

Environmental concerns were raised as well. Bob Estes warned that large developments — including potential data centers — "need to have more accurate evaluation than just what we're used to," citing stormwater and cumulative environmental impacts.

County staff and the director of planning and zoning, Mary Beth Cook, said options had been presented to the Board of County Commissioners and the BOCC directed staff to move forward with text amendments to remove architectural review committees; Cook said commissioners had considered alternatives (countywide or regional committees) before instructing staff to proceed with elimination of the committees.

Procedural outcome: After public comment, a commissioner moved to keep the public record open for 30 days to allow additional input; another commissioner seconded the motion and it carried on a voice vote. Staff said the BOCC hearing on the zoning ordinance is scheduled for Dec. 17, 2024; if the BOCC adopts the ordinance on that date it could become effective 10 days later.

What’s next: The planning commission left the record open for further written comments and will forward its recommendation and the public record to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration on Dec. 17.