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Planning staff outline removal of architecture review committees and reduction of town-center densities to four units per acre
Summary
Staff presented BOCC-directed amendments to remove architecture review committees in seven town centers and to cap town-center density at four units per acre. Commissioners asked how the change will affect Lusby (currently 9 units/acre) and staff said the zoning ordinance update — targeted for adoption later this year — will align master plans accordingly.
Tay Harris, the county’s long-range planner, told the commission on Sept. 18 that the Board of County Commissioners directed staff to eliminate architecture review committees for the county’s seven town centers and to set a maximum of four units per acre in town centers unless a current plan allows fewer units.
Harris said the change is intended to streamline development review by shifting architectural reviews to staff and to align town-center master plans with a forthcoming zoning ordinance update. "On 05/21/2024, the Board of County Commissioners directed the Department of Planning and Zoning to eliminate the architecture review committees for the county's 7 town centers," Harris said. He explained the updates require edits to master plans that specifically reference architecture-review committees or density numbers.
Deputy director Jason Brinkley clarified the direction affects master-plan language where conflicts exist and reiterated that Lusby Town Center is currently at 9 units per acre; if the zoning update is adopted, the allowable density would be reduced to four units per acre for future subdivisions. Mary Beth Cook, director of planning and zoning, said the zoning ordinance draft adoption is the mechanism that makes the change effective and that subdivisions or sales that close before adoption could proceed under the current standard.
