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Calvert County debate centers on proposed Community Benefit Agreements in zoning update
Summary
Planning staff described Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) as a tool to allow developers design flexibility in exchange for public benefits; commissioners pressed for clarity that state environmental and density rules cannot be waived and emphasized public input before any deal is approved.
Planning staff told the county commissioners that a draft update to the Calvert County zoning ordinance includes a new process for Community Benefit Agreements, a land-use tool that could let developers exceed certain design limits in exchange for public benefits.
"A community benefit agreement or CBA is a planning tool for commercial, industrial and institutional developments to provide flexibility [in] design elements," Will Hager, a planning staffer, said during a Dec. 3 work session. He said CBAs would need both planning commission and board approval and "residential uses cannot be included as part of a CBA proposal."
Mary Beth Cook, director of planning and zoning, said a CBA could allow, for example, a developer to exceed a hypothetical 100,000-square-foot limit by proposing a 120,000-square-foot building if it included a public park or similar benefit for nearby residents. Staff emphasized that technical reviews, public meetings with affected property owners and formal planning commission hearings are required for any CBA application.
Commissioners pushed staff to make clear what local officials can and cannot change. "You can't circumvent state standards," one commissioner said, and staff responded that forest conservation, stormwater management and critical-area rules cannot be waived. Commissioners also voiced concern about the appearance of "backroom deals" and underscored that any proposed agreement would return to the planning commission and then the board for public hearings and a formal vote.
Cook told the board the public comment period on the draft zoning ordinance closes Dec. 20 and that the planning commission is expected to complete its recommendation before a Jan. 7 BOCC public hearing. The board did not take an action on the ordinance during the Dec. 3 meeting; staff asked commissioners whether they were satisfied with the draft as written and to forward recommendations to the planning commission as needed.
The work session included several clarifying points from staff and commissioners about limits on density, public-notice steps and the technical-review process; staff said any request that would alter residential density would instead require a separate text amendment process and explicit public notification.
