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Draft APD rules would count tenant houses, use net acreage and change TDR calculations
Summary
The proposed rules clarify that TDR computations will use net buildable acreage (field surveys required), that tenant houses and primary residences count toward APD density, and that five TDRs are deducted for each existing residence; staff said these are clarifications of existing policy rather than substantive changes.
Planning staff presented several technical clarifications in the draft agricultural preservation rules intended to standardize how development rights and density are calculated within APDs.
Jennifer David explained the draft would switch the TDR computation from total acreage to net acreage, based on field surveys and deductions for wetlands; she said "net acreage will be used for the TDR computation rather than the entire acreage of the entire piece of property," and that field surveys are required to determine net acreage. Staff also said five TDRs are deducted for each existing residence on a property as part of the computation.
The draft clarifies that density entitlements apply by APD rather than by parcel and explicitly counts "primary residences, buildable residential lots, and tenant houses" toward the APD density. Commissioners sought clarification about whether tenant houses differ from accessory dwellings; staff read the rule and explained a tenant house is "a dwelling located on a farm other than the primary dwelling that is occupied for the use of a person or family associated with the operation of the farm," and that both tenant houses and accessory dwelling units have a 1,500-square-foot maximum in the zoning ordinance. Staff emphasized these are clarifications to align the rules with the March 2025 Calvert County zoning ordinance and said the intent was not to make substantive policy changes but to clarify administration.
