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Board enacts broad zoning text amendments affecting ADUs, home daycares, retaining walls and critical‑area rules
Summary
The board adopted a package of zoning text amendments (25‑02 through 25‑13) that revise accessory‑dwelling rules to align with state law, ease parking requirements for small home daycares, clarify retaining‑wall definitions and update critical‑area provisions per the Critical Area Commission recommendations.
The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt a group of zoning text amendments that local planners said align county rules with recent state law changes and correct drafting errors from earlier ordinance updates.
Jason Brinkley, Director of Planning and Zoning, walked the board through the package: one amendment revises the definition of retaining wall so walls under 36 inches are not treated as structural retaining walls and therefore not subject to the same setbacks and inspections; another amendment aligns local accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules with the state by capping ADUs at 75% of the gross floor area or 1,500 square feet, and by clarifying setback limits.
Planning staff also proposed changes to home daycare parking: the revised rules reduce the required pickup/drop‑off area for home daycares with 12 or fewer clients from a two‑car area to a single designated space and require one parking spot per nonresident employee. "We're trying to balance safety for drop‑offs with the needs of small home daycares," Brinkley said.
Several amendments incorporate Critical Area Commission recommendations, including extending the county's comprehensive review of critical‑area maps from every six years to every 10 years (with a possible one‑year extension if notified in writing), integrating updated habitat protection area maps maintained by the Department of Natural Resources, and adding climate‑resiliency language to the critical‑area purpose and goals.
The board adopted the entire set of text amendments as a group after debate and questions from commissioners; staff said additional clarifying text amendments may follow for specific items (for example, to resolve interaction between tenant houses and newly permitted detached ADUs).
