The Anne Arundel County Council is considering CB 75-24 which would make changes to mixed-use zoning districts that could have major implications for uses permitted in existing buildings and in new construction.
The bill would administratively rezone parcels currently designed as mixed-use and apply the requirements of new mixed-use zoning districts. That may result in disallowing uses that are currently permitted and changes to design standards. An unofficial draft markup of the use table is linked here.
A NAIOP working group submitted comments on a pre-introduction draft of the bill raising specific issues within five areas of concern. From the NAIOP comments:
In particular, the following issues may have significant unintentional and unpredictable consequences for the MXD zones:
- The need for MXD zone purpose sections to differentiate the character of development intended for each MXD zone and to inform potential locations for those zones;
- The need for design and bulk regulations calibrated to the purpose and location of each MXD zone;
- Use table changes, which disallow uses in zones where those uses are currently permitted;
- The need for changes in the adequacy of public facility requirements, which are inconsistent with the goals and provisions of the new MXD zones, and;
- Grandfathering language changes to ensure that existing mixed-use developments are undisturbed while encouraging the adoption of the new standards.
NAIOP members with interests in Anne Arundel County are urged to evaluate the impacts of CB 75-24 in advance of the public hearing scheduled for October 21st.
For further information and to connect with NAIOP’s working group on this issue, please contact Tom Ballentine at tom.ballentine@naiop-md.org.