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Politics & Government

Changes Ahead for Broadneck as Council Gears Up for Rezoning Process

A list of 24 rezoning submissions are currently on the table and were discussed Tuesday night at a public forum hosted by Anne Arundel County Council Chairman Dick Ladd.

County planners frowned on most of the 24 comprehensive rezoning submissions for District 5, now under review by Anne Arundel County Council Chairman Dick Ladd.

Districts 2, 3 and 5 are the last up to bat for the 10-year comprehensive rezoning process in the county. Ladd, who is chairman and also a councilman representing District 5, said he expects the public hearings to begin in October, and wants a final vote on the bill for all three districts by Nov. 21.

Ladd held a on Tuesday night at . The meeting was well attended, and nearly everyone came with an opinion on how the area should or should not change.

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A bakery, furniture store, office parks and consignment shop were just some of the businesses under review in the list of submissions detailed at Tuesday’s meeting. Of the 24 rezoning submissions, the county’s planning and zoning office only recommended following through with eight.

Ladd said the Broadneck region comes with a different set of complications than other areas in the county because it is landlocked.

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“Our problem is a little different. We are a very mature district with little development opportunities,” Ladd said.

Being so close to the water, there’s a lot of flood plain property in Broadneck. As such, some applications requesting upzonings were subject for rejection based on them being in flood plain territory or located in the critical zone.

County planners reached out to ensure marinas have room to grow. Even though space is at a premium, the increased demand on the marina industry has forced planners to make hard decisions.

But one of these decisions came without the property owners’ knowledge. June Paul, of Whitehall Manor, said the planning and zoning office wants Whitehall Yacht Yard to remain a marina forever.

“The county wanted to make sure that parcel would remain a marina. So, they’re basically forcing him to get an upzone,” Paul said.

The county's office of planning and zoning recommends changing the marina’s zoning from commercial—where it is operating in a non-conforming-use—to commercial marina, even though the property owner did not make the request.

“This zoning change will address the need to expand the county’s maritime land inventory in suitable locations to support the maritime industry,” read the planning office’s reasoning.

The trouble with that approach, Paul said, was that Heavy Commercial Marina District (MC) zoning opens the door for a wide number of uses on the property such as a restaurant or a bar. Ladd said he has come up with a compromise in changing the zoning text, ensuring that if those other uses are ever considered, they would become special exceptions to the MC zoning and require a separate approval process.

Another stickling point during discussions on Tuesday was a bakery on St. Margarets Road in Broadneck. Planning and zoning wants the property’s split zoning of residential (R1) and local commercial districts (C1) to be consolidated into one C1 zoning. There was also a note regarding limited parking on the property, and how C1 would alleviate that.

But Pat Lynch, president of the Broadneck Council, said her board opposed that recommendation because neighbors strongly object, and there is no need to upzone in order to correct any perceived parking problems.

Ladd said he had reviewed the property and for now agrees with the planning office’s solution.

“We found this was the best solution to keeping that bakery viable,” Ladd said.

Comprehensive rezonings for Districts 2, 3 and 5 will be on the agenda throughout October and November’s county council meetings. For a full list of the rezonings, visit the council’s website located at: http://www.aacounty.org/CountyCouncil/pendingLegis.cfm/.

District 5 Rezonings Being Requested

See the council's website for details about the zoning classifications.

1011 Skidmore Dr., Rural Agricultural (RA)-Highway Commercial District (C4) (planning and zoning recommends C2)

1434-1438 Ritchie Highway, R1-General Commercial Districts (C3)

272-274 Peninsula Farm Rd., Residential (R2)-C3

1462 Shot Town Rd., Residential Low Density (RLD)/Open Space District (OS)/Residential (R5)-R5

1016-1024 E. College Parkway, R1/OS-TC (Town Center)

1400 Ritchie Highway, R1-Residential (R22)

718 Whitehall Beach Rd., RA-R1

457 Broadneck Rd., RLD-R1

1615 Bay Head Rd., R1-R2

135 Collington Ct., R1-R2

419 Alameda Parkway, R5-Yacht Club District (MA3) (recommended by planning and zoning)

1051, 1089 Deep Creek Ave., R1-R2

1257, 1273 Ritchie Highway, R1-C3/R5

1500 Ritchie Highway, C3/R2-C3

1 E. Joyce Lane, R5-C2

1584 Ritchie Highway, R1-C1

1643 Orchard Beach Rd., R1-MB (planning and zoning recommends MA2)

491 College Parkway, R1-R5, C1 or C3

1837 St. Margaret’s Rd., R1/C1-C1 (planning and zoning recommends C1)

305 College Parkway, R1-R5 (planning and zoning recommends R5)

301 College Parkway, R1-R5 (planning and zoning recommends R5)

1441 Sharps Point Rd., RLD/OS-RA

1656 Homewood Landing, R2-MC (requested by planning and zoning)

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