Council Set to Close Book on Comprehensive Rezoning on Monday

The final vote over a months-long rezoning process for Broadneck and other districts in northeast Anne Arundel County will be taken Monday night.

The once-per-decade comprehensive rezoning process allows property owners another, quicker method of rezoning their land by appealing to their county council representatives.

The process has been going on throughout the year, first with Districts 1 and 4, then 6 and 7, and on Monday night it will come to an end with a final vote on the rezoning bill for Districts 2, 3, and 5, which includes areas of Arnold, Severna Park, Pasadena and Glen Burnie.

However, the lion's share of the work for the final bill has already been done. All that's left is to cast a vote on the amended bill, which includes 57 individual amendments, of which about 10 are in Broadneck.

The rezonings include a plot of land on Ritchie Highway that Margaret Jordan, 85, and her husband Sonny, 88, have had in their family for more than 70 years. The Jordans said they wanted to rezone their land as commercial and sell it, because they felt sandwiched between the other businesses around them.

Members of the fought to stop the land from being rezoned as commercial because they wanted the chance to buy it themselves and turn it into a park. Lucy Iliff, the president of the council, said they have been trying to raise money for that effort, but so far have not had success.

Planning and Zoning Officer Larry Tom stated his office believes the land's zoning should not change, and said they have tried to limit commercial growth down the Ritchie Highway corridor. At several meetings, Tom and his associates have explained to the council that changes that don't coincide with the county's General Development Plan could create problems further down the road.

However, the council ultimately approved an amendment forwarded by District 5 Councilman Dick Ladd that rezoned it as commercial. That motion was approved by a 6-1 vote with Councilman Chris Trumbauer (D-District 6) dissenting.

Another hot topic throughout the Broadneck rezoning discussions was land adjacent to a popular bakery, , on St. Margarets Road.

The property in question has a split zoning of low-density residential and commercial. After much deliberation, the property will retain its existing zoning of R1, overriding a planning and zoning recommendation to rezone it to C1 commercial. Ladd said the move was in agreement with the surrounding property owners, who were in fear of it being rezoned, then grouped and sold as a larger parcel.

"There has been wholesale opposition to this upzoning from the community," Ladd said while explaining his vote, which was approved by the council unanimously.

A total of nine Broadneck-related items are among the 57 amendments to the bill, set to be voted on tonight. They are as follows:

• 1837 St. Margarets Rd., Annapolis (21409). From R1/C1 to R1
• 1500 Ritchie Highway, Arnold. From C3 to R2
• 1656 Homewood Landing Rd., Annapolis (21409). From MC to MA2
• 419 Alameda Parkway, Arnold. From R5 to MA3
• 718 Whitehall Rd., Annapolis (21409). From RA to R1
• 1610, 1598 and 1544 Whitehall Rd., Annapolis (21409), from C3 to C4
• 1584 Ritchie Highway, Arnold. From R1 to SB
• 1061 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Annapolis (21409). From R1 to SB
• 1434-1438 Ritchie Highway, Arnold. From R1-C2

Bill 66-11 in its entirety, including a list of all amendments with maps, is available for review at the county council’s website. The council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in the council's chambers.