ZONING IN
The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County has studied and arrived at consensus on land use planning a number of times since its first consensus position supporting regional planning in 1957-58. The studies have carried through from the adoption of the “Wedges and Corridors” Plan to the 2001 study of growth management. Our current study focuses upon zoning, the legislative action by the County Council that imposes specified conditions and regulations developed through the plans upon particular parcels of land.
A zone is a
specifically defined set of uses identified by one or more of the county’s
plans and may be residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural. There may be numerous zones in each category,
each having particular characteristics. The zoning ordinance, adopted by the County Council, defines and describes various zones and
specifies detailed procedures governing a change of zoning. The ordinance
applies to all areas of the county except for seven municipalities:
Barnesville, Brookeville,
The zoning ordinance is an evolving
document. It is frequently updated and changed when the County Council adopts zoning
text amendments. The changes can be minor, such as correcting typographical
or editorial errors, or they can be major, such as creating a new zone, adding
new exceptions and exemptions to the regulations or removing them. For example, in 2003 the council identified
equestrian facilities as an agricultural rather than recreational use and changed
those facilities from a special exception use to a permitted use in the
Agriculture Reserve. At the same time conditions and restrictions on certain
equestrian activities were imposed via the zoning text amendment.
FROM PLAN TO ZONE
While the County Council (sitting as
the District Council in land use and zoning matters) approves area and
functional master plans upon which zoning is based, the work of developing
these plans is carried out under the auspices of the planning board, for which
the council establishes the work program and approves the budget.
The Montgomery County Planning Board
is composed of five citizen members called commissioners who are appointed by
the County Council. The board acts as
the County Council's principal adviser on land use, community planning and
zoning issues. A large planning staff
reports to the chairman of the board through administrative directors.
The General Plan
The
Master Plans
Community-based
master plans and sector plans provide more specific recommendations
on future land use, transportation needs, resource protection and public
facilities for each of the many communities in the county. Master plans are
visions for the county in the next 20 years.
The master plan development
process involves data collection and analysis, community outreach and numerous
reviews and can take up to three years from beginning to end. In some planning areas a portion of the area
such as a Central Business District may require special emphasis. For such areas a sector plan covering just
that portion of the planning area may be produced along with the more
comprehensive master plan.
Master plan making is initiated by
the
Sectional
Map Amendments
The actual implementation of master plan recommendations does not occur
until the County Council approves a sectional map amendment. The sectional map amendment covers a section
of the county, usually the same area as the master plan. It proposes various
zones to be applied to individual tracts of land, normally as recommended in
the master plan. All property owners affected by any recommended change in
zoning are notified individually to testify at the County Council's public
hearing on a proposed sectional map amendment. Following public hearing, the
council must approve the sectional map amendment by majority vote. This becomes an amendment to the Zoning Map for Portions of the
Maryland-Washington Regional District in
Functional Plans
Functional master plans are
initiated by park and planning and prepared, approved and adopted in the same
manner as the master plans. They focus
on specific systems that support and tie master plans together. The functional master plans currently being
applied to development in the county include:
·
Highways,
map updated June 2005
·
Countywide
Bikeways, 2005
·
Rustic
Roads, 1996
·
Legacy
Open Space, 2001
·
·
Conservation
and Management in the
·
Preservation
of Agriculture and Rural Open Space, 1980
·
Conservation
and Management in the Seneca Creek and
·
Countywide
Recreation Centers, in development
Strategic Plans
Strategic plans are developed under the auspices of the
EUCLIDIAN ZONES
The zoning ordinance provides the
definition of all zones permitted for use in
While church is not defined in the
zoning ordinance, churches or houses of worship are permitted by right in
almost all zones. Because many churches
are expanding their range of services to include recreational, educational and
housing components, how these facilities fit into the land-use policies has
become a matter of public concern.
Residential Zones
The zoning for residential
development is extremely complex. For single-family homes there are 15
Euclidian zones, distinguished primarily by the lot size allowed. Seven of
these are designated as TDR receiving zones. Four additional zones are
allocated to town houses. In addition, there
is a zone for semidetached or two family homes. Residential development is also
permitted in many other zones, and townhouses may be built in non-townhouse
zones, but are limited in those zones to a percentage spelled out in the code.
In addition to designating the
standards for each zone, alternative
development methods are available in certain of these zones, each in accordance
with appropriate regulations as set forth in a section of the code. These
methods are:
·
Standard
development. The procedure for approval is as set forth
in Chapter 50, title "Subdivision of Land," of the Montgomery County
Code, as amended.
·
Density
control development. This method permitted the averaging of lot
sizes, but was discontinued. It is
allowed only for lots recorded prior to
·
Cluster
development. This method
permits development on smaller lots with common open space. This is an optional method of development that
encourages the provision of community open space for active or passive
recreation as well as the preservation of trees. The cluster method provides
for flexibility in lot layout and for variety in the types of residential
buildings while preserving the same limitations on density of dwelling units
per acre as normally permitted in the respective zones, protecting the
character of existing neighborhoods and providing open space for common use. In
order to accomplish this purpose certain changes in lot areas and dimensions
are permitted; a greater variety of building types is introduced in certain
zones. The use of this method of development and site plan approval for
portions of such development are subject to approval by the planning board.
·
Development
including moderately priced dwelling units. Where MPDUs are included in a
development in accordance with chapter 25A of the code, as amended, this
optional method of development is permitted in order to facilitate the
construction of those units. The code requires MPDUs in developments of 20 or
more units. The method permits an
increase in density above the total number of dwelling units permitted by the
standard method of development. It also
permits additional dwelling unit types and a reduction in certain area and
dimensional requirements. The site plan approval procedures must be followed,
with an exception made for posting requirements.
In addition to the single-family
residential zones, there are seven multi-family zones consisting of low, medium
and high-density zones and their TDR counterparts and a high-rise planned
residential zone. These zones also have
both standard and optional methods of development, with the standard method
specifying factors such as minimum lot area, percentage of land to be covered,
setbacks, etc. The optional method of
development allows a larger maximum number of units and applies to the TDR
multi-family zones.
There are eight Residential-Mixed Use
Development Zones,hich include zones for various types of centers: community;
specialty; specialty, commercial base; regional and regional, commercial base.
There are also mixed-use TDR zones for the community, specialty and regional
zones. Specialty centers include
recreational and entertainment facilities such as swimming pools, bowling
alleys and health clubs. Regional
facilities include developments such as the Wal-Mart shopping center. The
development standards for residential uses limit the number of square feet
allocated to commercial use and have minimum green space standards for both
commercial and residential areas.
Commercial
There are seven commercial Euclidian zones identified in the zoning
ordinance, including office building; office park; convenience, general,
highway and limited commercial; low-density office commercial; and low-density
regional commercial. Development standards for commercial zones in most cases
specify maximum or minimum area, frontage and access, building height and
coverage, setbacks and in some cases requirements in other areas such as green
space, signs or parking. In some zones
there is a requirement for MPDU housing if residential uses are included.
In addition to the commercial zones,
the ordinance identifies four central business districts (CBD):
Industrial
The zoning code defines five
Euclidian zones classified as industrial.
They are light, heavy, technology and business park, low-density light
industrial and research and development.
The uses permitted in each zone are specified to a relatively fine
degree. For example, manufacturing of
musical instruments, toys, novelties and rubber and metal stamps is not
permitted in the light industrial zone, but manufacturing of paint not
employing a boiling or rendering process is.
A number of uses such as hotels, service stations and some recreational
uses are permitted by right or special exception in some industrial zones. Day care centers are permitted by right in
all but heavy industrial zones.
Manufacture of some substances such as asphalt, disinfectants and
fertilizers is prohibited in all zones.
The adequate public facilities requirements may constrain the
development in industrial zones.
In the technology and business park
zone, trip mitigation requirements may be called for. In
that zone under the optional method of development, mixed-use development is
allowed at locations that have convenient access to transit and are recommended
in the master plan. Under the optional method, commercial uses that
maintain an employment emphasis must be mixed with residential uses.
Any use in an industrial zone must
comply with all applicable federal, state and county requirements and standards
concerning noise, vibration, air pollution, odors, electromagnetic radiation,
fire and explosion, storm water management and sediment control, radioactive
materials, glare and heat, non-radioactive liquid and solid waste, hazardous
substances and wastes and bioresearch materials.
Agricultural
The agricultural zones are
designated as rural zones in the zoning ordinance. There are four Euclidian rural zones. The Rural and Rural Cluster zones seek to
preserve rural areas of the county for agriculture, stress protection of scenic
and environmentally sensitive areas and allow residential uses of a rural
character The Rural zone allows other
natural resource development and extensive recreational facilities. These zones
have five-acre minimum lot size. The
Rural Density Transfer Zone promotes agriculture as the primary land use as
designated by the Functional Master Plan for Preservation of Agriculture and
Rural Open Space. Residential use is permitted at one dwelling per 25 acres,
but a house may be built on as little as one acre.
The intent of the Rural Neighborhood
Cluster zone is to preserve open land, environmentally sensitive natural
resources and rural community character that would be lost under conventional,
large-lot development. No land can be classified in this zone unless the land
is within an area for which there is an approved and adopted master or sector
plan which recommends its application and provides development guidelines and
recommendations regarding the density of development in the optional method of
development. The location and rationale
for preserving the rural open space must be included in the plan. Lots as small
as 25,000 square feet are permitted.
Overlay
Zones
The overlay zones establish additional criteria for the zone. It is a special zone placed over an existing zoning district, part of a district or a combination of districts that has a set of regulations to be applied in addition to the standards of the base zone, keeping all the criteria established for the base zone. It can be for environmental purposes or it can be used to encourage or preserve development in certain areas.
The zoning ordinance includes 13
overlay zones. They are: Wheaton Central
Business District for retail preservation, residential and open space
preservation for the Town of Garrett Park, retail preservation for the
Arlington Road District of the Bethesda Central Business District Sector Plan, U.S.
29/Cherry Hill Road Employment Area of
the Fairland Master Plan, Burtonsville Employment Area of the Fairland Master
Plan, Upper Paint Branch Special Protection Area, Chevy Chase comparison
retail, Chevy Chase neighborhood retail preservation, Sandy Spring/Ashton rural
village, Fenton Village, Ripley/South Silver Spring, Takoma Park/East Silver
Spring commercial revitalization and the neighborhood retail and environmental
overlay zone for the Upper Rock Creek Special Protection Area.
Floating Zones
In content a
floating zone is similar to a conventional zone, describing the permitted uses,
setback requirements and other standards to be applied. However, the floating zone is not designated
on the zoning map until a zoning change request has been approved by the County
Council for a specific parcel of land. These zones are in the nature of a special
exception and are approved or disapproved upon findings that the application is
or is not proper for the comprehensive and systematic development of the
county, is or is not capable of accomplishing the stated public purposes and is
or is not in substantial compliance with the duly approved and adopted general
plan and master plans.
Floating zones are useful when a community may want to permit a limited
number of specific uses such as a super market or hotel, but does not want to
map their locations in advance. All of
the planned unit development zones except the mixed use neighborhood zone are floating
zones. The floating zones of this category are: P-D-planned development, town
sector, planned neighborhood, planned retirement community, mixed use
planned development and planned cultural center.
Commercial floating zones include highway commercial, transitional commercial, moderate intensity office building, country inn and hotel-motel. There are two transit station floating zones, mixed and residential. Other floating zones are the life sciences; the mineral extraction, encompassing gravel extraction operations; fourplex and the planned mobile home development residential zones; technology and business park; and two rural zones.
The Low Density Rural
Cluster Development Zone is intended to provide the maximum amount of freedom
in lot size and design in order to permit the greatest amount of open space to
be conserved and to prevent detrimental effects on the environment. The
open space should be appropriately located for agricultural preservation,
environmental protection and preservation of the rural character as viewed from
areas visible to
the community. It can serve as a buffer between agricultural
uses and high-density development. The minimum lot size is five acres. Cluster
development is optional.
The Rural Services Zone contains
services that support traditional low density land uses while protecting and
maintaining an overall rural character. Development must have limited
imperviousness and may provide landscaping and screening and a high percentage
of open space. Minimum lot size is two acres.
APPROVAL PROCESSES FOR DEVELOPMENT
Development Plan Approval
To use the floating zone, an applicant must apply to the county
hearing examiner for a local zoning map amendment. This request is accompanied by a development
plan, which is required for all of the
planned unit development floating zones and for the fourplex residential ,
planned mobile home development; transit station, residential and mixed;
country inn; and mineral resource recovery. The development program states the
sequence in which all structures, open spaces, vehicular and pedestrian
circulation systems and community recreational facilities are to be developed.
The request is sent to the planning board for review and the taking of
residents’ comments as part of its regular public meeting. The hearing examiner reviews the application
and the recommendation of the planning board and its staff, conducts a public
hearing on the proposal and makes a recommendation to the County Council. The County Council conducts a public meeting
to approve, deny, remand for further information, dismiss or allow the
application to be withdrawn. For
approval, the County Council must find that the proposed use is compatible with
surrounding uses and in accord with the expressed purposes and other requirements
of the zone, as well as the general plan. A
site plan that is consistent with the approved development plan must
subsequently be approved prior to the issuance of any building permit.
Preliminary Plan Review
Unless it is called out in the body of the
zoning ordinance, the standard development option for residential development
proceeds in accordance with Chapter 50 of the
The preliminary plan
is subject to review by the development review division of MNCPPC. The staff receives input from the
department’s environmental, community-based planning and transportation staffs
and from the development review committee, an interagency task force composed
of representatives of county departments and outside agencies such as WSSC,
PEPCO and the state highway administration.
The Montgomery County Growth Policy, which includes the Adequate Public
Facilities Ordinance, is applied at this time. The planning board must find
that public facilities will be adequate to support and service the area of the
proposed subdivision. Public facilities
and services to be examined for adequacy include roads and public
transportation facilities, sewerage and water service, schools, police
stations, firehouses and health clinics. The planning board may approve the
plan as presented, deny it or request changes.
Once approval is obtained, the development can proceed to the site plan
phase.
Site Plans
A site plan must identify the
existing features of the land to be developed, including a natural resources inventory prepared in accordance with a technical
manual adopted by the planning board; other natural features, such as rock
outcroppings and scenic views; landfills; existing buildings and
structures; the locations of highways and streets serving the site, noting
center lines, widths of paving, grades and median break points; and the
locations of proposed highways and streets serving the site.
The site plan must also show the
proposed development including but not limited to the following information
unless waived by the planning director at the time of application as being
unnecessary because of the limited scope of the proposal: the location, height,
ground coverage and use of all structures; for each residential building, the
number and type of dwelling units, classified by the number of bedrooms, and
the total floor area, if any, to be used for commercial purposes; the floor
areas of all nonresidential buildings and the proposed use of each; the
locations of all green areas, including recreational areas, natural feature
preservation areas, community open-space areas and other open spaces;
calculations of building coverage, density, green area, numbers of parking
spaces and areas of land use; the location of all public schools, parks and
other community recreational facilities, indicating the location and use of all
land to be dedicated to public use; the location and dimensions of all roads,
streets and driveways, parking facilities, loading areas, points of access to
surrounding streets and pedestrian walks; a grading plan; the location of all
sewer, water and storm drainage lines, and all easements and rights-of-way,
existing or proposed; storm water management drawings and calculations, and
plans for siltation and erosion control, both during and after construction; a
landscaping plan, showing all man-made features and the location, height or
caliper and species of all plant materials; and an exterior lighting plan,
including all parking areas, driveways and pedestrian ways, and including the
height, number and type of fixtures and a diagram showing their light
distribution characteristics; a final forest conservation plan prepared in
accordance with Chapter 22A (Forest Conservation) and a final water quality
plan prepared in accordance with Chapter 19 (Erosion, Sediment Control, and
Storm Water Management).
The site plan must also include a
development program stating the sequence in which all structures, open spaces,
vehicular and pedestrian circulation systems, landscaping and recreational
facilities are to be developed. The applicant designates the point in the
development program sequence when the applicant will notify the planning board
to request inspection for compliance with the approved site plan.
Conformance with the preliminary plan
and any modifications required as part of its approval are evaluated by the
development review committee. The committee meets as a group to analyze and
evaluate the site plan and makes a report of recommendations to the planning
board. A public hearing must be held by
the planning board on each site plan application. The planning board must approve, approve
subject to modifications or disapprove the site plan not later than 45 days
after receipt of the site plan.
Upon approval, the site plan must be signed by the applicant agreeing to
execute all the features and requirements that are part of the site plan;
signed by the chairman of the planning board, or his designee, certifying
planning board approval of the site plan; and forwarded to the Department of
Permitting Services for reference in issuing building permits. In many cases
development may not begin for several years.
In fact, the county has put a limit upon the number of years that the
approved plan is valid.
This
fact sheet is the first in a series on zoning. The content is derived from
Chapters 59 and 50 of the Montgomery County Code; interviews with Martin
Klauber, People’s Counsel, and Gregory Russ,
MNCPPC Zoning Planner Coordinator; assistance of other MNCPPC staff and
the MNCPPC web site and its Resident’s Guides. The next fact sheet will
deal with how changes to the zoning ordinance are made and the processes for
approving special exceptions and variances.
Discussion at unit meetings will be held to develop consensus on issues
concerning the content and application of the ordinance. Study Committee:
Elaine Apter, Margaret Chasson, Melpi Jeffries, Jean Lowder, Kathy McGuire,
Aleen Starkweather, Barbara Steckel, Lois Stoner