Tackling issues involving new development being squeezed into established neighborhoods could take “a little fix here, a little fix there” to zoning regulations, Howard County?s top zoning official said.
“I wish there was one silver bullet,” Department of Planning and Zoning Director Marsha McLaughlin said.
Planning and zoning staff members are drafting possible changes based on information culled from a committee of community leaders, developers and zoning officials that met over the last several months to remedy the so-called infill development issue, McLaughlin said.
Legislation could be drafted in mid- to late June, she said.
For example, regulations on stormwater management or forest conservation could be revised, she said.
Committee members were concerned with the high value of mature trees in older neighborhoods, where infill development is a threat.
To address runoff from new construction, a suggestion was made to include an easement on the area surrounding an existing building that would protect the land intended to properly drain stormwater.
This would give zoning officials some record of what was intended for managing the storm water, said Val McGuire, president of the Greater Elkridge Community Association, who attended two of the meetings.
The committee worked through a list detailing infill problems and potential solutions, such as open space requirements and design compatibility.
Overall, addressing infill development is made harder by the loose definition of the term and the general regulations, McLaughlin said. Zoning rules don?t differentiate between large subdivisions and smaller buildings in existing neighborhoods.
“The regulations are monochromatic,” she said. “They treat all developments as if they were the same.”
