To curb new development being squeezed into established neighborhoods, Council Chairwoman Courtney Watson is pushing a measure that would preserve certain small residential lots and direct development to more dense areas.
Under Watson?s proposal, landowners could sell the right to build to a developer on lots smaller than 2 acres. The developer, in turn, could use that development right for a more dense project.
For example, some 2-acre lots on Old Washington Road in Elkridge can be divided, with half of the lot being sold for new houses. But residents opposed to developing that property can sell the rights instead, making money and preserving the land. The developer can use those rights to add a couple apartments to a complex in another area.
“It?s allowing flexibility, and hopefully out of it we get more compatibility,” said Watson, D-District 1.
The proposal takes aim at so-called “infill” development, which opponents say damages the character of a neighborhood.
Watson?s measure, which is a zoning regulation amendment before the Planning Board, would create a new density-exchange process in the eastern part of the county much like one in therural west. There, landowners can transfer the right to build to another lot, thus preserving a larger portion of land and clustering the development.
“Property owners [would] have an option to realize some financial returns on the value of their properties without having to actually subdivide and develop the land,” according to the Department of Planning and Zoning staff report.
Watson said she doesn?t expect the option to have a major effect on the density of one area and it won?t increase the total number of houses built.
Watson?s plan is accompanied by County Executive Ken Ulman?s second zoning change that outlines density requirements.
He also is proposing amendments to the subdivision and land development regulations, addressing issues such as storm-water management, landscaping requirements and open space.
“I think the citizens of Howard County feel, as I do, there is a real issue with infill development that can threaten the quality of life in existing neighborhoods,” Ulman said.
