Harford County officials outlined their plans for updating the county?s 25-year-old zoning codes Tuesday in preparation for growth on and around Aberdeen Proving Ground, which they expected to fuel a region-wide boom. Over the next four years, planners will work with the public to update development regulations; lay out plans for water, transportation, agricultural and historical preservation; and combine zoning changes into a comprehensive zoning bill, Director of Planning Pete Gutwald said.
“When I first took office in the summer of 2005, I pledged to help modernize county government,” County Executive David Craig said in a statement Tuesday. “Updating a 25-year-old, outdated zoning code is but another step in fulfilling this pledge.”
According to Gutwald?s proposed timeline, the process begins this week ? as the County Council revises its program to preserve farmland by purchasing development rights ? and finishes in August 2009 with the update of the county?s historic preservation plan.
Craig and council President Billy Boniface both said they heard many requests for more public input in the revision process during their campaigns this fall, and lauded the county?s plans to create an online clearinghouse for public information and input. The county?s department of planning and zoning has started work on a draft revision of the 400-page zoning codes, county spokeswoman Roxanne Lynch said.
Then the department will pass it on to a work group of 35 to 40 representatives from various sectors of the county, ranging from Realtors to preservationists and agriculture officials, she said. The county will hire a professional facilitator to run the review, which will keep the work group focused.
“Once the work group has completed their work, then we take the show on the road” with public review meetings held in high schools around the county, Lynch said.
Various members of the County Council emphasized the importance of public input to the process, while others wanted to be certain the council itself remained well-informed during the process.
