One builder wants to construct a bank in an area intended for community services.
Another wants to be allowed to build a gymnasium along the Route 1 corridor.
These are just two examples of requests for zoning changes before the Howard County Council that affect all properties in a specific zone and can be tough for residents to track.
Council members are considering narrowing down when these requests can be made to the county. The requests now can be made at any time.
“I am trying to focus the attention twice a year on these regulation changes for zoning to make them more transparent for the public and make sure we focus our resources on them all at once,” said Council Chairwoman Courtney Watson, D-District 1.
Watson is sponsoring a measure that would restrict requests for zoning amendments to March and September. The other four council members have co-sponsored the measure, which will be introduced Monday.
Some of the zoning requests are broad, and it?s hard to identify each affected property, said Councilman Greg Fox, R-District 5.
“If they are batched, maybe people will pay attention that time of the year,” he said.
“It just adds to the transparency of everything.”
Former Councilwoman Angela Beltram, who founded the residents group Citizens for an Open Process for Everyone, said the restrictions may reduce so-called “spot zoning,” which changes the zoning in favor of a single project.
“This piecemeal stuff doesn?t give the global view of what is happening,” she said.
Although some developers have shown support, others may raise concerns, because they like the ability to bring a zoning change at any time, Watson said.
The council is open to debating and reworking the measure, she and Fox said.
