KENT COUNTY, MARYLAND
COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S

 

Code Home Rule Bill No. 6-2002

A Public Hearing was held on Tuesday, November 12, 2002, at 7:00 p.m. in the County Commissioners' Hearing Room, County Government Center, Chestertown, Maryland on Code Home Rule Bill No. 6-2002 which is: an Act to repeal and reenact with amendments the Zoning Ordinance for Kent County and amendments thereto, Zoning Maps and Part III of the Code of Public Local Laws of Kent County, revising, recodifying and consolidating all of the regulations governing land use in Kent County; adding new statements of purpose as follows: to enhance the Kent County employment base, provide efficiency in the process of development, protect the county's significant historic structures and areas from destruction or encroachment; creating five (5) new zoning districts - Rural Character, Community Residential, Intense Village, Employment Center, Industrial District Critical Area - LDA; changing conditional uses to special exceptions; replacing Limited Marine District with Marine District; removing the Planned Industrial and Intense Marine Districts; removing authority for private piers on parcels of more than twenty (20) acres where there is no main dwelling, except in the marine district; removing affordable housing district; classifying the dates used in determining density in and outside of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area; establishing a buffer modified map, Flood Plain maps, Airport Safety Zone Map and to be known collectively as the Land Use Ordinance for Kent County, Maryland, to be Part III of the Code of Public Local Laws of Kent County, Maryland.

County Commissioners Ronald H. Fithian, Larry B. Beck, and W. Michael Newnam were in attendance as well as Ernest S. Cookerly, County Attorney, T. Edward Robinson, County Administrator, Gail Owings, Director, Planning and Zoning Administration, Carla Martin, Community Planner, and Amy Moredock, Environmental Planner. Approximately 45 interested persons and members of the media were also in attendance.

Notice of the public hearing was read into the record by Commissioner Fithian as well as the Procedures for Testimony. It was also announced that written comments on the proposed local law will be accepted up to Friday, November 15, at 12:00 noon.

Mrs. Owings reviewed the Draft Land Use Ordinance executive summary and reviewed a map delineating the zoning districts. She described the (total) seventeen different zoning districts which are:

1) Agriculture Zoning District ( AZD) Intended to encourage the use of land for primarily agriculture/animal husbandry use and allows for 10% development at a density of 1 dwelling unit per 30 acres.

2) Resource Conservation District (RCD) Intended to preserve wildlife habitats, woodlands, forest and overall ecological values to the Critical Area; the least developed district, 1 dwelling per 20 acres.

3) Rural Character District (RC) (New District) Intended to provide rural lots that minimizes conflict with agriculture,1 dwelling per 20 acres.

4) Rural Residential District (RR) Intended to provide low density single family development,1 dwelling per 3 acres.

5) Critical Area Residential District - (CAR) Intended to allow low density residential development in areas of residential development, density 1 dwelling per acre.

6) Community Residential Districts (CR) Intended to allow low density residential development in areas of residential development, density 1 dwelling per acre.

7) Village District (V) Intended to provide high quality residential, neighborhood business and office development - 4 dwelling units per acre.

8) Intense Village District (IV) Intended to provide a mix of commercial, office, 8 dwelling units per acre.

9) Intense Village Critical Area District (IVCA) Intended to provide a mix of commercial, office, 8 dwelling units per acre.

10) Crossroads Commercial District (CC) Intended to provide a broad range of wholesale, retail, and contracting services typically located on major highways.

11) Commercial District (C) Intended to provide commercial and service activities not normally located in central business concentrations.

12) Commercial Critical Area (CCA) Intended to provide commercial and service activities located on major highways.

13) Marine District ( M) Intended to provide full service marinas and services associated with marinas; may be expanded into conference center.

14) Employment Center District (EC) Intended to provided areas for light industry.

15) Industrial District (I) Intended to provide a range of industrial uses; the three industrial districts differ only in the applicable environmental standards and buffer requirements.

16) Industrial District Critical Area -(LDA) Reflect the requirements of the Critical Area for Limited Developed Areas.

17) Industrial District Critical Area (IDA) Reflect the requirements of the Critical Area for Intensely Developed Areas.

Mrs. Owings advised that each district has design standards for building mass and scale, landscaping, parking, and associated features. With the proposed plan, all requirements for zoning Subdivisions, Floodplains, Forest Conservation, Stormwater Management, Sediment Control, and Critical Areas.

The Ordinance includes provisions for the streamlining of the development of review process by creating administrative review of some variances, special exceptions, minor subdivisions and minor site plans. Procedures for notice, review and appeal are also included.

The following comments have been received.

Name	Map	Parcel and Lot	Existing Zoning	2002 Requested Zoning	June 2002 Planning Commission Recommendation
District 1
Helene Burton/Cheri Blum	7	P. 168	Critical Area Residential	Commercial	Critical Area Residential
Jim Hurtt	7	P. 5	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential
William Shahan	23	P.31	Agricultural	Agricultural	Agricultural
John Beiler	24	P. 68	Village	Industrial	Employment Center
John Beiler	7	P. 4	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Community Residential
Greg Rhodes	31	P.183	Industrial Critical Area	NA	Commercial Critical Area
R. Griffith Thomas	31	P. 11	Resource Conservation & Agricultural	Resource Conservation & Agricultural	Resource Conservation & Agricultural
John Stoltzfus	32	P. 200	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Character
Lester Jones, Bob Osborn, George Boyd and Others	Massey Area		Planned Industrial & Agricultural		Employment Center & Industrial
Kingdon Gould	8	P. 9	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential
Vern Kohl	8	P. 9 & P. 167	Rural Residential	unknown	Rural Residential
Robert Hodge	8	P. 4	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential
Don Reed	7	P.339 Lot 9	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential
Florence Ramey, Pam Quarstein, and others	7 and 8	Gregg Neck/ Shore-wood Area	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential
Rick Clark	8	P. 166 Lot 4	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential
District 2
Chris Shorter	20	P. 88	Agricultural	Community Residential	Community Residential
Howard McHenry	21	P. 78	Agricultural	Agricultural and Village	Agricultural and Village
George Koppleman	13 & 14	P. 90 & 74	Agricultural & Commercial	Agricultural and Commercial	Agricultural
Name	Map	Parcel and Lot	Existing Zoning	2002 Requested Zoning	Name
Bill D'Alonzo	6	P.226	Rural Residential	Rural Residential	Rural Character
R. Clayton Mitchell, Jr.	6	111	Resource Conservation and Rural Residential	Resource Conservation and Community Residential	Resource Conservation and Rural Residential
District 3
Jim Barrett	12	P. 271	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Character
Vannort Simpers	19	P. 13	Resource Conservation	Marine	Resource Conservation
The Wharf at Handy's Point	19	P. 102	Resource Conservation & Limited Marine	Resource Conservation and Marine	Resource Conservation & Marine
Harry T. Williams	20	P. 52	Agricultural	Agricultural	Agricultural
Ken Roberts	27	P. 284	Limited Marine	Critical Area Residential	Critical Area Residential
Michael S, Vargo	28	P.161	Agricultural	Industrial	Industrial
Ulrich Stocke	28	P. 28	Village	Village	Village
District 4
Tom Bowman	37	P. 38	Agricultural	Intense Village	Village
Elmer Horsey	37	P.118	Crossroads Commercial	Commercial	Commercial
David Bramble, Gillespie, & Schauber	37	P. 491, 161, 26, 27, & 490	Industrial & Critical Area Residential	Industrial & Industrial Critical Area	Industrial & Industrial Critical Area
Michael Hanscom etal	37	P. 13	Rural Residential	Rural Residential	Rural Residential
Robert and Doris Clark	37	P. 174, 232, 40	Resource Conservation, Planned Industrial, & Agricultural	Critical Area Residential, Rural Residential, Intense Village	Resource Conservation, Rural Character, Employment Center, and Intense Village
District 5
Gerald Barry	46	P. 68	Village	Crossroads Commercial	Village
Robert Greenwald	46	P. 115	Rural Residential	Village	Community Residential
Frank Hogans, Sr.	46	P. 168	Rural Residential	Village	Community Residential
Alan Deckleman	55	P. 129	Critical Area Residential	Marine and Critical Area Residential	Marine and Critical Area Residential
District 6
Frank and Charmayne Dierker	35	P. 35	Resource Conservation and Rural Residential	Resource Conservation and Rural Residential	Resource Conservation and Rural Character
Frank and Charmayne Dierker	35	P. 36	Rural Residential	Agricultural	Rural Character
Frank and Charmayne Dierker	35	P. 37	Rural Residential	Rural Residential or Crossroads Commercial	Rural Character
John Hoagland	36	P. 24	Rural Residential & Agricultural	Village	Rural Character & Agricultural
District 7
Amy Brice/ Bonnie Anthony	44	P. 7 & 67	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential
Dick Anthony & Kent Lawrence	44	several	Rural Residential	Community Residential	Rural Residential

Name	Requested Amendment	June 2002 Planning Commission Recommendation
Agricultural Advisory Commission	Supports Ordinance	NA
Connie Berg	Do not add adaptive reuse of Historic Structures to CAR	Adaptive reuse is not a special exception in CAR
Connie Berg	Retain present language in nonconforming use section	P.C. change language which allowed limited changes to nonconforming uses back to current language
Dept. of Parks & Rec.	Supports open space and fee in lieu requirements	NA
Dottie Doyle	Change impervious surface limits	Impervious surface limits changed as per Critical Area Criteria
Great Oak Landing	Concerned about language concerning conference centers	Language clarified
Elmer Horsey	Eliminate the prohibition of restaurant drive through facilities in CC, C, and V	No Change
Elmer Horsey	Add financial institutions to Commercial	Added financial institutions to C
Peggy Hughes	Add bars/taverns to Crossroads Commercial	P.C. did not change ordinance
Holly Johnson	Concerned about modified buffer provisions	Modified buffer retained
Holly Johnson	Objects to TDR's	TDR's removed
Holly Johnson	Do not permit sewage sludge from out of the County	P.C. did not change ordinance
Holly Johnson	County should require bonds for farm nutrient and other impacts	P.C. did not change ordinance
Holly Johnson	Prohibit or restrict large animal operations	P.C. did not change ordinance
Name	Requested Amendment	June 2002 P.C. Recommendation
Holly Johnson	Concerned about streamlining provisions and administrative review	P.C. did not change ordinance
Holly Johnson	Develop a Kent County Seal of approval for developers	NA
Manufactured Housing Institute of MD	Change language concerning manufactured housing	P.C. did not change ordinance
Billy Norris	Existing Ordinance is good. A change is not necessary	NA
Billy Norris	Send letters to all property owners affected by the Ordinance	P.C. did not send letters
Carrie Schreiber	Opposes restriction on outdoor storage in C	P.C. clarified the outdoor storage language but still requires P.C. approval for outdoor sales and storage
Carrie Schreiber	Opposes 60,000 sq. ft. limit on retail business in C	Retail businesses over 60,000 sq ft. may be permitted by special exception in C

Testimony was then entertained by those individuals who had signed in to speak.

District 1

Dennis Hager, Mayor Millington, read correspondence from the Town Council requesting the area of land between U.S. Route 301 and Millington be zoned from Commercial to Employment Center to compliment, not duplicate, the current businesses in Millington.

Robert Hodge, owner of 48 acres, Tax map 8, P-4, adjacent to Shorewood Estates, requested to be zoned Community Residential and not Rural Residential as proposed. He also commended the Planning Commission and Workgroup on their efforts in drafting the plan.

John Vail, Shorewood Estates, commended the work on the Ordinance and requested the Commissioners to support the plan for 1 dwelling per 3 acres. He stated that although individual exceptions have been requested, the proposed plan should remain as is and exceptions should not be prevalent.

Don Gear, Shorewood Estates, advised that he signed petition and stated that exceptions to the ordinance would be detrimental to the work that has been done and feels strongly that one dwelling per three acres is essential to preserve rural character and density. Mr. Gear forwarded additional petitions ( 45 signatures) to the Commissioners supporting the Land Use Ordinance as presented.

District 2

Bill D'Alonzo, Wilmington, Delaware, property owner of Tax Map 6 Parcel 226, 500 acres Kentmore Park Road, expressed concern that the proposed zoning would reduce development potential and requested the current zoning remain the same. He also noted that the adjacent property was not rezoned.

District 4

Eric Foster, advised of his family owned farm on MD Route 213, north of Chestertown and requested the property remain zoned (1 dwelling per acre) as in current plan, so that the value of the land remains the same as when it was purchased. He noted that the family also owned a 500 acre farm in Kennedyville and although he has no intention of developing the land, the value of the Chestertown farm was used to ensure the mortgage on the 500 acre farm.

Tom Unruh, who owns property near the Foster property, requested the zoning remain Rural Residential, as in current plan, one dwelling per three acres, to ensure the value of the property.

District 6

Roy Hoagland, read correspondence (on behalf of his father, John Hoagland, Fair Pond Farm) requesting the zoning on 105 acres of his 210 acre farm remain Rural Residential and not be changed to Rural Character (1 dwelling per 20 acres). He also requested property to be zoned Intense Village as he feels it is a potential growth area. Mr. Hoagland expressed concern that his property rights are disappearing and noted that the many classifications were confusing.

General Comments

Mike Waal requested information on dredge spoil sites and related zoning. Mrs. Owings advised that dredge spoil sites required special exception in Marine District and noted a public hearing would be required. Mr. Waal requested further understanding with the absence of dredge spoil sites in the proposed ordinance. Mrs. Owings advised that the document specifically noted that if the subject is not listed, it is prohibited.

Eileen McLellan, Chester Riverkeeper, requested proposed changes to strengthen the pollution protection, add more specifics to environmental review process, and provide measurable environmental performance standards as they relate to development.

Michael Vargo, who could not attend, called to express his support for the Land Use Ordinance as written. Verbal communication was also received from Jim Barrett reiterating his opposition to zoning his property from Rural Residential to Rural Character.

Dan Saunders, Esq., spoke on behalf of several entities. He advised that Planning Commission did not honor the requests by his clients and he wished to appeal to the Commissioners on their behalf as follows:

Both Green Point Marina and Wharf at Handy's Point Marina requested additional land be included in the Marine District. He reported that Green Point Marina was limited by topography and Wharf at Handy's Point was limited by Critical Area. Both marinas requested the Marine District be expanded landward.

He advised that the next three matters related to developers whose subdivisions would be greatly impacted by the proposed Land Use Ordinance.

Mr. Saunders advised that Dogwood Village, Galena, owned by John Beiler, currently zoned as Rural Residential (2 dwelling per acre) would now be zoned as Community Residential (1 dwelling per acre) reducing the number of dwellings by half. Mr. Saunders offered several options, however, requested the zoning be changed to Village.

Mr. Saunders addressed the proposed zoning for the Barrett property. The property is currently zoned Rural Residential (2 dwellings per acre) with the proposed zoning to be changed to 1 dwelling per 20 acres. Mr. Saunders advised that Mr. Barrett's subdivision has received concept approval by the Planning Commission and requested the zoning not be changed.

Mr. Saunders advised of similar concerns with the Reed subdivision (Hunters Run) in Gregg Neck and requested that the zoning remain as Community Residential rather than the proposed 1 dwelling per 3 acres.

Mr. Saunders also addressed the treatment of agricultural land. He expressed his support of the approach as it is effective in preserving farmland. He emphasized that agricultural land does not have to be developed in order to realize financial benefits. He requested the "enclave" method be considered to be retained as in current ordinance.

Norm Little, Woods Road, Worton, stated that if farmland preservation is based on highest density values, then they should be taxed at highest density rates. He further noted that if farmland is used as a basis for financial gain by using the potential highest density development value then taxes should be assessed accordingly.

The following correspondence was received the day of the hearing.

Correspondence was received from Charles B. Tuley proposing an Recreational Vehicle (RV) Park be included in the proposed ordinance. He suggested that an RV park be located in the Marine District to encourage tourism.

Correspondence was received from Thomas Speakman, Sr., Speakman Nurseries, Inc., advising of a typographical error relating to the Landscaping Requirements of the Land Use Ordinance. Item 6E should be changed from 6 feet to 6 inches.

This hearing was taped for reference and adjourned at 8:15 p.m.