Update - As of September 26, 2018
ACT vigorously opposed the 'up-zoning' recommended by the Planning Commission, submitting written comments to the Planning Commission, and then organized the South Point and Rt. 611 communities to submit Public Comment to the Worcester County Commissioners during their August 7th Public Hearing for the zoning change. A large audience attended the hearing and many residents spoke up in opposition to the change. ACT was pleased to hear Commissioner Church and Commissioner Mitrecic say they would not support the Planning Commission's recommendation and encouraged the rest of the Commissioners to delay making any changes to the E-1 zoning district until the next County Comprehensive Plan process could take place, with full public participation. The County Commissioners voted to not approve the re-zoning at that time, and to address the matter after the next County Comprehensive Plan which will be reviewed over the next two years and updated by late 2020.
ACT will keep our members informed and educated as this next Comprehensive Planning takes place and we encourage all our members to take an active role during the public stakeholder process.
ACT will keep our members informed and educated as this next Comprehensive Planning takes place and we encourage all our members to take an active role during the public stakeholder process.
NOTICE: The County Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing on August 7, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. in Snow Hill at the County Government Building, 1 West Market Street. They will take comments (verbal or written) from the public related to a 'Sectional Rezoning' of E-1 Estate zoned properties along MD Route 611 (Stephen Decatur Highway) and South Point Road south of MD Route 376 (Assateague Road) to South Point.
You can read the Public Hearing Notice here.
Worcester County's Comprehensive Plan
This nationally recognized planning tool for Worcester County was developed by the former County Planning Department through a long stakeholder process involving county staff, residents, farmers, watermen, developers, business owners and environmental groups for guidance in creating comprehensive zoning regulations that would protect the natural beauty and natural resources of this coastal county while also allowing for adequate growth to assure business and residential development would support a viable economy.
From the 2006 Worcester County Comprehensive Plan is this Goal Statement: "This plan’s goal is to maintain and improve the county’s rural and coastal character, protect its natural resources and ecological functions, accommodate a planned amount of growth served by adequate public facilities, improve development’s compatibility and aesthetics, continue the county’s prosperous economy, and provide for residents’ safety and health."
That area of the county known as "South Point" and lands adjacent to the Rt. 611 corridor south of Assateague Road is a low-lying area of the county, prone to hurricane inundation and sea level rise, and is bordered by Newport Bay and Sinepuxent Bay, two waterbodies in the Coastal Bays watershed that are already impaired for water quality. These waterbodies need the protection of wooded, low density land use so as to not increase sediment and nutrient pollution which are the main impairments to both these bays.
In this area alone, thousands of acres of land are zoned E-1, Estate District. The Estate District allows for 1 single family housing unit per two acres, among other uses.
The following is pulled from the Worcester County Zoning Code, describing the current E-1 Estate District:
ZS 1-203 E-1 Estate District
“At the time of its original adoption in 1992, this district was intended to protect and preserve the open character of the rural areas and the environmentally sensitive areas of the County and to enhance the estate character of these neighborhoods. However, advancements in technology have allowed for more in-depth analysis of the lands' suitability for development. This technology shows that approximately eighty percent of the current E-1 Estate District lands lie in a hurricane inundation zone. Hazard mitigation planning calls for development to be located outside such areas. Additionally, much of the zoning district borders roadways that will require extensive improvements to maintain adequate levels of service if the properties are developed.”
During the last Comprehensive Rezoning of the County in 2009, the County Commissioners mandated that no new E-1 parcels be created within the county and recommended the eventual elimination of the E-1 zoning District.
With that mandate, Worcester County is in the position to be a leader in ‘coastal resiliency’ land planning. Before the next review of the Comprehensive Plan and before the next Comprehensive Rezoning, the County planning department and experts in the field of coastal-zone land management need to engage the government and citizens of Worcester County in a transparent and inclusive stakeholder public process to best plan for the inevitable fact that many areas of Worcester County will become wetter and wetter, and this process should be conducted in a forward-thinking strategy that may mean determining new coastal resiliency adaptive zoning districts that could be applied to many of the current E-1 zoned parcels.
Another alternative for some of the more inland/upland parcels currently zoned E-1 would be to create a NEW agriculture zone that only allows small-scale artisanal operations for local sale. This would be a much more progressive option that will encourage a more diverse and sustainable agricultural industry in the county without increasing traffic and human population.
To the detriment of smart land planning the County Planning Commission and the County Commissioners have continued to delay the next State mandated Comprehensive Plan review and Comprehensive Rezoning, avoiding the major stakeholder processes involved that would include resident, commercial, recreational, and natural resource interests. Instead, the Commissioners continue to change the land use of this county through piecemeal 'Sectional Rezoning' of the current zoning code which does not trigger a comprehensive stakeholder process and only allows minimal public input or comment through singularly focused Public Hearings which take place during weekday business hours at the County Government offices.
ACT has followed the most recent 'Sectional Rezoning' that will upzone (increase density) on all E-1 parcels along the Rt. 611 Corridor south of Assateague Road, and throughout the South Point community.
ACT is opposed to the County changing the zoning of these specific E-1 Estate District parcels to a R-1 Residential District which will increase the single family dwelling density on these parcels from 1 unit per 2 acres, to 1 unit per 1 acre.
Please read ACT's letter comments submitted to the Worcester County Planning Commission prior to their vote in May which sent a recommendation to the County Commissioners they adopt the R-1 Sectional Rezoning.
ACT Letter to the Planning Commission December 2017
ACT Letter to the Planning Commission April 2018
The County Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing on August 7, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. in Snow Hill at the County Government Building, 1 West Market Street. You can read the Public Hearing Notice here.
You can read the Public Hearing Notice here.
Worcester County's Comprehensive Plan
This nationally recognized planning tool for Worcester County was developed by the former County Planning Department through a long stakeholder process involving county staff, residents, farmers, watermen, developers, business owners and environmental groups for guidance in creating comprehensive zoning regulations that would protect the natural beauty and natural resources of this coastal county while also allowing for adequate growth to assure business and residential development would support a viable economy.
From the 2006 Worcester County Comprehensive Plan is this Goal Statement: "This plan’s goal is to maintain and improve the county’s rural and coastal character, protect its natural resources and ecological functions, accommodate a planned amount of growth served by adequate public facilities, improve development’s compatibility and aesthetics, continue the county’s prosperous economy, and provide for residents’ safety and health."
That area of the county known as "South Point" and lands adjacent to the Rt. 611 corridor south of Assateague Road is a low-lying area of the county, prone to hurricane inundation and sea level rise, and is bordered by Newport Bay and Sinepuxent Bay, two waterbodies in the Coastal Bays watershed that are already impaired for water quality. These waterbodies need the protection of wooded, low density land use so as to not increase sediment and nutrient pollution which are the main impairments to both these bays.
In this area alone, thousands of acres of land are zoned E-1, Estate District. The Estate District allows for 1 single family housing unit per two acres, among other uses.
The following is pulled from the Worcester County Zoning Code, describing the current E-1 Estate District:
ZS 1-203 E-1 Estate District
“At the time of its original adoption in 1992, this district was intended to protect and preserve the open character of the rural areas and the environmentally sensitive areas of the County and to enhance the estate character of these neighborhoods. However, advancements in technology have allowed for more in-depth analysis of the lands' suitability for development. This technology shows that approximately eighty percent of the current E-1 Estate District lands lie in a hurricane inundation zone. Hazard mitigation planning calls for development to be located outside such areas. Additionally, much of the zoning district borders roadways that will require extensive improvements to maintain adequate levels of service if the properties are developed.”
During the last Comprehensive Rezoning of the County in 2009, the County Commissioners mandated that no new E-1 parcels be created within the county and recommended the eventual elimination of the E-1 zoning District.
With that mandate, Worcester County is in the position to be a leader in ‘coastal resiliency’ land planning. Before the next review of the Comprehensive Plan and before the next Comprehensive Rezoning, the County planning department and experts in the field of coastal-zone land management need to engage the government and citizens of Worcester County in a transparent and inclusive stakeholder public process to best plan for the inevitable fact that many areas of Worcester County will become wetter and wetter, and this process should be conducted in a forward-thinking strategy that may mean determining new coastal resiliency adaptive zoning districts that could be applied to many of the current E-1 zoned parcels.
Another alternative for some of the more inland/upland parcels currently zoned E-1 would be to create a NEW agriculture zone that only allows small-scale artisanal operations for local sale. This would be a much more progressive option that will encourage a more diverse and sustainable agricultural industry in the county without increasing traffic and human population.
To the detriment of smart land planning the County Planning Commission and the County Commissioners have continued to delay the next State mandated Comprehensive Plan review and Comprehensive Rezoning, avoiding the major stakeholder processes involved that would include resident, commercial, recreational, and natural resource interests. Instead, the Commissioners continue to change the land use of this county through piecemeal 'Sectional Rezoning' of the current zoning code which does not trigger a comprehensive stakeholder process and only allows minimal public input or comment through singularly focused Public Hearings which take place during weekday business hours at the County Government offices.
ACT has followed the most recent 'Sectional Rezoning' that will upzone (increase density) on all E-1 parcels along the Rt. 611 Corridor south of Assateague Road, and throughout the South Point community.
ACT is opposed to the County changing the zoning of these specific E-1 Estate District parcels to a R-1 Residential District which will increase the single family dwelling density on these parcels from 1 unit per 2 acres, to 1 unit per 1 acre.
Please read ACT's letter comments submitted to the Worcester County Planning Commission prior to their vote in May which sent a recommendation to the County Commissioners they adopt the R-1 Sectional Rezoning.
ACT Letter to the Planning Commission December 2017
ACT Letter to the Planning Commission April 2018
The County Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing on August 7, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. in Snow Hill at the County Government Building, 1 West Market Street. You can read the Public Hearing Notice here.
