Months before the ball drops at Times Square heralding the arrival of 2008, the year 2008 comprehensive zoning map process begins in Baltimore County. The year 2008 comprehensive rezoning actually commences September 4, 2007.

All landowners – whether needing a zoning change for proposed new development or simply seeking to assure that their property is not downzoned – should closely monitor and, if necessary, become involved in the rezoning process in order to protect their investment backed expectations.

On July 6, 2004, the County converted the official zoning maps from hand-drafted maps to an electronic version, called the zoning geodatabase. “My Neighborhood Zoning” is an interactive map on the Baltimore County website that allows users to view the zoning of any area in the County from their desk top. Properties can be selected by typing in an address, or by zooming and panning. Zooming close enough displays an aerial photograph of the area.

During an “open” filing period, from September 4, 2007 through October 15, 2007, any person, association or corporation or Baltimore County itself may file a petition for zoning reclassification, to any of the 37 different zones, of any property in the County. In the last several comprehensive rezonings, significantly more acres were downzoned as a result of petitions filed by other than owners of the land.

Certain information must be filed with the petition and for the first time petitions are to be initiated electronically and completed with a face to face meeting. Filing fees are determined by whether a property is within a Planned Service Area and the size of the parcel with the charges ranging from $500 to $1,565. Each request for a zoning reclassification is known as an “Issue” and upon payment of the filing fee is assigned an “Issue Number.”

A person seeking rezoning in the year 2008 process must be cognizant of the October 15, 2007 filing deadline. Following that deadline, additional Issues can only be raised by members of the Baltimore County Planning Board through October 31, 2007, and members of the County Council through November 30, 2007.

All of the Issues raised will be analyzed by County Office of Planning staff during the first two months of 2008. Information on each Issue, along with preliminary staff recommendations, will be published in a multi-volume “Log of Issues.” Notices are mailed to each property owner whose property is identified in the Log and to each adjacent property owner. Signs are posted on each property, by the applicant, identifying that the property is being reviewed for rezoning, including the Issue Number.

The Log and the accompanying maps comprise a report by the Planning staff to the Planning Board for the purpose of public hearings in March. The Log and an accompanying set of maps are available (and best viewed) on the My Neighborhood Zoning feature of the County website.

The County Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing in each of the seven Councilmanic Districts, commencing first on March 4, 2008 at Landsdowne Senior High School and concluding on March 25, 2008 at Patapsco Senior High School. At a series of subsequent work sessions, that are open to the public, the Planning Board will review and discuss the various Issues. A recommendation on each Issue must be formally adopted by the Planning Board not later than May 16, 2008.

The Planning Board’s recommendation on each Issue will be transmitted to the County Council within 20 days after the Board’s vote. A revised edition of the Log of Issues will then be published to serve as the basis for County Council consideration.

The County Council is the sole authority to determine the final zoning on each property and it need not accept the Planning Board’s recommendation. The Council may retain the existing zoning classification or may adopt any new zoning classification, whether or not that classification has been previously considered during the process. The Council will schedule a public hearing in each Councilmanic District during June, 2008. Testimony is limited to those Issues within the District for which a hearing is held.

The County Council must vote on each Issue before September 16, 2008. As adopted by the County Council, the revised Comprehensive Zoning Map will take effect, 45 days after being signed into law by the County Executive.

Comprehensive rezoning in Baltimore County is a quadrennial process and a property owner who does not participate in the upcoming open filing period will not have an opportunity to file a petition in the comprehensive zoning map process until September, 2011.

The only opportunity for rezoning in the interim four years, is the “cycle zoning” process. Cycle rezoning, however, is limited and difficult. In order for property to be reclassified, the petitioner must convince the Board of Appeals that the Comprehensive Zoning Map is in error or that there has been a substantial change in the character of the neighborhood since adoption of the Comprehensive Zoning Map. This is a difficult standard and few properties are ever rezoned in the cycle zoning process.

While of very limited application, be aware that under a procedure enacted in 1990, technical drafting errors on the official zoning map may be corrected upon a certification by the Director of Planning that the map does not accurately reflect the zoning classification imposed by the Council during a comprehensive zoning process. In such event the Office of Planning may file a petition to change the zoning map with the County Board of Appeals.

Although New Years Eve revelers may have until December 31, 2007 to prepare for 2008, landowners in Baltimore County have only until October 15, 2007 to seek rezoning in the 2008 comprehensive rezoning process.