Carroll County Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting — July 8, 2026

The Carroll County, Maryland Planning & Zoning Commission met at 6:00 PM on July 8, 2026, in the Reagan Room in Westminster. Six members were present, establishing a quorum. The commission approved the agenda without amendment, acted on a retirement village special report, an education facilities master plan letter, a water and sewer master plan amendment, and an Accessory Dwelling Unit text amendment. It also conducted a lengthy review of proposed Retirement Homes and Villages code changes and scheduled an additional work session for July 15, 2026. Agenda items on the Cluster Subdivision deferral and the Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan Small Area Plan Amendment were not reached before adjournment.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comment was offered on Items 5 through 8.
• Lewis Man Joni, managing member of Lowers Lane LLC, spoke about the project at 1503 Liberty Road and asked the commission to grandfather projects already in the pipeline. He argued that the proposed density rules should not apply the same limit to commercial districts and said his project met all requirements except for density, amenity, and sidewalk standards.
• Kelly Schaefer Miller, representing St. John Properties, urged the commission to include a grandfathering provision for plans in process. She said the expedited timeline and evolving draft amendments made meaningful stakeholder review difficult and asked for clear, predictable standards and early review of net developable acreage.
• Tom P. St. John of St. John Properties echoed concerns about updated drafts being posted without notice. He said a design firm could not interpret the draft code, raised issues with fire access road language and open space calculations, and asked the commission to test-fit the proposed standards on real sites before finalizing them.
• A South Carroll/Freedom-area resident spoke at length in frustration, saying residents were not adequately included in the zoning rewrite process. She criticized existing age-restricted projects for high prices, lack of parking and EMS access, and traffic impacts, and urged the commission not to approve more projects that rely on failing intersections.

Discussion Items

Reservoir Run Retirement Village – Special Report (S-25-0007)

• Staff presented the 72-unit, age-restricted townhouse proposal for the roughly 20.6-acre southern parcel of the Beatty property, north of Rolling View Drive and Long Meadow Drive. The applicant is Long Meadow Park LLC / St. John Properties. The current retirement village code allows up to 3.5 dwelling units per gross acre, which yields 72 units.
• The plan includes three access points: two connections to the existing neighborhood and one to the future Georgetown Boulevard extension. Roads are proposed to be public. Parking would be two spaces per dwelling unit plus guest and overflow parking. Updated renderings were shown to address earlier design review comments.
• Applicant representatives said the overall Beatty property buildout would be about 2.9 units per acre and that the project is consistent with the Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan's land use designation for age-restricted development at 3.5 units per acre.
• Commissioner Peter Lester voted no, expressing strong concern that 72 units replaced an earlier 34-lot single-family concept, that the density was incompatible with surrounding 1960s neighborhoods, and that the project depended on future traffic mitigation and the Georgetown Boulevard extension. He said he supported St. John as a builder but could not support the density and neighborhood impact.
• Traffic discussions included mitigation needs at Route 32 intersections with Bennett Johnsville Road, Progress Way, and London Town. A traffic consultant explained that individual side-street movements may show E or F levels of service while the overall intersection remains adequate, and that the State Highway Administration did not approve the proposed Maryland T improvement at Progress Way.
• The commission approved the requested determinations of density, exterior design, and site layout by a vote of 4–1–1, with Commissioner Lester voting no and Commissioner Gordon abstaining. The project will now proceed to the Board of Zoning Appeals. The density determination cannot be increased at later site plan reviews.

Education Facilities Master Plan Comment Letter

• Staff presented a draft letter for signature. The only change since the prior meeting was the addition of language urging the Board of Education to consider all alternatives to address elementary and middle school capacity issues in the Freedom area.
• Commissioners noted that school capacity is limiting growth in that area and said the capital improvement plan process may be another opportunity to push for a new school site.
• The letter was approved on a roll-call vote, with the chair reporting four affirmative votes and one abstention.

Spring 2026 Amendment to the 2023 Water and Sewer Master Plan

• Staff planner Ethan Strickler presented the only amendment in the spring 2026 cycle: the City of Westminster requested moving one property from the future water service area W5 to the priority water service area.
• The property is 2.4923 acres at 1199 McGregor Road, currently zoned I2 in the county and slated to be annexed into Westminster as IR restricted industrial. A 3,200-square-foot office for Great Valley Propane would add approximately 288 gallons per day of water demand.
• The Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission certified the amendment on June 18, 2026. County staff recommended finding the amendment consistent with the 2014 Carroll County Master Plan and forwarding it to the Board of County Commissioners for adoption and submittal to MDE.
• Commissioners also discussed broader concerns about public water and sewer capacity and the need to elevate those investments in the capital improvement plan. The amendment was approved on a roll-call vote, with the chair reporting five affirmative votes and one abstention.

Text Amendment: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

• Staff presented the ADU text amendment required by state law, specifically HB 1466. Most existing ADU regulations were consolidated into one section. Changes included redefined size standards, removal of subdivision rights requirements for detached ADUs, and a new parking section because local governments may not impose separate ADU parking requirements without a parking study.
• The proposed parking language stated that ADUs shall not be subject to a separate off-street parking requirement, but that sites should accommodate anticipated parking through existing or additional lawful off-street parking where feasible and/or available on-street parking, without creating parking areas in required yards.
• Commissioners raised concerns about ADUs on agricultural preservation properties. They noted that taxpayers paid to extinguish development rights and that ADUs could undermine those easements. Staff responded that county-held easements are contracts that can be enforced, while state-held MOUF easements are more difficult to address through local ordinance.
• The commission voted to approve the text amendment with a new “letter Q” added: accessory dwelling units shall not be permitted on lots allowed on agricultural preservation properties. The vote was reported as five affirmative votes and one abstention.

Deferral Code Changes – Retirement Homes and Villages

• Staff reviewed proposed amendments to the fire protection, subdivision, and zoning codes based on consultant recommendations, public input, an open house, and survey results.
• The recommendations would replace the terms “retirement home” and “retirement village” with “age-restricted home” and “age-restricted community,” and would allow a hybrid age-restricted community that includes an age-restricted home component.
• Proposed parking standards for age-restricted communities included two spaces per dwelling unit, counting a garage as one space, and one guest parking space for every five units. Proposed densities included eight units per net developable acre for age-restricted communities and one unit per 3,000 square feet of gross area for age-restricted homes, with a 75% minimum home component for hybrid projects.
• Commissioners discussed whether density should vary by underlying zoning district, whether purpose-and-intent and affordability language should be trimmed, and how design, amenity, and open space requirements would affect costs and project viability. No final decision was made on the substance of the code changes.
• The commission voted to schedule an additional public work session on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 6:00 PM, beginning with stakeholder discussion and then continuing review of the remaining sections. The vote was reported as five affirmative votes and one abstention.

Key Outcomes

• Reservoir Run Retirement Village (S-25-0007): Approved determinations of density, exterior design, and site layout by a 4–1–1 vote. The case moves to the Board of Zoning Appeals; density cannot be increased later.
• Education Facilities Master Plan: Approved the comment letter urging the Board of Education to consider all alternatives for Freedom-area elementary and middle school capacity.
• Water and Sewer Master Plan: Approved forwarding the Spring 2026 Westminster water service area amendment to the Board of County Commissioners.
• ADU Text Amendment: Approved the consolidated ADU regulations, including the new prohibition on ADUs on agricultural preservation easement lots, and forwarded the amendment for further consideration.
• Retirement Homes and Villages: No final decision; additional work session scheduled for July 15, 2026, with stakeholder input. Staff noted July 21, 2026, as the last regularly scheduled meeting date if the commission wants to act before the county’s target implementation timeline.
• Items not reached: The Cluster Subdivision code changes and Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan Small Area Plan Amendment were postponed because the meeting ran long.