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Record of Proceedings

Planning Board Meeting – February 19, 2026

County Council & Boards — Thursday, February 19, 2026
BodyHoward County, Maryland
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateThursday, February 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:22:30

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:01

I'm ready.

0:02

Okay.

0:02

Sorry about that.

0:04

I apologize, everybody.

0:06

We ask.

0:08

Okay.

0:08

James, when you're ready.

0:09

All right.

0:10

Perfect.

0:10

Sounds good.

0:11

All right.

0:11

Welcome everybody to the February 19, 2026 Planning Board meeting.

0:15

We ask for your patience as we try to conduct this meeting virtually.

0:18

Please speak clearly into your phone or computer microphone.

0:22

If you're experiencing technical issues, please send an email to planning board at Howard County MD.gov, which is monitored during this meeting.

0:29

And with that, if we can establish a quorum.

0:34

Right.

0:34

Barbara Mosier?

0:36

Here.

0:36

And James Cecil.

0:38

I'm here.

0:38

Oh, those sorry, apologies.

0:46

Here.

0:47

Okay.

0:48

Lynn Moore.

0:50

Here.

0:52

And Mr.

0:53

Tillenberg.

0:58

Okay.

0:58

He may be joining us later.

1:00

So we have four members present and we have a quorum.

1:02

Thank you.

1:05

Thank you, everybody.

1:06

And then with that, uh move to approving the agenda for tonight.

1:10

Uh, do I have a motion?

1:12

I move to approve the meeting agenda.

1:20

Second.

1:21

Thank you, and uh have a motion and a second.

1:23

All those in favor.

1:25

Hi.

1:26

Hi.

1:27

Perfect.

1:28

Thank you all so much.

1:29

And then with that, uh, under the approval of the minutes of the past meeting, do I have a motion for that?

1:35

I move that the recording of the WebEx virtual meeting of the Howard County Planning Board's February 5th, 2026 meeting be adopted as the board's approved minutes.

1:46

Second.

1:47

Thank you all so much.

1:48

And then with that, all those in favor?

1:50

Aye.

1:51

Aye.

1:52

Aye.

1:54

Thank you all.

1:54

And then I do not have any chair items to discuss.

1:57

Uh, but is there anything from the executive secretary?

2:00

Yes, um, good evening, everyone, and thank you for your patience this evening.

2:03

Um, Lisa Kenny, who is our typical clerk, um, is on vacation, so thank you, Peyton, for filling in.

2:09

We appreciate that.

2:10

Um, so our apologies if things are running um not as smoothly as they typically do, but Peyton's doing a great job.

2:16

So just a couple things that we're gonna be bringing to you in the upcoming months.

2:19

So I wanted to make you aware of um is that uh we are going to be looking to amend the rules and procedures to um reflect a specific portion of the county code, which is appropriate for tonight's meeting.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use████████████████████████████28%
Procedural███████████████████19%
Energy Policy██████████████████18%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████13%
Infrastructure Development█████5%
Education Policy█████5%
HOCO by Design Implementation███3%
Environmental Protection███3%
Workforce Development██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Planning Board Meeting – February 19, 2026

The Howard County Planning Board held a public meeting on February 19, 2026, to review an executive secretary update, a site development plan redline request for the Benson Business Center, and seven new capital projects for the FY 2027 Capital Improvement Master Plan. All items were approved or recommended favorably.

Executive Secretary Update

  • Staff announced a forthcoming proposal to amend the Planning Board's rules and procedures to align with county code regarding newspaper posting requirements (changing from two papers to one). This will be a future public agenda item.

Discussion Items

Site Development Plan SDP 19-028 – Benson Business Center Parcel C

  • Proposal: Redline revisions to repurpose an existing convenience store and fuel canopy into a two-tenant carryout restaurant on a 1.25-acre parcel in the Restaurant Row area off Lark Brown Road. No new impervious surface or changes to building footprint; parking (19 spaces) meets requirements; landscaping and forest conservation fee of ~$5,000 included.
  • Applicant presentation: Sam Alomar (engineer) confirmed staff report and noted the site has been deteriorating. Renderings showed a renovated building under the existing canopy.
  • Board discussion: Questions about changing tenant type – staff clarified that a different use would require a new planning board application.
  • Public testimony: None.
  • Vote: Motion to approve (seconded) – all ayes; approved unanimously.

FY 2027 Capital Improvement Program – New Projects

Staff (Kristen O'Connor) presented seven new capital projects for board recommendation. Each was reviewed for consistency with the 2023 HoCo by Design General Plan.

  1. M0551 – HCC Outdoor Practice Area: Reconfigure for baseball/softball fields to serve intercollegiate and recreational users. Supports INF policies.
  2. M0552 – HCC Duncan Hall Renovations: Renovate for workforce career and community education programs. Supports INF and EP policies.
  3. M0553 – HCC Hickory Ridge Building Renovations: Renovate for Middle College program in partnership with Howard County Public School System. Supports INF and EP policies (design funding in FY32).
  4. F5984 – Fire Station 16 (West Ellicott City): Three-bay station on minimum 3-acre site; estimated $14–20M; opening target 2030. Addresses growing population and response times.
  5. C0384 – Community Solar for Low/Moderate Income Households: Solar canopies at four county parking lots and ground mount at Cars Mill landfill. Provides 25% discount on BGE bills; half of Cars Mill output free. $14M total cost funded by grants, tax credits, bonds, and pay-go. Target completion Dec. 2027.
  6. C0385 – Support Services Agreement Fund: Intergovernmental agreement with Fort Meade to provide DPW contracts for water, sewer, drainage, and roadway projects; reimbursed with management fee.
  7. J4254 – North Laurel Complete Streets: Design and construct multimodal improvements (bike/ped/transit) on Old Scaggsville Road area; consolidates prior separate initiatives.
  • Board discussion: Questions on process, federal tax credit deadlines, interconnection details for solar, and use of management fee. Board members expressed strong alignment with the General Plan.
  • Public testimony: None.
  • Vote: Motion to favorably recommend all seven projects (seconded) – all ayes; unanimous.

Key Outcomes

  • SDP 19-028 approved unanimously.
  • All seven new FY 2027 capital projects favorably recommended.
  • A written recommendation letter will be drafted and sent to the County Executive (with copy to County Council) by February 27, 2026.
  • Next Planning Board meeting: March 5, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

I'm ready. Okay. Sorry about that. I apologize, everybody. We ask. Okay. James, when you're ready. All right. Perfect. Sounds good. All right. Welcome everybody to the February 19, 2026 Planning Board meeting. We ask for your patience as we try to conduct this meeting virtually. Please speak clearly into your phone or computer microphone. If you're experiencing technical issues, please send an email to planning board at Howard County MD.gov, which is monitored during this meeting. And with that, if we can establish a quorum. Right. Barbara Mosier? Here. And James Cecil. I'm here. Oh, those sorry, apologies. Here. Okay. Lynn Moore. Here. And Mr. Tillenberg. Okay. He may be joining us later. So we have four members present and we have a quorum. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. And then with that, uh move to approving the agenda for tonight. Uh, do I have a motion? I move to approve the meeting agenda. Second. Thank you, and uh have a motion and a second. All those in favor. Hi. Hi. Perfect. Thank you all so much. And then with that, uh, under the approval of the minutes of the past meeting, do I have a motion for that? I move that the recording of the WebEx virtual meeting of the Howard County Planning Board's February 5th, 2026 meeting be adopted as the board's approved minutes. Second. Thank you all so much. And then with that, all those in favor? Aye. Aye.

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