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Record of Proceedings

Zoning Board Administrative Meeting - February 25, 2026: Referral of ZB 1131M to Hearing Examiner

County Council & Boards — Wednesday, February 25, 2026
BodyHoward County, Maryland
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateWednesday, February 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 8:29

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Recorded and summarized.

0:03

Is that our queue?

0:04

Okay.

0:05

Good evening.

0:06

The purpose of this zoning board administrative meeting is to decide whether the zoning board or the hearing examiner will hear a zoning board case currently on the docket.

0:15

At this time, Ms.

0:15

Berg, would you please call roll for the board members?

0:19

Chair Youngman.

0:20

Here.

0:21

Ms.

0:21

Rigby.

0:22

Here.

0:22

Dr.

0:23

Jones.

0:25

Good evening, everyone.

0:26

Ms.

0:26

Young.

0:28

Here.

0:28

Miss Walsh.

0:29

Here.

0:30

And we have a quorum.

0:32

Tonight's proceeding is being conducted as a hybrid meeting, which is available in person and virtually.

0:38

It is available to the public through live stream on the Howard County Council website.

0:42

We will first proceed with voting to approve the filing zoning board minutes.

0:47

Zoning Board Administrative Meeting, November 17th, 2005.

0:51

I move to approve the minutes of November 17th, 2025.

0:57

So Ms.

1:00

Berg, can you please call the vote?

1:02

Chair Youngman.

1:03

Yes.

1:03

Ms.

1:04

Rigby.

1:05

Yes.

1:05

Dr.

1:05

Jones.

1:08

Ms.

1:08

Young.

1:10

Yes.

1:10

Ms.

1:11

Walsh.

1:11

Yes.

1:12

Before we begin our discussion on this case, I'd like to introduce Nate Forman, who is the new zoning counsel.

1:20

Mr.

1:21

Foreman, do you want to say a few words?

1:26

Hello.

1:26

Welcome.

1:27

Hi, thank you very much, Mr.

1:28

Chair, members of the County Council.

1:31

My name is Nate Foreman.

1:32

I am the new zoning counsel for Howard County.

1:34

I'm very excited to be here.

1:37

We've already had our first case this morning before the hearing examiner.

1:41

I think it went pretty well for trying it out.

1:44

I just would like the board to know that I'm ready to help serve in any way possible.

1:48

I know that the zoning counselor's role is kind of uh as different functions.

1:54

One of them mainly is to defend the comprehensive zoning and facilitate the record during these piecemeal zoning cases.

2:02

But I do believe that the position is also open to attending peace submission community meetings at the board's uh pleasure and also to kind of serve as a community liaison.

2:13

So I would be uh more than happy to help kind of fill that role and feel how it functions.

2:20

So any way I can serve and any way I can help, I'm more than happy to.

2:24

Thank you very much.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████82%
Zoning And Land Use██████████18%
Summary of Proceedings

Zoning Board Administrative Meeting - February 25, 2026

The Howard County Zoning Board held an administrative meeting on February 25, 2026 at 7:00 PM in a hybrid format (Banneker Room and Webex). The primary purpose was to decide whether the Zoning Board or the Hearing Examiner would hear the pending ZB 1131M petition. The board also approved prior meeting minutes, welcomed new Zoning Counsel Nate Foreman, and discussed ethics disclosure deficiencies in a separate case.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the November 17, 2025 Zoning Board Administrative Meeting. Vote: 5-0.

Discussion Items

  • Introduction of New Zoning Counsel: Nate Foreman introduced himself as the new Zoning Counsel for Howard County. He expressed readiness to serve the board, including defending comprehensive zoning, facilitating records in piecemeal zoning cases, attending community meetings, and acting as a community liaison. Board members welcomed him.
  • Ethics Disclosure Compliance: Councilmember Liz Walsh raised concerns about the completeness of applicant disclosures under the Maryland Public Ethics Law. She noted that while the Palmetto (ZB 1131M) submission appeared thorough, the earlier Quarter Square case (heard that morning) had an inadequate disclosure from an LLC. She requested that the board proactively ensure full disclosures in the future. Zoning Attorney Mr. Moore advised that the board could not intervene in the pending Quarter Square case but could communicate with that petitioner through counsel. The board agreed to have Mr. Moore reach out to the petitioner's attorney (Chris Umbike of DeCarlo) to remind them of disclosure requirements.
  • Referral of ZB 1131M – The Palmetto Group, Inc.: The case concerns a Zoning Map Amendment petition to rezone 6871 and 6875 Dorsey Road, Elkridge, from TOD (Transit Oriented Development) District to R-12 (Residential: Single) District. After discussion, Board Member Jones moved to refer the petition to the Hearing Examiner. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote on ZB 1131M: The board voted 5-0 to refer the petition to the Hearing Examiner. The hearing is scheduled for March 3, 2026 at 10:00 AM.
  • Ethics Disclosure Follow-Up: The board directed Zoning Counsel to communicate with the Quarter Square petitioner regarding missing ethics disclosures, to be resolved before the case returns to the Zoning Board for final decision.

Meeting Transcript

Recorded and summarized. Is that our queue? Okay. Good evening. The purpose of this zoning board administrative meeting is to decide whether the zoning board or the hearing examiner will hear a zoning board case currently on the docket. At this time, Ms. Berg, would you please call roll for the board members? Chair Youngman. Here. Ms. Rigby. Here. Dr. Jones. Good evening, everyone. Ms. Young. Here. Miss Walsh. Here. And we have a quorum. Tonight's proceeding is being conducted as a hybrid meeting, which is available in person and virtually. It is available to the public through live stream on the Howard County Council website. We will first proceed with voting to approve the filing zoning board minutes. Zoning Board Administrative Meeting, November 17th, 2005. I move to approve the minutes of November 17th, 2025. So Ms. Berg, can you please call the vote? Chair Youngman. Yes. Ms. Rigby. Yes. Dr. Jones. Ms. Young. Yes. Ms. Walsh. Yes. Before we begin our discussion on this case, I'd like to introduce Nate Forman, who is the new zoning counsel. Mr. Foreman, do you want to say a few words? Hello. Welcome. Hi, thank you very much, Mr. Chair, members of the County Council. My name is Nate Foreman. I am the new zoning counsel for Howard County.

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