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Record of Proceedings

Zoning Board Rules of Procedure Review and Discussion - September 14, 2026

County Council & Boards — Monday, September 14, 2026

BodyHoward County, Maryland

SessionCounty Council & Boards

DateMonday, September 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:07:52

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Right.

0:02

Good morning.

0:03

The purpose of this zoning board meeting is to review and discuss proposed changes to the rules of procedure for the zoning board and the zoning board hearing examiner.

0:10

Ms.

0:11

Berg, would you please call the role of board members?

0:13

Chair Youngman.

0:14

Here.

0:15

Vice Chair Walsh.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Ms.

0:18

Young.

0:18

Here.

0:19

Ms.

0:19

Rigby, here.

0:20

And Mr.

0:21

Jones is Dr.

0:22

Jones is going to be absent.

0:24

So we do have a quorum.

0:25

Today's proceeding is being conducted as a hybrid meeting, which is available in person and virtually, is available to the public through live stream and on the county council website.

0:36

Board members.

0:38

I I I'll just read this.

0:39

We just talked about it.

0:40

Board members.

0:41

As we worked through several zoning board cases this year under our new process, numerous changes to our rules of procedure were suggested.

0:52

And we kind of kept a running list of those.

0:55

A copy of the proposed changes were sent to all board members on August 24th.

1:00

In addition to the proposed zoning board rule changes, we've also proposed changes to the zoning board hearing examiner rules so that they're consistent with each other.

1:10

At this time, we'll proceed in order through each section of the rules that has a potential change and discuss the proposed amendments to the rules.

1:20

So does everybody know how we got here and why we're here.

1:29

Like hey, it should only be 10 days.

1:31

And this is who should look at the disclosure like our collection of issues and like that have come up.

1:40

Yes, I think it's great that you um you took on the uh the leadership of gathering them all together and working with staff to getting them on paper, because I think it does a real service to those who follow.

1:51

Um eight years in service uh and applying these new rules as we noted them.

1:57

So thank you for that.

1:58

Sure.

1:59

Yes.

1:59

You're welcome.

2:00

And um You said you were gonna do it and you did it, Mr.

2:03

Young.

2:04

We're not quite there yet, because apparently changing the zoning board rules and procedure is like an act of parliament.

2:11

But um yeah, we'd like the next zoning board to be able to sit down and do their job without having to revisit all this stuff.

2:18

Um, so let's start discussion.

2:21

This is on our uh zoning board rules, section two point four oh one organization of the zoning board.

2:28

And this is where we talked about um the authority and purpose of the um the zoning council.

2:36

So I am gonna flip to 2.401.

2:44

I'm gonna get the right the right thing.

2:48

E.

2:49

And this is basically what we clarified in this was, and it's not even a rule change, I think it's always been this way, but we're clarifying in the rules the um the issue that Ms.

3:02

Walsh brought up, which was a clear understanding that zoning council defends the map, and um advises us.

3:17

Zoning council's role in the hearings is not to advise us or to facilitate the hearing.

3:22

They're not a party to the case, but they sort of walk and talk like a party to the case, not advisors to us.

3:29

Does that kind of sum it up?

3:31

Uh so when this is made clear, does that mean that Mr.

3:37

Moore would no longer be advising the zoning board?

3:42

No, the Office of Law advises the zoning board, but our zoning council isn't there to advise the zoning board.

3:50

They're there to testify on behalf of we always say defend the map or defend the like they're there to represent the status quo.

4:01

They might not do so zealously, but they are not they're not there to advise us in the hearing.

4:10

Ms.

4:10

Walsh?

4:11

Where is that articulated, Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████71%

Administrative Law███████████████23%

Procedural███4%

Alcohol Regulation█2%

Summary of Proceedings

Zoning Board Rules of Procedure Review and Discussion

The Zoning Board of Howard County met on September 14, 2026, to review and discuss proposed changes to the Rules of Procedure for the Zoning Board and the Zoning Board Hearing Examiner. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, immediately following the 10 AM Council Monthly Meeting.

Discussion Items

Role of Zoning Counsel: The Board clarified that the Zoning Counsel's role is not to advise the Board during hearings but to produce evidence and testimony supporting the existing comprehensive zoning, as per County Code Title 16, Subtitle 1000, Section B. This clarification arose from previous cases where confusion occurred about the Zoning Counsel's advisory role.
Scheduling and Administrative Meetings: The Board discussed changing the default process: instead of requiring an administrative meeting to send cases to the Hearing Examiner, cases would automatically go to the Hearing Examiner unless a specific number of Board members request an administrative meeting to keep the case. This would eliminate unnecessary five-minute administrative meetings.
Filing Deadlines and Exception Period: The Board considered shortening the time to file exceptions from 20 to 10 business days to streamline the process.
New Evidence During Exceptions: A key discussion focused on proposed rule section 2.405 C5, which would restrict introducing new evidence during exceptions. The Board debated whether to adopt a strict rule (no new evidence unless a party had no prior opportunity) or maintain the current permissive standard.

Key Outcomes

No final votes were taken on the proposed rule changes during this meeting.
The Board scheduled a virtual meeting for Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 9:00 AM to finalize and vote on the proposed rule language.
The public hearing on the proposed rules is set for October 19, 2026.
The Board directed staff to clean up the language regarding administrative meetings and conforming legislation to be ready by Thursday, September 17, 2026, for legislative submission.
The Board did not reach consensus on Section 2.405 C5 (new evidence during exceptions) and agreed to continue discussion at the Wednesday meeting.

Note: These discussions are part of ongoing efforts to refine procedures following the first year of the new zoning process, with several changes requiring both rule amendments and legislative action.

Meeting Transcript

Right. Good morning. The purpose of this zoning board meeting is to review and discuss proposed changes to the rules of procedure for the zoning board and the zoning board hearing examiner. Ms. Berg, would you please call the role of board members? Chair Youngman. Here. Vice Chair Walsh. Here. Ms. Young. Here. Ms. Rigby, here. And Mr. Jones is Dr. Jones is going to be absent. So we do have a quorum. Today's proceeding is being conducted as a hybrid meeting, which is available in person and virtually, is available to the public through live stream and on the county council website. Board members. I I I'll just read this. We just talked about it. Board members. As we worked through several zoning board cases this year under our new process, numerous changes to our rules of procedure were suggested. And we kind of kept a running list of those. A copy of the proposed changes were sent to all board members on August 24th. In addition to the proposed zoning board rule changes, we've also proposed changes to the zoning board hearing examiner rules so that they're consistent with each other. At this time, we'll proceed in order through each section of the rules that has a potential change and discuss the proposed amendments to the rules. So does everybody know how we got here and why we're here. Like hey, it should only be 10 days. And this is who should look at the disclosure like our collection of issues and like that have come up. Yes, I think it's great that you um you took on the uh the leadership of gathering them all together and working with staff to getting them on paper, because I think it does a real service to those who follow. Um eight years in service uh and applying these new rules as we noted them. So thank you for that. Sure. Yes. You're welcome. And um You said you were gonna do it and you did it, Mr. Young. We're not quite there yet, because apparently changing the zoning board rules and procedure is like an act of parliament. But um yeah, we'd like the next zoning board to be able to sit down and do their job without having to revisit all this stuff. Um, so let's start discussion. This is on our uh zoning board rules, section two point four oh one organization of the zoning board. And this is where we talked about um the authority and purpose of the um the zoning council. So I am gonna flip to 2.401. I'm gonna get the right the right thing. E. And this is basically what we clarified in this was, and it's not even a rule change, I think it's always been this way, but we're clarifying in the rules the um the issue that Ms. Walsh brought up, which was a clear understanding that zoning council defends the map, and um advises us. Zoning council's role in the hearings is not to advise us or to facilitate the hearing.

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