A council member?s proposal allowing a planning and zoning staff member to attend community meetings with developers aims to address residents? concerns about the zoning process.
“The idea is to enhance the level of communication so we can build trust,” said Council Member Courtney Watson, D-District 1.
She will introduce a measure Monday that would allow Department of Planning and Zoning staff to attend the pre-submission community meetings. The request for the staff member would need to be made at least 10 days before the event.
Howard requires developers to hold pre-submission meetings to present the plans to the community before formally submitting plans for residential developments. The need for a planning and zoning staff member to attend meetings initially was raised in discussions over a measure before the council allowing the meetings to be held in public buildings within five miles of the proposed site for development.
County officials were concerned a requirement would strain the staff shortage in the planning and zoning department.
“We decided to start this way, so we can see how it goes and see how often it is requested,” Watson said.
The council has been seeking changes to the code for pre-submission meetings since residents complained that a recent meeting for the now-canceled Centennial Gardens project was going to be held outside at night in the cold.
The council also will consider a bill by Council Member Greg Fox, R-District 5, that would require developers to hold meetings for minor subdivisions outside of the planned services area for public water and sewer.
The measure addresses projects in the rural part of the county, where finding public meeting space near the site has been difficult, and which are exempted in the requirements for pre-submission meetings.
