Zoning Text Amendments
SCA’s Position:
Zoning Text Amendments (ZTA) that allow special permission to operate outside the rules governing the Agricultural Reserve create areas of Spot Zoning that chip away at the foundation of laws and regulations established to preserve the area. The rules that were adopted to protect the Reserve were fragile from the outset and some allowed land use which does not support agriculture. Since governance is often driven by politics, there were compromises that eroded the needed protections for farming.
Spot zoning is a threat to our agricultural legacy. If current or future politicians are allowed to chip away at the already imperfect laws that protect our food producing resources, we will slowly lose what so many have worked hard to achieve.
Whether by ZTA, Special Benefit Permits, broad interpretations of Child Lots, or other attempts to circumvent existing regulations, we could lose our farm land, including its water resources. The Department of Permitting Services has the authority to enforce the Zoning Ordinance but individuals, businesses and organizations discover new and better ways to circumvent the regulations while continuing to operate. ZTA’s involving the Agriculture Reserve are taken very seriously by SCA as they can have a profound impact for years to come.
Please click here to read SCA's position on the Pet Day Care ZTA.
Sugarloaf Citizens Association, Inc. Linden Farm 20900 Martinsburg Road P.O. Box 218 Dickerson, MD 20842 301-349-4889 info@sugarloafcitizens.org
