Sarah J. Lankford, Director
Phone: 240-313-2215

Norman Bassett, Public Information Officer
Phone:  240-313-2077V/TDD
FAX:  240-313-2347

33 West Washington Street, Room 202
Hagerstown, Maryland 21740

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
7:30am to 4:30pm

UGA December 13, 2011 Public Hearing
3pm in the County Commissioners Meeting Room, #227,
Washington County Administration Building,
100 West Washington Street,
Hagerstown, MD  21740

IMPORTANT LINKS
	Urban Growth Area Rezoning Text Amendments
	July 26, 2011 Public Hearing Comments & Related Information (33MB, see note below) Note: This is a 33mb pdf and may require special handling depending on your connection type. If you are unsure of your connection speed, right-click on the link and choose Save Link As... and select your desktop as the save location. Once the file is downloaded then open it with Acrobat Reader.
	Addendum to July 26, 2011 Public Hearing Comments and Additional Property Recommendations
	Urban Growth Area Rezoning Map Amendments and Urban Growth Area Boundary Adjustments
	Final Report of the Urban Growth Area Advisory Committee (20MB, see note below) Note: This is a 20mb pdf and may require special handling depending on your connection type. If you are unsure of your connection speed, right-click on the link and choose Save Link As... and select your desktop as the save location. Once the file is downloaded then open it with Acrobat Reader.

The Board of County Commissioners for Washington County will hold another public hearing to receive public comment on the proposed Comprehensive Rezoning in the Urban Growth Area and adjustments to the Urban Growth Area Boundary on December 13, 2011.

Purpose of Hearing

The hearing is for the purpose of presenting the proposed Zoning Ordinance text and map amendments and taking public input.  The proposed amendments are designed and intended to implement Comprehensive Plan recommendations in the Urban Growth Area, which is a designated area of Washington County surrounding Hagerstown, Williamsport and Funkstown.

Discussion of Proposed Amendments

The proposed amendments include a variety of changes to the text of zoning districts in the Urban Growth Area.  These proposed changes include the following:

• Additions or deletions of some permitted and special exception uses in some districts;
• Changes in some minimum lot size requirements in some districts;
• Improved design guidelines for landscaping, lighting, buffering, sidewalks and recreation areas in many districts;
• Improved procedures and increased information requirements in some districts;
• Deletion of some districts that are no longer effective and the addition of several new zoning categories. 

The proposed amendments also include changes to the zoning district on some, but not all, individual properties in the Urban Growth Area. The amendments affect only properties in the County and not within any municipal boundaries.  The proposal also includes recommendations for several small adjustments to the Urban Growth Area Boundary as designated in the adopted 2002 Comprehensive Plan. 

More Information
Zoning map changes requested by property owners prior to or during the October 12 & 14, 2010 public hearing have been analyzed by the Planning Commission and the recommendations have been forwarded to the County Commissioners. They can be viewed by clicking on the link above titled July 26, 2011 Public Hearing Comments and related information.  They are identified on a chart titled “Zoning Requests to Planning Commission Following October 12 & 14, 2010 Public Hearing” which is included in the information supplied to the County Commissioners. 

Zoning map change requests and other comments made during the Public Hearing held on July 26, 2011 have also been forwarded to the County Commissioners and are also available for viewing by clicking on the July 26, 2011 Public Hearing Comments and related information link above.  Additional map changes are proposed as a result of these hearings.

The proposed zoning text and map amendments and the proposed adjustments to the Urban Growth Area Boundary are available for review by clicking on the "IMPORTANT LINKS" at the top of this page.   The proposed text and map amendments and Urban Growth Area Boundary changes are also available for review at the Planning Commission offices located in the Washington County Administrative Annex building at 80 West Baltimore Street, in Hagerstown between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.