Community Issues - Special Laws

Bill 53-20, RC-3 Zones

Sponsor: Bevins
Benefitted: Marie McBride

This is one of the stupidest bills yet! While quoting the existing BCZR text that "The R.C.3 classification may be applied only to land that lies beyond the urban-rural demarcation line (URDL)", it goes on to add 2 pages of text to describe conditions under which dwellings (single family and group) may be built on RC-3 inside the URDL, in accordance with existing provisions for DR 10.5. There are, in fact, two areas incorrectly zoned RC-3 inside the URDL: one near the intersection of 43 and 40, being owned by BGE for a major substation and power lines, and one along Ebenezer Rd owned by Marie McBride and certainly appropriate for development. In fact, part is already built with houses. These areas of incorrect zoning are obviously due to some long-past mistake in the Zoning process. They were this way in 2000.

This is a completely wrong approach to fixing the problem. It allows uses to be based, not on the actual zoning of the underlying property, but rather that of some adjacent area. Rather than proposing this bad legislation, the sponsor should have put this in as a CZMP issue the previous fall to change the RC3 zoning (which is clearly the wrong zoning).