Residents Speak Out to Protect Neighborhoods from Rezoning Changes

The Broadneck area is facing down a slew of potential rezonings that would fundamentally change how some properties are used.

The comprehensive rezoning of District 5 brought out a stream of residents to the Anne Arundel County Council meeting to protect their neighborhoods from change. But a list from the county's office of planning and zoning recommends changing most of the requests for rezonings.

Jordan Property

Clarence and Margaret Jordan, an elderly couple in Arnold, hope to have their land upzoned from residential to commercial so they can sell it and move on. They came prepared on Monday with nearly a dozen friends and lobbyists to tell their story to the council.

The primary argument made was that the formerly residential area had shifted to become predominantly commercial, with the Jordan’s lone residential property left in the middle, surrounded by commercial zonings.

“They find themselves sandwiched in between. With toast on both sides of them, the Jordans feel like they’re peanut butter and jelly,” said Gerald Snyder, a neighbor.

Joseph Rodowski, a former planning commissioner, said opponents say rezoning the land could lead to a domino effect of other commercial zonings.

“Which is impossible, because they’re already there,” he said. “The area has already changed, and now it’s time to recognize that commercial zoning is a justifiable option.”

But like most of the requests for commercial upzoning, the county’s office of planning and zoning opposes it. Their official recommendation is “no change.”

“There is no demonstrated need to expand the abutting C3 district into this residentially zoned area,” according to the planning notes.

Rural Bakery

Residents rallied to keep the current zoning at a popular bakery on the corner of St. Margarets and Browns Woods roads, an intersection that leads into a quiet neighborhood.

The owner of , a bakery on St. Margarets Road, seeks to have a small house located behind the business rezoned as C1. Doing so could make the property more marketable. The properties are both for sale, but the owner has had no luck in selling them yet.

Those who live in the vicinity lined up to speak to the council on Monday, opposing the change. Nearly all said they like the character of their neighborhood as it is, but zoning it to C1 could open the door for a different kind of business, such as convenience or liquor stores.

“It would be a disaster and a horrible mistake to all the neighborhoods that reside in this small, rural area,” said Alma Henson-Darden, a resident of the area.

Planning and zoning officials have signed off on the rezoning and issued their recommendation that it be consolidated as C1. This has traditionally been their stance when it comes to split zonings.

“This may also allow for a better parking arrangement and access to the commercial business and improve traffic conditions at this intersection,” according to the planning notes.

But some residents said the owner was not looking out for the best interest of the neighborhood. Linda Eliot called Ester Dimonte an “absentee owner” because she manages the business from out of the state, rarely visiting.

“She doesn’t live in Anne Arundel County, she doesn’t live in the state, or even the United States, she’s an absentee owner. She will have absolutely no effect by any change of the zoning of this property,” Eliot said.

Despite railing against the owner of the property, the baker himself, Michael Brewer, is well liked by the community, and they fought to keep his livelihood alive by sustaining the zoning.

Council Chairman Dick Ladd, also the representative for District 5, did not make any comments during the meeting regarding the proposal. However, at a community meeting in Broadneck, Ladd said he had reviewed the property and for now agrees with the planning office’s solution.

“We found this was the best solution to keeping that bakery viable,” Ladd said in September.

Whitehall Yacht Yard

Another zoning change that proved controversial came not from a property owner, but directly from the office of planning and zoning–upzoning Whitehall Yacht Yard.

The marina located at 1656 Homewood Landing, near the Whitehall community, has been operating as a business under a residential non-conforming use for years. The office of planning and zoning recommends changing the marina’s zoning to commercial marina, the highest designation for marinas.

“This zoning change will address the need to expand the county’s maritime land inventory in suitable locations to support the maritime industry,” read the planning office’s reasoning.

But the nearby neighborhood banded together and sent Frank Phillips as the community’s representative to speak to the council. Phillips said most residents object because they fear what will happen to the character of the area if such a small marina is given a dense designation.

“The effect will be to diminish and threaten the quality of life of the community,” Phillips said. “We object because it has the potential to create dangerous traffic in the neighborhood.”

Pat Lynch, the president of the Broadneck Council, said she believes a mistake was made in determining that the marina was capable of sustaining a commercial marina designation.

“We could in effect bring the Queen Mary II into a small creek and repair it under this designation,” Lynch said of the density of the zoning.

Lynch said the office of planning and zoning may have meant to rezone it to MA3, another marina designation with less density.

Whether or not the designation of commercial marina was a mistake will be dealt with when planning and zoning director Larry Tom addresses the council at a future meeting. Tom will go down the list point-by-point with council members once the rezonings have been formalized into amendments.

A final vote on the comprehensive rezoning for Districts 2, 3 and 5 is expected in November.

Editor's note: This article has been updated from a previous version to add that the office of planning and zoning's official recommendation for the Jordan property is “no change.”