Every piece of land in Harford County is zoned by category. These categories include: agricultural (AG), rural residential (RR), village residential and village business (VR and VB), commercial industrial (CI) and others. In each category, only certain types of buildings or activities (called “uses”) are automatically permitted. For example, a golf driving range would automatically be allowed on land zoned B3 or CI. If a property owner had land zoned Agricultural (or AG), that golf driving range might still be permitted, but only if the landowner got approval for a “special exception.” A special exception is a use of land that is not automatically permitted in that zoning category, but one that is considered compatible with other uses that are normally permitted within that zoning district, subject to certain conditions or limitations. A few examples of possible special exceptions are: a day care center in an AG or Residential zone; a motor vehicle repair shop or commercial vehicle and equipment storage in an AG zone; assisted living and group homes in residential zones; cellular towers in AG and certain business zones (B2 and B3); and, restaurants in Village Business (VB) and B1 zones.
In order to obtain a special exception, a landowner must fill out an application at the Department of Planning and Zoning (P&Z) and pay a fee of approximately $400. P&Z conducts an investigation of the request and makes a recommendation to approve or deny the application. A public hearing is held before a Zoning Hearing Examiner, who listens to the reasons both for and against the request. Any citizen may attend the hearing, although the Hearing Examiner may only allow citizens who live very close to the property or who are directly affected by the request to testify.
By law, if a property owner is requesting a special exception, there must be a sign posted on the property announcing the request and the date of hearing. A notice of the hearing must also be published in the Aegis. A citizen may call Planning and Zoning (410-638-3103) or the zoning administrative assistant, Dottie Smith at 410-638-3349 [update: email to djsmith@harfordcountymd.gov] for a list of special exceptions that have been requested and scheduled for hearing. You can also obtain this information over the Internet at the Hearing Examiner's calender. Free legal help may also be available to citizens who wish to oppose a special exception. The People’s Counsel, currently Mr. Robert Kahoe, Jr. [update: currently Ms. Lisa Sheehan], is a lawyer provided by the county to represent citizens who are opposed to particular zoning requests. A formal request must be made in order to obtain this service and only certain cases are accepted by the People’s Counsel. Ms. Dottie Smith or Mr. Kahoe may be contacted for more information on this service. For more information on exactly what factors are considered in granting or denying a special exception request, see future issues of this newsletter.
[Added:
All decisions by the Zoning Hearing Examiner can be found on the County web site under County Council >> Zoning Decisions.
See Permitted Uses list. A table of permitted uses (Special Exceptions, Temporary, Special Development) by Zoning Category (AG, R1, B1, ... ) derived from the current Zoning Code.]