Zoning Ordinance Update

Zoning Ordinance - Effective March 1, 2025


The Zoning Ordinance was approved by the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners at a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.


The information below is for historical purposes. For questions, please contact zoupdate@calvertcountymd.gov.


Background:

Title 4 of the Land Use Article of the Maryland Annotated Code, as amended, empowers the Board of County Commissioners to enact a Zoning Ordinance to provide for its administration, enforcement and amendment. The Zoning Ordinance is one tool necessary to implement the Comprehensive Plan. The Zoning Ordinance is designed to regulate land uses, many aspects of land use can impact adjoining properties, neighborhoods, public facilities and overall County development. As mandated in the Comprehensive Plan, the Zoning Ordinance is adopted to regulate land uses as part of the effort to promote the health, safety and general welfare of Calvert County residents. Ordinance 35-06 approved by the Board of County Commissioners adopted the current Calvert County Zoning Ordinance in May of 2006. Many text amendments have been adopted amending the Zoning Ordinance since.

Purpose:

The County’s Comprehensive Plan was recently adopted in 2019 and amended in 2022. The project started in 2016, since the beginning of that project, County staff and the Comprehensive Plan consultant conducted a zoning analysis of existing conditions. Through the confirmation of the County’s vision through the Comprehensive Plan adoption – Calvert 2040, staff began working on developing zoning recommendations and a draft ordinance that would bring the Zoning Ordinance into compliance with the new Comprehensive Plan.

Goals:

  • Ensure uniformity with the Calvert 2040 newly adopted Comprehensive Plan
  • Conduct a comprehensive review of zoning regulations regarding current land use practices
  • Condense the document and remove unnecessary language
  • Re-organize sections to make the document more intuitive for users
  • Revise vague language to limit need for Zoning Interpretations
  • Update outdated requirements to be in line with State standards and current best management practices
  • Provide an ordinance that is user friendly for staff, citizens and businesses


Click on a topic below to open and close the information for each topic: