§ 27A-304. Preparation of a Regulating Plan.

When creating a Regulating Plan, the following standards of this Section shall apply.

(a)

Building Envelope Standards (BES).

(1)

General.

(A)

Building Envelope Standards are designated on the Regulating Plan.

(B)

In determining the allocation of Building Envelope Standards within a Regulating Plan (and thereby the form and mixed-use character of each Urban Neighborhood), attention shall be paid to both the physical context (what goes next to what) and the diversity of allowed/required uses (including the Minimum Employment Threshold).

(2)

Allocation by Urban Neighborhood.

(A)

The required mix of Building Envelope Standards that applies to each Urban Neighborhood is specified below. This standard is measured as Net Lot Area. The percentage is measured based on the relationship of the lot area designated with the same Building Envelope Standard to the area of the entire Urban Neighborhood (minus the area of any Street rights-of-way).

Building Envelope Standard	Metropolitan UC-1	Regional UC-2	Community UC-3	Corridor Node UC-4
Storefront	4—20%	2—20%	2—20%	2—40%
General	30—80%	30—50%	20—50%	20—50%
Townhouse/Small Apartment	10—30%	10—40%	10—40%	15—40%
Workshop	0—10%	0—15%	0—30%	0—30%
Detached	0—10%	0—15%	0—20%	0—20%

 

(B)

Calculation of allocation occurs by considering each designated Urban Neighborhood separately. The area of the neighborhood minus any Street rights-of-way is calculated first. Then the Net Lot Area of land (minus Street rights-of-way and Regulated Environmental Features) associated with each Building Envelope Standard (mapped in a different color on the Regulating Plan) is calculated. The percentage of the land area in a given BES is then divided by the total net area of the neighborhood to derive a percentage to be matched against the table above.

(3)

Consistency of Application.

(A)

Consistent Building Envelope Standards (of a similar intensity) shall face across Streets. Within the following hierarchy, Building Envelope Standards in the same group are considered to be consistent and may face each other across Streets:

Group 1	Storefront/General
Group 2	General/Small Apartment/Townhouse/Workshop
Group 3	Small Apartment/Townhouse
Group 4	Townhouse/Detached
Exception	When a single-family detached residential district directly fronts (across a Street) an Urban Center District, the Detached Building Envelope Standards shall be used on the Urban Center Street Frontage.

 

(B)

When separated by a Square, plaza, Civic Green, or park, consecutive Building Envelope Standards (one group different) may front one another. For example, types from Group 1 may face types from Group 2 but not Group 3.

(C)

Building Envelope Standards from consecutive groups (one group different) may share a Common Lot Line and/or sit directly beside one another. For example, types from Group 1 may sit beside types from Group 2 but not Group 3. Such changes shall be consistent on both sides of the Street and shall not occur more than once per one hundred (100) linear feet of the Street length.

(D)

When separated by an Alley (or Common Access Easement) and when fronting different Streets (i.e. a Corner Lot and its adjacent lot), Building Envelope Standards from any group may sit adjacent or alongside one another.

(E)

Civic Use Buildings (as designated on the Regulating Plan) are not restricted by these standards regarding consistent Building Envelope Standards.

(4)

Proximity to Rail Transit Stations.

(A)

In UC-1 and UC-2 districts, only the Storefront and General Building Envelope Standards are permitted within a one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) foot walking distance (one-quarter mile) of a rail transit station.

(B)

In the UC-3 district, the Townhouse/Small Apartment Building Envelope Standards may be permitted within a one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) foot walking distance, but not within a three hundred (300) foot walking distance, of a rail transit station.

(5)

Urban Neighborhood Boundary Transitions.

(A)

In UC-1 and UC-2, the Townhouse/Small Apartment Building Envelope Standards frontage shall only be permitted within eight hundred (800) feet of the boundary of its Urban Neighborhood.

(B)

Where an Urban Neighborhood adjoins an existing residential area, the common edge or Street shall be fronted with a Building Envelope Standard of a consistent character and scale. When a single-family detached residential district directly fronts (across a Street) any UC District, the Detached Building Envelope Standards shall be used on the UC District Street Frontage.

(C)

In all UC Districts, the Detached frontage shall only be permitted within three hundred (300) feet of an Urban Neighborhood edge that fronts an existing detached single-family residential district. The exception to this shall be where the county has designated an existing single-family area for preservation (see Section 27A-305).

(D)

Each UC District shall provide direct pedestrian access within a right-of-way or easement to all adjacent neighborhoods and parks and recreation facilities. Neighborhoods are considered "not adjacent" when separated by:

(i)

More than one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) feet, or one-quarter mile;

(ii)

A limited access highway; or

(iii)

By existing natural features such as topography or water bodies not reasonably crossed or bridged over.

(b)

Minimum Employment Threshold

 In order to guarantee the provision of a significant employment base in each UC District, now and in the future, a Minimum Employment Threshold has been established.

(1)

The Minimum Employment Threshold is intended to ensure the provision of high-value jobs in dense mixed-use environments served by mass transit. Concentrating jobs at appropriate locations within the County, namely Urban Centers and Corridor Nodes, will benefit the County by reducing traffic congestion and pollution, enhancing the employment and taxation base, and ensuring workers are close to amenities such as restaurants, shopping, recreation, and living opportunities.

(2)

For the purposes of this Subtitle, the Minimum Employment Threshold shall be dedicated to the creation of jobs classified within the Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classifications of management, business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, architecture and engineering, life, physical, and social science, community and social services, legal, education, training, and library, arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media, healthcare practitioners and technical, healthcare support, protective service, sales and related occupations (excepting sector 41-2000 retail sales), office and administrative support, construction and extraction, and production occupations.

(3)

The Minimum Employment Threshold for each district is expressed as either:

(A)

The Net Lot Area of each UC District, specified in paragraph (4) below; or

(B)

A total gross floor area for each UC District that is equal to the percentage specified below multiplied by two.

(4)

In order to ensure an appropriate and healthy balance of jobs and housing uses, the Minimum Employment Thresholds (described as a percentage of Net Lot Area within the UC District) for each UC District are as follows:

Metropolitan UC-1	Regional UC-2	Community UC-3	Corridor Node UC-4
25%	20%	10%	5%

 

;(5)

The threshold shall be satisfied by:

(A)

Demonstrated (built or under development) employment gross floor area within the Building Envelope Standards on the Regulating Plan; or

(B)

By holding the specified Net Lot Area in reserve for employment uses; or

(C)

Any combination of the two above.

(6)

As employment Net Lot Area or gross floor area is built/demonstrated elsewhere within the Urban Center through the approval and construction of new development, a proportional amount of the land previously held in reserve may be developed for non-employment purposes.

(c)

Blocks, Streets & Alleys.

The Blocks, Streets, and Alleys provide the framework for each Urban Neighborhood.

(1)

Streets.

(A)

New Streets shall be designated and designed in accordance with Section 27A-503. All Streets which are proposed for County maintenance under Subtitle 23 shall be designed to the applicable standards contained in the County roadway standards. Improvements to roadways in the State highway system shall be designed to the applicable MDOT standards.

(B)

New Streets may be publicly or privately owned, but public access on privately owned Streets shall be dedicated via an easement.

(C)

No Streets may be gated.

(D)

All lots shall share a frontage line with a Street-Space.

(2)

Block Standards.

(A)

The average perimeter of the Blocks within an Urban Neighborhood shall not exceed one thousand three hundred (1,300) feet.

(B)

Blocks are measured at the Build-to Line, or the edges of Regulated Environmental Features or public lands where a Build-to Line is not present. All lots and all contiguous lots are considered to be part of a Block for this purpose.

(C)

No Block face shall have a length greater than four hundred (400) feet without an Alley, common drive, or pedestrian pathway providing through-access to another Street, Alley or Common Access Easement, Street-Space, or Regulated Environmental Features or public lands.

(D)

Existing individual platted lots with less than seventy-five (75) feet of frontage are exempt from the requirement to interrupt the Block face; those with over two hundred fifty (250) feet of frontage shall meet the requirement within their lot, unless already satisfied within that Block face.

(3)

Street Grid.

(A)

Connectivity of the Street grid throughout each Urban Neighborhood, specifically intersection alignments, is established and regulated by the Regulating Plan and Street specifications and as specified below.

(B)

In configuring the major Street types, the relationship between the competing needs of through traffic and the goals of an Urban Center or Corridor Node should be directly considered.

(C)

For Streets types NST-1, NST-2a, NST-2b, NST-3 (see Section 27A-503), the center line may be moved up to fifty (50) feet in either direction, as long as:

(i)

The Street connectivity is maintained;

(ii)

No Street intersection occurs within one hundred (100) feet of another intersection; and ,

(iii)

The resulting Block configuration meets the required standards.

(D)

Streets that do not connect to other Streets, as part of an interconnected network, are not permitted except as below:

(i)

Where configured with a one-way loop around the perimeter of a central green area, having a maximum depth (perpendicular to the primary Street centerline) of seventy-five (75) feet and a minimum width (dimension parallel to the primary Street) of seventy-five (75) feet;

(ii)

Where less than one hundred twenty (120) feet long (measured from the intersection centerlines) and configured as a stub-out designed for connection to future Streets/development;

(iii)

Where less than one hundred twenty (120) feet long (measured from the intersection centerlines) and connected to Alleys or common drives giving rear lot access, and ending at Regulated Environmental Features or public land.

(4)

Access.

(A)

Unless otherwise specified on the Regulating Plan, curb cuts are not permitted within seventy-five (75) feet of another curb cut, intersection, or driveway. Driveways into or from Alleys are not restricted by this measure. All points of access to Streets which are proposed for County maintenance under Subtitle 23 shall be subject to permitting under the provisions of Subtitle 23. All points of access to Streets on the State highway system shall be subject to permitting under the Transportation Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

(B)

Alleys or Common Access Easements shall provide access to the rear of all lots, except where lots are on a perimeter common to non-developable or Regulated Environmental Features or public lands or where a lot has Streets on three sides and the absence of an Alley would not deprive an adjacent neighbor of rear lot access.

(C)

Front-loaded garages shall not be permitted.

(D)

Primary access to isolated commercial and industrial properties through existing single-family residential neighborhoods by commercial and service traffic (including delivery trucks) should be prohibited whenever possible. Alternate access routes to these properties should be identified to minimize impacts on residential neighborhoods.

(d)

Public Spaces, Parks, and Recreation Facilities.

Public spaces, Civic Greens or Squares, shall constitute no less than eight percent (8%) of the Net Lot Area of each Urban Neighborhood. Each Urban Neighborhood shall have one (1) central public space and a variety of other public spaces, small urban parks, and recreation facilities.

(1)

Central Public Space.

(A)

A central Civic Green or Square of a minimum ten thousand (10,000) and maximum fifty thousand (50,000) square feet in area shall be provided per each Urban Neighborhood.

(B)

Civic Greens or Squares shall be measured independent of the surrounding right-of-way.

(C)

The central Civic Green or Square shall be located within a four hundred (400) foot radius of the geometric center of each Urban Neighborhood.

(D)

No more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the perimeter of a central Civic Green or Square may front onto the edge of any Urban Neighborhood.

(2)

Other Public Spaces.

(A)

Civic Greens or Squares of smaller size shall be distributed throughout the Urban Neighborhood so that no lot is farther away than a three-minute walk, or approximately nine hundred (900) feet of a public space.

(B)

No Civic Green or Square may be narrower than a one to five (1:5) ratio (width or breadth). The minimum width or breadth dimension shall be twenty-five (25) feet.

(C)

At least sixty percent (60%) of the public space perimeter shall be abutted by a Street right-of-way.

(3)

Parks and Recreation Facilities.

(A)

In addition to passive open spaces such as plazas, Civic Greens, or Squares, urban active fields and recreational amenities (both indoor and outdoor) should be provided whenever possible. Deficiencies related to the parks and recreational needs of current and future residents of the Planning Area where an Urban Center or Corridor Node is located shall be compiled, evaluated, and analyzed prior to approval of the Regulating Plan. Coordination of efforts to meet the future recreational needs of the residents shall be accomplished in conjunction with the Department of Parks and Recreation at the time the Functional Overlays and Regulating Plans are developed. The locations, acquisition, development, operation, and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities shall be addressed when deficiencies are found to exist.

(i)

Urban active fields and recreational amenities should be built with limited or no green buffers and no on-site parking facilities.

(ii)

Recreational components within these facilities should consist of amenities that address the needs for urban communities and recognize the limited space available in Urban Neighborhoods for active recreation types more suited for suburban environments. Examples of recreation amenities that are appropriate for Urban Centers and Corridor Nodes include, but are not limited to, public or community gardens, dog parks, spray pads and/or outdoor pools, indoor pools, skate parks, cultural arts facilities, fitness and wellness opportunities, programs to provide general, skills, nature, and environmental education, varied playground types, disk golf, and themed play such as imitation boulders for rock climbing.

(iii)

Other facilities may be appropriate depending on the specific needs of the Urban Neighborhood and adjacent communities.

(iv)

Access to larger neighborhood, community, and regional parks, sports fields, special recreation areas, and other amenities should be integral to all Regulating Plans to ensure equitable service for all residents to a variety of recreation opportunities.

(4)

Civic Use Buildings and Monuments.

Civic Use Buildings and monuments are allowed to occupy up to twenty percent (20%) of any single public space.

(CB-1-2010)