Subtitle 2 – District Descriptions

OR Office-Residential Zoning Districts are intended for areas where there is a mix of office and residential uses. The regulations for these Districts are designed to ensure that office uses remain compatible with residential uses, thereby permitting the area to maintain a more residential character.

The purpose of TOD Transit-Oriented Development Zoning Districts is to encourage the location of uses and forms of development conducive to increased transit usage. These Districts are intended to promote new, well-integrated residential and commercial development around transit stations, to ensure that new development occurs in the form of compatible, higher density, transit-friendly design in close proximity to transit systems, to encourage a pedestrian-orientation in new development, to decrease reliance on motor vehicles by increasing transit uses, and to encourage a mix of buildings and activities that provides settings for social interaction and active community life. In order to address the different characteristics of transit locations within the City, 4 TOD Districts are established: the TOD-1 District, TOD-2 District, TOD-3 District and the TOD-4 District. The primary distinctions among these 4 TOD Districts are height, residential density, and use mix.

EC Educational Campus Zoning Districts are intended for the campuses of educational facilities to facilitate an orderly and efficient regulation process for these types of users. There are 2 Educational Campus Zoning Districts: a campus district for colleges and universities that allows for certain non-educational uses and dormitories for students and a second campus for primary and secondary educational facilities that is restricted to education-related uses. These Districts provide a set of base district regulations that offers a certain intensity of development by right. They also provide an allowance for a Campus Master Plan, which must be approved by ordinance, that allows for flexibility in the development and expansion of the campus above the base district regulations.

H Hospital Campus Zoning Districts are intended to address the special needs and impacts of large-scale, multi-functional hospitals and medical campuses, including hospital-related and support service uses, such as offices and commercial uses. These Districts provide a set of base district regulations that offers a certain intensity of development by right. They also provide an allowance for a General Development Plan, which must be approved by ordinance, that allows for flexibility in the development and expansion of the hospital campus above the base district regulations.

T Transportation Zoning Districts are intended to preserve, protect and enhance road, rail and other transportation corridors within the City.

W Waterfront Overlay Zoning Districts are intended to preserve, create, and enhance public views of and access to the waterfront and creatively encourage use of the waterfront by providing a waterfront promenade, including connections to nearby public rights-of-way, open spaces, and other public amenities. These Districts serve to establish a process to encourage new waterfront development to occur in a manner that seeks to minimize substantial change to existing public views of the waterfront from adjacent public streets and neighborhoods, and to enhance the existing waterfront promenade by creating a continuous public access via a promenade along non-industrial portions of the City’s waterfront.

R-MU Rowhouse Mixed-Use Overlay Zoning Districts are intended to address those areas of rowhouse development where a mixed-use environment is desired, where some rowhouse structures are used for residential uses and others for first-floor commercial uses. These Overlay Districts are tied directly to the underlying rowhouse district in order to maintain the existing character of the development and the neighborhood. Commercial uses are restricted to only those uses that are compatible with residential uses.

D-MU Detached Dwelling Mixed-Use Overlay Zoning Districts address those areas of detached dwelling development where a mixed-use environment is desired, where some detached dwellings are used for residential uses and others for first-floor non-residential uses. These Overlay Districts are tied directly to the underlying detached residential district in order to maintain the existing character of the development and the neighborhood. Non-residential uses are restricted to only those uses that are compatible with residential uses.

AU Adult Use Overlay Zoning Districts are intended to provide areas in which to operate an adult use.

The Port Covington Zoning District is intended to establish the standards to accommodate the transition of the Port Covington area, located along the north shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, from a heavy industrial area to a high intensity, mixed-use, waterfront-oriented area over time. The standards recognize that this area is unique because of both its waterfront access and separation from established neighborhoods to the north by the elevated portion of I-95 and a heavy rail line. The Port Covington Zoning District is designed to accommodate an office-industrial headquarters campus and adjacent high-intensity mixed-use with recreational and entertainment amenities to promote a live-work-play community within an ecologically sustainable environment.

The Harford Road Overlay District is intended to increase customer supply to businesses along the Harford Road corridor beginning at Argonne Drive and continuing along the center line of Harford Road until the point of intersection with the northern boundary line of the City at Hillcrest Avenue. The regulations for this overlay district are designed to: