The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City may divide Baltimore City into districts and zones of any number, shape, and area as they determine are best suited to carry out the purposes listed in § 10–302 of this subtitle. Within the districts and zones, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City may regulate the construction, alteration, repair, or use of buildings, structures, or land. Zoning regulations adopted by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City under this subtitle shall be uniform for each class or kind of development throughout each district or zone. Zoning regulations in one district or zone may differ from those in other districts or zones.

Zoning regulations adopted by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City under this subtitle shall: be in accordance with the plan; be designed to: control street congestion; promote health, public safety, and general welfare; provide adequate light and air; promote the conservation of natural resources; prevent environmental pollution; properly manage growth and development; and promote or facilitate adequate transportation, water, sewerage, schools, recreation, parks, and other public facilities; and include reasonable consideration for: the character of the district or zone and its suitability for particular uses; the conservation of the value of buildings and other structures; and encouragement for orderly development and the most appropriate use of land throughout Baltimore City.

The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City shall provide for the manner in which zoning regulations and the boundaries of districts and zones shall be established, enforced, and amended. The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City shall hold at least one public hearing on a proposed zoning regulation or boundary at which parties in interest and citizens have an opportunity to be heard. The zoning regulation or boundary may not become effective until after the hearing or hearings. At least 15 days before a public hearing is held under this section, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City shall publish notice of the time and place of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City. If a hearing under this section will be on a proposed change in the boundaries of a district or zone, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City shall: post a similar notice at a place designated by the respective zoning authorities within the district or zone proposed to be changed; and mail notice of the proposed change by United States first–class mail to any person whose name last appeared in the Baltimore City tax records as the owner of the property proposed to be changed.

The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City may amend or repeal zoning regulations and boundaries. If the purpose and effect of a proposed map amendment is to change the zoning classification of particular property, the City Council shall make findings of fact that address: population change; the availability of public facilities; present and future transportation patterns; compatibility with existing and proposed development for the area; the recommendations of the Baltimore City Planning Commission and the Board; and the relationship of the proposed amendment to Baltimore City’s plan. The City Council may grant the amendment to change the zoning classification based on a finding that there was: a substantial change in the character of the neighborhood where the property is located; or a mistake in the existing zoning classification. The City Council may not allow the filing of an application for a reclassification of a tract or parcel of land for which a reclassification has been denied by the City Council on the merits in the 12 months before the date of the application.

The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City shall refer proposed changes to the boundaries of a district or zone to the Baltimore City Planning Commission and to the Board. The Planning Commission and the Board shall: study the proposed changes in relation to: the plan; the needs of Baltimore City; and the needs of the particular neighborhood in the vicinity of the proposed changes; and report their findings and recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. If the Planning Commission and the Board recommend disapproval of the proposed changes to the boundaries of a district or zone, the changes may not take effect unless a majority of the members of the City Council vote to approve the changes. The provisions of § 10–303 of this subtitle concerning public hearings and notice apply to all changes or amendments to regulations and boundaries.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Community benefits agreement” means a contract signed by recognized community associations and an applicant for a zoning permit that requires the applicant to provide specific amenities, signage, mitigations, economic impacts, and requirements relating to the diversity, balance, and character of the local community or neighborhood defined in the agreement. “Dispersal regulation” means a zoning regulation that requires a minimum distance between qualifying uses, measured in a straight line from the nearest point on a lot line of the property occupied by one qualifying use to the nearest point on a lot line of the other property occupied by a qualifying use. “Grocery store” has the meaning stated in § 9–254 of the Tax – Property Article. “Pharmacy” has the meaning stated in § 12–101 of the Health Occupations Article. “Small box discount store” means a retail store that has a floor area of more than 5,000 square feet and less than 12,000 square feet and that offers for sale: a combination and variety of convenience shopping goods and consumer shopping goods; and the majority of the items in the inventory at a price not to exceed $5. “Small box discount store” does not include: a grocery store; a store that contains a pharmacy where prescription drugs are compounded, dispensed, or distributed; a store that offers for sale gasoline, diesel fuel, or on–site electric charging capabilities for vehicles; a retail store where the majority of the products sold are personal hygiene products or cosmetics; or a store that primarily engages in the resale of used consumer goods. In accordance with §§ 10–201 and 10–202 of this title and §§ 10–301 and 10–302 of this subtitle, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City may enact planning and zoning controls that: establish a dispersal regulation that provides for a minimum distance between small box discount stores; establish the development of a small box discount store as a conditional use; as part of the approval process for the conditional use, authorize the consideration of whether the proposed conditional use is likely to: have any detrimental impacts on the economy, diversity, or public safety of the neighborhood where the proposed conditional use is located; have any detrimental impacts on existing local retail and grocery stores; or impede the entry or preservation of full–service grocery stores; establish a mechanism for the adoption and approval of a community benefits agreement between the applicant, along with the owner or operator of the building in which the small box discount store will be located if the applicant is not the owner or operator of the building, and recognized community associations; require the notice of a zoning application for a small box discount store to be given to the residents and owners of property that is located within a 0.5–mile radius of the proposed site; and establish a mechanism for the enforcement of community benefits agreements approved in accordance with item (4) of this subsection.