Evening star., 1953-01-14
Rural zoninq
Adopted for
Montgomery
Controversial Rules
Show Little Change
After Bitter Heurinq:

AAS -
Rural subdivision regulations,
long bone of contention in up
per Montgomery County, were
adoptde yesterday by the county
council
The regulations and the spe-
cif1cations for their adminiStra-
ton are the result Of three years
of work by upper county resi-
dents and the Upper Montgom-
cry County Planning Commis-
sion.
AS adopted, the regulations re-
feet little change from the pro-
posed draft, which drew bitter
protests from county farmers at
public hearing last spring.
Sole Major Change.
According to Patrick j. Cusick,
jr., the only major change was
the insertion of a new clause
exempting from the ordinance
the subdivision of multiple lots
larger than 2 acres and having
at least 300 feet of frontage on
q paved public road.
Also excluded from the regu-
lationS are the creation of single
lots of more than acre and hav-
ing at least $50 feet of frontage
on a paved road.
The division of land into
minimum 10-acre tracts, with
an average width of 400 feet;
the sale or exchange of land be-
tween neighbors, and the divi-
sion by court decree.
every effort had been made"
the county said in a statement,
"to protect the interest of the
little fellow-the small profess
sional subdivider or land owner
turned Subdivider." .
The county pointed to provi-
sions for the subdivider to re-
cord a sizable layout in many
small plats over an indefinite
period. This reduces the amount
of bond or cash that must be
posted at any one time.
Bond Required.
The regulations require the
posting of bond to guarantee
installation of roads. crosswalks
and other improvements before
the planning commission will
grant permission for recording
the subdivision plat.
This requirement was bitterly
attacked by opponents of the
regulations last September. They
said such posting of bond has
never been required in the
heavily populated suburban
areas.
To correct this situation, the
county has drafted a proposed
ordinance to provide that no
building permit be issued any,
where in the county until a
bond has been posted to insure
construction of paved streets.
This ordinance will not affect
building of a single home by a
private individual.
Minimum lot sizes for de-
tacheds homes are 10000 square
feet where there are no public
sewer and water facilities. and
10000 square feet where there
is a sewer or water, but not both.
The average lot width for the
former must be 100 feet; for the
latter, rs feet.
Fees Estimated.
All provision for fees has been
eliminated from the ordinance.
and the time in which the plan
ming commission must act on a
preliminary plan has been cut to
80 days. The same period is
allowed for action on final plats.
The commission, under the
ordinance, is required to obtain
the approval of the department
OF public works, the county
health officer and any other
county departments affected
except the school board-before
it can approve a preliminary
plan or final plat.
The regulations note that
efforts should be made to avoid
straight roads to discourage
high-speed traffic.
The regulations also provide
that no driveway from a lot in a
subdivision shall be built to have
direct access on Route 240.
Another provision requires
that building lines be set back 81
feet from the center of any road
not classified under road code
procedures. The depth of resi-
Dental lots shall not be more
than three times the width of
the lot, the ordinance says.
The planning commission now
Is at work on a temporary mas
ter zoning plan for the rural
area Of the county