Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning
The Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) manages planning and development in Howard County, Maryland, a Central Maryland jurisdiction equidistant between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Land use in Howard County has evolved over time. Roughly 60 percent of land in Howard County is dedicated, protected for rural uses, with the remaining 40 percent shifting over time from suburban to focused, mixed use nodes. Affluent Howard County offsets higher infrastructure costs of low-density development with high-valued homes that generate greater property and transfer taxes. The Department of Planning and  Zoning provides staff and guidance to several citizen volunteer boards, including the Planning Board, the Agricultural Land Preservation Board the Historic District Commission, the Design Advisory Panel, and the Cemetery Preservation Advisory Board. The Director of the Department operates as executive secretary of the planning board with five members with five-year terms. The planning board advises on comprehensive zoning, the General Plan, amendments to the zoning regulations, and conditional uses. The Board also is the design authority for most sketch plans and certain site development plans. The department recommends zoning regulations to align with the County general plan. As  of 2013, the county operates 41 separate zoning classifications. A comprehensive zoning review occurs every ten years. Zoning regulations are also created and changed in "comp-lite" reviews, as well as from council bills. History. Planning was managed by the state of Maryland until the First edition of Howard County Subdivision and Land Development Regulations on 7 March 1961 The Zoning Enabling Act of 1948 was formed to create a zoning board of all three County Commissioners. James MacGill was the Zoning Commissioner. Established first set of zoning ordinances. Norman E. Moxley was Chairman in 1951. In 1951 the Department  proposed the first county subdivision regulations. In 1954, the department created the first County Zoning Code. In 1956 it approved the regulation of subdivisions. In 1968, J. Hugh Nichols was a member of the Planning Commission. Operations. Marsha McLaughlin has been a planning commission from 2002 to the present.