About 50 Bel Air properties could have their zoning changed

At least 47 properties in the Town of Bel Air have been selected for rezoning, based on the recommendations of town planning staff, as Bel Air leaders prepare their 2016 comprehensive rezoning plan. Most, if approved, would be for more intense uses in the future.&quot;Communities grow and change, and Bel Air is no different,&quot; Planning Director Kevin Small said of the comprehensive rezoning process, which the town does every six years.Communities throughout the state develop comprehensive plans to lay out future development goals and comprehensive rezoning plans to reflect changes in how properties are being used, he said.Bel Air's 2016 comprehensive plan was approved June 20, and planning staff are currently accepting applications from property owners for zoning reclassification.&quot;What we're trying to do is reflect where changes have happened so that the zoning is more accurate to the neighborhoods,&quot; Small said.The deadline to apply for consideration is 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 26; applicants can find the proper forms, as well as more information about comprehensive rezoning, online at http://www.belairmd.org/429/Comprehensive-Planning.Applications should be printed, filled out and returned to the town's Planning Department, either in person or by mail, along with the $200 application fee. The agency's offices are at 705 Churchville Road.Planning staff have identified 47 commercial, industrial and residential properties, out of about 4,000 properties in Bel Air, as candidates for rezoning.&quot;They're only recommendations,&quot; Small said. &quot;They won't be approved by the Planning Commission until later this fall.&quot;Small used the Kings Crossing condominium complex, which is off North Hickory Avenue just south of the intersection with Moores Mill Road, as an example of the proposed zoning changes.He said the development is zoned RO, for residential office, which allows high-density residential or commercial use.Staff have recommended a change to R3, high-density residential, since the property is just used for the condo development.&quot;Staff does not see any reason it needs to be zoned for offices,&quot; Small said.About three quarters of the properties town staff have recommended are slated for &quot;upzoning&quot; for more intense uses, Small noted.He cited several businesses that are in houses along Hickory Avenue and Rock Spring Road. Those properties, which are just zoned for residential use, are along busy roads, and parking lots have been built for staff and customers.Staff have recommended bumping the zoning there up to RO and &quot;placing a more commercial zone on them,&quot; Small said.&quot;The likelihood of those properties reverting back to residential is poor,&quot; he said.Owners of properties recommended by town staff who don't want their properties rezoned can state their case to the Planning Department.Anyone who has questions or comments should contact the Planning Department at planning@belairmd.org or 410-638-4540.The planning commission will hold a public hearing in the fall, after which it will forward a final list of recommendations on the rezonings to Board of Town commissioners.The town board will also hold a public hearing and will have the final say on the comprehensive rezoning, Small said.

About 50 Bel Air properties could have their zoning changed

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