It's something of a legend in Havre de Grace city politics: The city council voted in March, 1982 to adopt the city's first zoning code and within two election cycles (that is to say two years) voters had replaced most of the people on the council who had voted for approval.
David R. Craig, now planning secretary for Maryland under Gov. Larry Hogan, is fond of pointing out that he both voted for the zoning code in 1982 and remained on the city council until he successfully ran for mayor in 1985.
Still, in most political circles in the city, tinkering with zoning laws was long thought of in the same way as playing with matches and dynamite.
It probably doesn't follow that zoning was political poison in the city. Many zoning advocates would be elected to the council in the 1980s and 1990s – but no one made any real effort to update the zoning code, something most governments try to get done at least every 10 years, if not more frequently.
Havre de Grace recently began the process of conducting a full review of its land use policies, and the review is long overdue as it's the first such effort since 1982. The city has about twice the territory it did in 1982, and its population has been growing rather than holding steady as it was three decades ago.
The city possibly has gone about the process in the wrong order, as a good deal of the land that could be developed – and made subject to a more modern zoning code – has long since been developed.
Still, it won't hurt anything to give the code a review, though it remains to be seen how much effect any changes will have on the look of the city. Much of what can be done, after all, already has been.