ORDINANCE NO. 3775

AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND, ENTITLED "AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL AND REENACT, WITH AMENDMENTS, A ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND, TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH, SAFETY, MORALS, AND GENERAL WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY BY REGULATING AND RESTRICTING THE HEIGHT, NUMBER OF STORIES AND SIZE OF BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES, THE PERCENTAGE OF LOT THAT MAY BE OCCUPIED, THE SIZE OF YARDS, COURTS, AND OTHER SPACES, THE DENSITY OF POPULATION, AND THE LOCATION AND USE OF BUILDINGS, SIGNS, STRUCTURES, AND LAND FOR TRADE, INDUSTRY, RESIDENCES, OR OTHER PURPOSES, IN ACCORDANCE WITH A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN; TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE REGULATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS; TO IMPOSE CERTAIN DUTIES AND CONFER POWERS UPON THE BUILDING ENGINEER AND THE BOARD OF APPEALS, WHICH SAID BOARD IS CREATED BY THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE; TO PROVIDE FOR APPEALS; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE; TO PROVIDE FOR AMENDMENTS TO THIS ORDINANCE AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPEAL OF ALL OTHER LAWS IN CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE; IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE LAND USE ARTICLE OF THE ANNOTATED CODE OF MARYLAND, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME."

WHEREAS, Title 4, Subtitle 2 of the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland grants the Mayor and City Council the power to enact a zoning ordinance, to amend it from time to time, and to provide for its administration and enforcement.

WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council deem it necessary for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, and/or general welfare of the City to amend the City of Cumberland Zoning Ordinance from time to time.

WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council have adopted the 2013 Comprehensive Plan, which includes provisions necessitating that amendments be made to the City's Zoning Ordinance.

WHEREAS, following the adoption of the 2013 Comprehensive Plan, City staff began a comprehensive review of the existing Zoning Ordinance for the purpose of ascertaining the changes that would be needed in order to implement the recommendations set forth in the Comprehensive Plan. The review also included an assessment of grammatical and internal consistency changes, legal wording changes and administrative interpretations since the last comprehensive rezoning in 2008.

WHEREAS, in connection with the foregoing, Staff made revisions to the Zoning Ordinance and requested that the City of Cumberland Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission take the matter under consideration and recommend that the Mayor and City Council approve those revisions. Those revisions are set forth in the document titled ZTA 14-01 - Comprehensive Rezoning Staff Report Comprehensive Zoning Text Amendments, October 2 3, 2014 (the "Staff Report").

WHEREAS, the Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on the subject matter of this Ordinance on the December 8, 2014 and, at its January 12, 2015 meeting, voted unanimously to recommend the approval of the amendments to the Zoning Ordinance set forth in the Staff Report subject to the revision of the definition of "Auto Impoundment Area" as set forth in Section 2.03(15) and the rejection of the proposed amendments to the minimum parking space requirements for Medical and Dental Clinics in Section 12.02.03 (11). Notice of the time and place of the hearing was published in the Cumberland Times-News, a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Cumberland, once each week for two successive weeks (on November 24, 2014 and December 1, 2014), the first such notice having been published at least 14 days prior to the hearing, as required by Section 15.04.02 of the Zoning Ordinance.

WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council held a public hearing regarding the subject matter of this Ordinance on March 17, 2015, having published notice of the time and place of the hearing together with a summary this Ordinance in the Cumberland Times-News, a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Cumberland, once each week for two successive weeks (on March 3, 2015 and March 10, 2015), the first such notice having been published at least 14 days prior to the hearing, as required by Section 4-203(b) of the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

WHEREAS, consistent with the recommendation of the Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission, the Mayor and City Council have determined that they should approve the proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance as set forth in the Staff Report, subject to the two exceptions previously noted herein.

NOW, THEREFORE:

SECTION 1: BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF CUMBERLAND, that Chapter 25 of the Code of the City of Cumberland, as enacted by Ordinance No. 3607, passed on March 18, 2008, and as amended from time to time, be and is hereby repealed.

SECTION 2: AND BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that there is hereby adopted by the Mayor and City Council of Cumberland, for the purpose of establishing rules and regulations relating to all matters concerning planning and/or zoning, that certain Ordinance recommended by the Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission, and all amendments thereto, of which not less than three (3) copies are filed in the office of the City Clerk, including all official zoning maps and appendices thereto, and unless specifically deleted from this Chapter, such Ordinance is hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length in this Ordinance, and the provisions thereof shall be controlling in connection with all matters regarding planning or zoning, and the administration thereof within the City of Cumberland.

SECTION 3: AND BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that the text of Section 25-1 of the City Code shall remain unaffected by the passage of this Ordinance, as the intent of this Ordinance is to repeal the existing Zoning Ordinance and replace it with the amended and reenacted version of the document attached hereto.

SECTION 4: AND BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that this Ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days from the date of its passage.

Passed this 7th day of April, 2015.

ATTEST:

1st reading: February 17, 2015
2nd reading: April 7, 2015
3rd reading: April 7, 2015
Passed 5-0
Effective: April 17, 2015
Public Hearing: March 17, 2015