A.

Purpose

The BR District is established to allow the development of businesses which will support the agricultural industry, serve the needs of the rural residential and farming communities, and provide opportunity for a combination of business and industrial uses not otherwise permitted in the rural areas of the County.

Appropriate locations for the land uses allowed in the BR District depend on factors, which are best examined through review of a particular site. Therefore, the BR District is a floating zone, which requires the submission of a Preliminary Development Plan for a particular site. It is intended that the BR District be applied at a particular location only if found to be appropriate with respect to road access and compatibility with neighboring land uses.

B.

Criteria

The BR District may be established at a particular location if the following criteria are met:

1.

The proposed BR District is within the No Planned Service Area of the Howard County Water and Sewerage Master Plan.

2.

The proposed BR District has safe road access and at least 60 feet of frontage on:

a.

A collector or arterial highway or

b.

A local road provided the subject property adjoins a collector or arterial highway and the local road access point is within 400 feet of the collector or arterial highway and there are no intervening residential parcels on the same side of the local road.

3.

A BR District at the proposed location will be compatible with existing land uses in the vicinity of the site.

C.

Uses Permitted as a Matter of Right

The following uses are permitted as a matter of right, subject to limitations imposed by the preliminary development criteria.

1.

Animal hospital, completely enclosed.

2.

Auction facility.

3.

Bicycle sales and repairs.

4.

Conservation areas, including wildlife and forest preserves, environmental management areas, reforestation areas, and similar uses.

5.

Contractor's office and indoor or outdoor storage facility, provided that the maximum lot size for such use shall be ten acres. The types of contractors permitted shall include the following: carpentry, construction, electrical, excavating, exterminating, heating/air conditioning, home improvement, landscaping, masonry, painting, paving, plumbing, roofing, septic system installation and maintenance, snow removal, well drilling, and similar uses.

6.

Convenience stores, not to exceed 4,000 square feet.

7.

Farm machinery and equipment maintenance, repair and painting facilities.

8.

Farm machinery and equipment sales.

9.

Farm supply store.

10.

Farmer's markets and farm produce stands.

11.

Farming, provided that on a residential lot or parcel of less than 40,000 square feet no livestock shall be permitted. However, residential chicken keeping is allowed as noted in Section 128.0.

12.

Feed or grain mills.

13.

Firewood sales.

14.

Government structures, facilities and uses, including public schools and colleges.

15.

Horse tack and saddlery shop.

16.

Lawn and garden equipment sales, service and repair.

17.

Livestock sales and auction markets.

18.

Motor Vehicle Fueling Facility, provided the use is indicated on the Preliminary Development Plan approved by the Zoning Board.

19.

Nonprofit clubs, lodges or community halls.

20.

One square foot of residential space is permitted for each square foot of commercial space and must be located within the same structure.

21.

Processing and storage of agricultural products, including grain, fruit, vegetables, meat or animal products.

22.

Religious facilities, structures and land used primarily for religious activities.

23.

Restaurant, standard, and beverage establishments including those serving beer, wine, and liquor provided the site has direct access to and frontage on a collector or arterial road designated in the General Plan.

24.

Retail greenhouse, garden center or nursery.

25.

Rooftop solar collectors.

26.

Sawmills.

27.

School bus storage.

28.

Seasonal sale of Christmas trees or other decorative plant materials, subject to the requirements of Section 128.0.D.

29.

Underground pipelines; electric transmission and distribution lines and transformers; telephone, telegraph and CATV lines; mobile transformer units; telephone equipment boxes; and other similar public utility uses not requiring a Conditional Use.

30.

Volunteer fire departments.

31.

Welding service.

(Bill No. 20-2014(ZRA-149), § 1, 8-4-2014; Bill No. 46-2016(ZRA-159), § 1, 10-5-2016; Bill No. 17-2021(ZRA-197), § 1, 5-6-2021)

D.

Other Principal Permitted Uses

Commercial uses other than those listed in Section 117.1.C may be permitted in the BR District subject to the following requirements:

1.

The Zoning Board finds that the use is a nonconforming use that legally existed on the site prior to the property's designation as a BR District.

2.

The use is defined and described by the approved Preliminary Development criteria.

3.

The site may be redeveloped to accommodate a redesign of the existing use, including demolition of existing buildings, construction of new buildings, and alterations to parking or driveways. The redevelopment must be shown on the approved Preliminary Development Plan.

4.

The gross floor area of the existing use shall not be expanded by more than 50% over the floor area that legally existed at the time the BR District was created.

E.

Accessory Uses

1.

Any use normally and customarily incidental to any use permitted as a matter of right in this District.

2.

Communication towers and antennas which are accessory to a principal use on the lot and which exclusively serve that use. Towers are subject to the requirements of Section 128.0.e.

3.

Retail sale of propane on the site of a principal retail business.

4.

Small Wind Energy System, building mounted, subject to the requirements of Section 128.0.L.

5.

Accessory ground-mount solar collectors.

(Bill No. 17-2021(ZRA-197), § 1, 5-6-2021)

F.

Bulk Regulations

(Also see Section 128.0.A, Supplementary Bulk Regulations.)

1.

The following maximum limitations shall apply:

a.

Height .....34 feet

b.

Lot coverage by structures .....30%

2.

The following minimum structure and use setbacks shall apply:

a.

From a public street right-of-way or from agricultural parcels of at least 25 acres which are subject to a Preservation Parcel Easement or an Agricultural Land Preservation Program Easement .....50 feet

b.

From all other residentially zoned property .....100 feet

c.

From a business or industrial district .....30 feet

d.

If a BR District is separated from a different zoning district by a public street, only the setback from a public street right-of-way shall apply.

3.

In its approval of a BR District, the Zoning Board may grant an increase in the maximum height or maximum lot coverage, and reductions in minimum structure and use setbacks, upon a finding that these proposed revisions will still ensure that the development is compatible with the neighboring land uses.

G.

Procedure for Creation of a BR District

1.

The owner of an interest in a tract of land in Howard County may petition the Zoning Board to designate the property as a BR District. The petition shall include:

a.

A boundary survey of the property covered by the petition.

b.

A Preliminary Development Plan of the property covered by the petition. The Preliminary Development Plan shall show:

(1)

Existing topography, 100-year floodplain areas and wetland areas.

(2)

The location of proposed points of access to the site.

(3)

The location of proposed landscaped areas and development areas, including the approximate acreage of each.

(4)

The location of proposed wells and septic system percolation areas.

2.

The petition may also include preliminary development criteria that include the following:

a.

Permitted uses. The preliminary development criteria may limit the uses permitted by right to a subset of those permitted by Section 117.1.C.

b.

Text defining an existing commercial use on the site that will continue to be allowed as permitted by Section 117.1.D.

c.

Additional bulk or design requirements.

3.

The Zoning Board may grant a petition for a BR District based upon findings that:

a.

The proposed district will accomplish the purposes of the BR District;

b.

The site meets the criteria listed in Subsection B of this Section.

c.

The roads providing access to the site are appropriate for serving the business-related traffic generated by the proposed district;

d.

Adequate sight distance along roads can be provided at proposed points of access to the site;

e.

The proposed landscaped area can provide adequate buffering of the permitted uses from existing land uses in the vicinity.

4.

If the petition is granted:

a.

The Zoning Board shall, by Decision and Order, approve the Preliminary Development Plan and criteria and shall create a BR District covering the land in the petition.

b.

The Zoning Board may in its Decision and Order modify or attach conditions to the Preliminary Development Plan or criteria, stating the reasons for its actions.

c.

A copy of the Preliminary Development Plan and criteria shall be certified as approved by the Zoning Board and a verified copy of the same shall be forwarded to the Department of Planning and Zoning and the petitioner.

H.

Conformance with Preliminary Development Plan

No Site Development Plan shall be approved for a BR District unless the Site Development Plan conforms substantially to the Preliminary Development Plan. The Department of Planning and Zoning may approve minor modifications to the configuration of buildings or other improvements as long as they do not move closer to abutting residential properties or other uses that might be adversely impacted, unless the Zoning Board revokes this administrative authority in the Decision and Order. More significant modifications to the uses or the development area shown on the Preliminary Development Plan must be approved by the Zoning Board, following the same procedures used for a petition to create a BR District.

I.

Other Provisions

All activities related to the repair and maintenance of motor vehicles or equipment shall take place within a building.

J.

Conditional Uses

Conditional Uses in the BR District are subject to the detailed requirements for Conditional Uses given in Section 131.0. For the list of permitted Conditional Uses, refer to the chart in Section 131.0.