Aligning Zoning Ordinances with Comprehensive Plans to Prevent Land Use Discrepancies

Comp Plan and Zoning Ordinance: Sequencing the Update Cycle

Mary's County lawmaker urged an accelerated update to the county zoning ordinance while comprehensive plan reviews remain in progress. The procedural pattern carries direct implications for any Maryland jurisdiction operating under the same two-track system — comprehensive plan on one schedule, enforceable zoning text on another.

The Sequencing Mechanism

Maryland counties maintain two separate land use instruments. The comprehensive plan establishes long-range policy: growth boundaries, designated growth areas, environmental priorities, town center classifications. The zoning ordinance carries enforceable effect through district boundaries, permitted use tables, setback requirements, and dimensional standards. When the comp plan is revised but the zoning map and text are not amended within the same review cycle, the two documents diverge. Parcels end up with zoning designations that no longer align with the policy direction stated in the plan.

The Citizen Portal report indicates St. Mary's County officials identify this gap as the central structural problem during the current review window.

Huntingtown as a Procedural Example

The Southern Maryland Chronicle documents a 32-year interval between the 1993 adoption of Huntingtown's Town Center Master Plan and its current update effort. Planning Commission direction to staff began in July 2025; a public survey ran July through August 2025; an initial public input meeting convened in October 2025; a follow-up meeting is set for September 15 at 6 p.m. at the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department, 4030 Old Town Road, with livestream on the county's YouTube channel.

County planners state master plans are typically updated on a roughly decadal cycle, making the Huntingtown interval an outlier. At a November 2025 work session, staff presented — without a formal vote — a recommendation to drop the option of rezoning the town center to a Rural Commercial District, citing the risk of creating nonconforming land uses. The recommendation tracks prior public feedback.

Calvert County adopted the town center concept in its Comprehensive Plan in 1983. A 2019 amendment consolidated town center categories into a single designation. A 2022 amendment narrowed future expansion eligibility to four areas: Huntingtown, Lusby, Prince Frederick, and Solomons. The Prince Frederick chapter has drawn attention because of land currently zoned Employment Center within that town's boundaries.

Verification Steps for Somerset County

• Confirm whether the Somerset County Comprehensive Plan is currently under review and identify the stage (scoping, draft, adoption).
• Identify the date of the last zoning ordinance text or map amendment. An ordinance untouched since the prior comp plan adoption cycle is the structural risk the St. Mary's County discussion flags.
• Monitor the Somerset County Planning Commission agenda for paired items — a comp plan amendment with a corresponding zoning text or map amendment in the same review cycle.

Public comment windows for the two documents operate on separate notice schedules. Written comments should be submitted before the record closes on each track.