By the narrowest of margins (4-3), the Baltimore County Council tonight disallowed the practice of “councilmanic courtesy” in certain zoning matters.

The original bill would have handed an individual council member veto power over any potential change to the URDL (Urban Rural Demarcation Line) in their district.

The bill was amended to continue the present practice whereby the Planning Board recommends changes to the URDL, which then go before the full council for a final vote.

The legislation now will be presented to voters as a charter amendment in the November 2026 election. The same election will mark the expansion of the council from seven to nine members.

Tonight’s bill specifies that any future changes to the URDL must be ratified by “a majority plus one,” or six members, of the expanded council.

Strong Emotions

A recent Brew op-ed by attorney David A. Plymyer warned against the councilmanic courtesy provision as well as overtones of excluding minorities and low- and middle-income housing in areas outside the URDL.

Council Chair Izzy Patoka introduced the amendment. It was approved by four Democrats – Patoka, Mike Ertel, Julian E. Jones and Pat Young – and opposed by three Republicans – David Marks, Wade Kach and Todd Crandell.

The council had debated the bill across a series of work sessions, drawing out strong responses by members like Kach, who characterized Patoka’s amendment as “terrible” and said it went against “the will of the people” to decide, through their council representative, whether a housing development or commercial business should be permitted outside the URDL.

While voting for the amendment, Jones and Young opposed the overall charter amendment, saying it was unnecessary and could hamstring future councils. “Let sleeping dogs lie,” Jones cautioned.

At the same time, Kach voted for the bill, saying it would better protect his northern Baltimore district from future development.

Land Use in Kingsville

Two other bills met with different fates tonight.

Without debate, the council approved a bill by Councilman Marks that allows a wide range of farm and non-farm uses on residential-zoned land abutting Gunpowder State Park in Kingsville – a bill strongly opposed by the neighbors of G.A. Mechanical, a plumbing company that “hides under the cover of being a Christmas tree farm,” according to one resident.

The bill was amended by Marks to go beyond the original permitted use for a Christmas tree farm and plumbing business to include “farm tours,” “seasonal farm-day events” and “an auxiliary small business consisting only of software development and computer systems management.”

There was no explanation of who might benefit from these changes.

Meanwhile, a planned vote on a hotly-disputed solar farm, also proposed in Kingsville, was delayed for two weeks so members can evaluate the impact of energy legislation passed in Annapolis that sets up uniform standards for siting solar facilities.