Zoning Change

 

Hello neighbors! Some of you have contacted us asking about our recent zoning change request. Don’t worry, we’re not planning to move anywhere and we’re not planning to have any businesses on our property. What we *ARE* looking to get is an electronic sign for our church property. (In case you haven’t noticed, our letters on that sign are literally melting).

There’s a weird quirk in the zoning code where, because our church building is zoned residential, we’re not allowed to get an electronic sign, even with a variance. If you look at some of the other churches in town like Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church or Holy Spirit Catholic Church, they have B2 zoning so they’re permitted to have electronic signs (like Good Shepherd does). We’re just looking for the same zoning as them.

We’ve asked the county for a variance in the past, but the council has not allowed us to do it because if they change the code for us, they have to change it for the entire county.

There is a possibility that we could keep our current residential zoning, but it would require the county to change the code to allow churches to have the same “sign privileges” as things like police stations and fire departments. Here’s an e-mail that I sent our former county councilman’s legislative aide on March 15, 2022:

Everything regarding signs is in Section 267-33, Signs, of Article V, Supplementary Regulations of Part I, Standards, of Chapter 267. There’s a prohibition against electronic signs for properties that are zoned residential (§ 267-33 Section I.2.b). Pages 9 and 10 of this document shows the permitted use of houses of worship, libraries, and parks to exist in any zoning classification (with the one exception that houses of worship and libraries can’t be in General Industrial, although parks can). I’ve also attached the most recent findings of the Zoning Hearing Examiner that quotes § 267-33 Section I.2.b that “Notwithstanding anything contained in this paragraph, electronic message boards displaying a message and content relating to public safety and designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public shall be permitted, as a special exception, subject to approval of the Board, on properties that contain public safety facilities.” and “Only local and state law enforcement agencies, emergency operation centers and fire companies shall constitute public safety facilities.[Amended by Bill No. 13-17].“

Unfortunately, that never went anywhere. If we could get that exception, we wouldn’t need the zoning change.

But in summary, we have no plans to move off the property and the only reason we’re trying to change the zoning is because electronic signs aren’t allowed in R3, but they are in B2 (like other churches in Joppatowne have).

If you have any questions, please e-mail me, Adam, at [email protected] and I’d be happy to continue the conversation!