Future development just outside of downtown Bel Air will be subject to new density rules after the mayor and commissioners passed legislation limiting the maximum number of homes allowed per acre.

The ordinance — which passed 4-1, with Commissioner Mary Chance opposed — aims to ensure that new developments in the heart of Bel Air are in line with the town’s current image, characteristics and direction, officials said.

Density provisions in the town’s two main zoning districts of B-2A and B-3A are:

  • A maximum of five single-family detached dwellings per acre
  • A maximum of 14 townhomes per acre
  • A maximum of 10 semi-detached dwellings per acre
  • A maximum of 10 duplex homes per acre
  • A maximum of 20 apartment units per acre

Prior to the new ordinance, density in the town of Bel Air was governed primarily by the amount of parking spaces a developer could provide. Because of a lack of parking for new projects in town, high-density projects were never much of an issue.

However, after plans for an apartment complex on North Hickory Avenue received approval from the town’s planning commission in 2022, the project developers entered a 15-year lease for parking spaces in the town’s public parking garage. The lease, per permission of the town code, was signed by the Bel Air town administrator and gave Hickory Flats access to 70 of the town’s 334 parking spaces in the garage for $29,400 per year, or $35 per month for each parking space.

Having secured parking in the town, the 1.53-acre, four-story, 87-unit apartment complex was granted a permit for 57 units on 1 acre — nearly tripling the number of units per acre located in some of Bel Air’s highest density neighborhoods.

Citing the high number of units per acre with Hickory Flats, Bel Air Mayor Paula Etting said the town saw a need to outline density provisions to avoid exceedingly high-density residential projects from potentially disrupting downtown.

Much of the conversation around the new ordinance involved questions about whether the town should allow Hickory Flats to continue as planned, or force developers to comply with the new provision.

Per state law, if a project has completed “substantial construction,” it is considered “vested” and new ordinances do not apply. The ordinance was passed March 3 and will take effect March 24.

Commissioners decided not to apply the ordinance to Hickory Flats since it has had full approval since 2022.

“At the end of the day, it is really within Hickory Flats’ power whether this bill applies to them,” Etting said.

Commissioner James Rutledge said that since the original legislation was introduced in 2023 but tabled for further discussion, all property owners were “on notice” that the commissioners planned to change the zoning laws.

“It is clear and indisputable that all property owners have been on notice since the summer of 2023 that the movement to bring change to the zoning laws is in full swing with the momentum clearly against the policy of unfettered development,” Rutledge said. “The town of Bel Air has not prevented Hickory Flats from being well under construction long before this bill was introduced.”

One of the two developers with Hickory Flats, Matt Garono, said construction has begun and that he, along with his business partner Brad Shapiro with Jabber Five Real Estate Group, are confident the project will not be impacted by the new ordinance and that Hickory Flats will be complete in two years.

Commissioners emphasized during a March 3 meeting that the ordinance is specifically designed to guide future development in the town and ensure responsible economic growth.

“I think what we have here is a strong product that plans well for the future of economic development and growth in town and is really responsive to what the residents of the town want,” said Commissioner Jake Taylor. “This will deliver a better tomorrow for the town of Bel Air, and I think that is something that is important to remember.”

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.