Charles County’s Board of County Commissioners approved a zoning change governing parking requirements for large retail stores this month, overruling a recommendation from the county’s own Planning Commission.
Planning Director Steve Rice told the Planning Commission Monday that the Commissioners held a public hearing on Zoning Text Amendment 26-190 — which addresses retail development over 100,000 square feet and its associated parking standards — on Sept. 1, and voted to approve it. The Planning Commission had recommended denial earlier this year, asking that the amendment be considered alongside the county’s broader comprehensive plan update rather than on its own.
“I know the Planning Commission had recommended denial and wanted that considered more with the [comprehensive plan] update, but just [to] update you, commissioners did move forward and approve that zoning text amendment,” Rice told commissioners.
No Planning Commission members raised objections to the update during Monday’s meeting. The zoning text amendment is now in effect.
The update came during the same meeting where commissioners heard a construction status update from the developer of the 183-lot Potomac Chase subdivision, which received a one-year extension of its preliminary plan approval last spring. Representatives told the Planning Commission they remain on track to record the first 25% of the project’s lots and begin water and sewer construction well ahead of an August 2027 deadline, after resolving a contractor bankruptcy and a right-of-way dispute with Prince George’s County over access from Indian Head Highway.
