The Hampstead Town Council has taken the first step to ensure that town land designated for industrial development is used for that purpose.
In a unanimous 4-0 vote at its meeting Tuesday, the council approved an ordinance revising zoning regulations for industrial land. The ordinance is primarily intended to prevent commercial and retail businesses from locating on land zoned for industrial LTC use and to prohibit inappropriate use of the town's industrial properties.
"We think the existing regulations are outdated," Dennis E. Wertz, chairman of the Hampstead Planning and Zoning Commission, told the Town Council. "The idea is to prevent problems in the future."
Wertz said the new ordinance is "phase one" in a comprehensive review of the town's industrial zoning regulations, a process that could take six months.
The new zoning ordinance, suggested by the town's Planning and Zoning Commission, was prompted by the county's plans to market a portion of the 400-acre North Carroll Business Park, northwest of Routes 482 and 30.
Commission members expressed concern that existing zoning laws allow commercial and retail operations on the land.
Under the new regulations, retailers such as Wal-Mart would not be a permitted use on industrial land.
"We feel it would be an inappropriate use for prime industrial property," Wertz said.
Other uses that will no longer be permitted are: concrete manufacturing, sawmills, blacktop plants and underground and above-ground petroleum products storage tank facilities.
Mayor Christopher M. Nevin had some reservations about the ordinance, saying it was too restrictive in some cases.
For instance, the new regulations do not include restaurants as a permitted use in the residential-industrial or industrial park districts.
"I agree that you don't want a fast-food place, but if there's a full-service restaurant and it's a benefit to the [industrial] park, you wouldn't mind having one or two of those," Nevin said.
As an example, he pointed to Bullock's Airport Inn, a restaurant located in the Westminster Air Business Park.
Nevin said he's looking forward to taking a complete look at the town's industrial zoning regulations in the next few months.
Pub Date: 7/10/97
