State delays ultimatum on Carroll zoning law

Impressed with the Carroll County commissioners' willingness to compromise on a contentious zoning law, the state secretary of planning has delayed a Jan. 15 ultimatum that the county change the law or lose $400,000 in state money for farmland preservation.

Secretary Roy W. Kienitz met with the commissioners and county planning staff members yesterday and left feeling "that there's every sign we're moving in the right direction" in negotiating changes to a law many say allows out-of-control development on the county's agricultural land.

An ultimatum would quickly return if negotiations between the county and state stall, Kienitz said.

The law, passed in September, allows landowners to transfer development rights from their conservation land to their agricultural land, meaning they can develop one residential lot for every 3 acres instead of one for every 20 acres, as is normally allowed under agricultural zoning.