Planned Unit Development

A Planned Unit Development (PUD) is a development that may have singular or combined residential, recreational, industrial and commercial uses. The approval process for a PUD follows that of a major subdivision full process as established in Baltimore County Code (BCC) Title 4, Subtitle 2, but with the exception of the involvement of the County Council in the initial stages of the process. The County Council must determine that the PUD will achieve substantially higher-quality development than a conventional development and will provide a public benefit that standard conventional development may not yield. If accepted, the County Council will pass a resolution allowing the PUD to go forward through the full process.

PROCESS

Processing a PUD post submission application is coordinated by the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections (PAI) Office of Development Management (DM). BCC Title 4, Subtitle 2, Part IV establishes and describes the PUD process.

  1. PUD Application Intake

    An application for approval of a PUD is submitted to the County Council member in whose district the PUD is proposed to be located.

    The PUD application is posted to the County Council website for review. The application must include:

    • An explanation of how the proposed project site and total tract acreage meet the criteria for the type of PUD that is proposed.
    • A schematic representation of the proposed PUD, including the general site layout, proposed building types and uses, and the proposed number of units and/or density.
    • A comparison of the permitted and proposed density, floor area allowed, and number of parking spaces required in the underlying zones.
    • The projected impact of the PUD on the surrounding community.
    • A statement of how the PUD will comply with compatibility requirements.
    • A statement of how the PUD will provide a community, environmental, land use, capital improvement, or public policy benefit.
  2. Preliminary Review

    The Preliminary Review consists of the following steps:

    • Twelve copies of the application that was presented to the Council member are forwarded to DM.
    • A fee of $30.00 per acre without a requested density increase or $80.00 per acre with a requested density increase is required.
    • DM distributes the PUD application to all appropriate County and state agencies.
    • The agencies provide written preliminary comments on the proposal to the Council member pursuant to BCC 32-4-242(3)
    • The preliminary written comments are posted online at Baltimore County Citizen Access.
  3. Post-Submission Community Meeting

    A Post-Submission Community Meeting (PSCM) is held no sooner than 21 and no later than 30 days after the filing of the PUD application. At that time, the development team must:

    • Post a sign on the property providing three weeks advance notice of the date, time and location of the post-submission community meeting.
    • Provide written notice to all adjoining property owners as identified by state tax records.
    • Provide information to the community regarding the proposed development and take questions and comments from the public.
    • Record the names, addresses, and email addresses, if available, of the post-submission community meeting attendees.
    • Compile meeting minutes that are forwarded to all attendees, the Council member and DM.
    • Development Management posts the PSCM meeting minutes online at Baltimore County Citizen Access. 
  4. County Council Resolution

    If the Council determines that the proposed PUD will achieve a substantially higher quality development and that the proposed site is eligible for County review:

    • The Council may adopt a resolution that allows the continued review of the PUD.
    • Development Management directs the PUD development team to post the Notice of the Resolution on the property at least 10 business days prior to the Council final vote on the PUD resolution.

    Approved, withdrawn and pending Council resolutions can be viewed on the County Council website.

  5. Pre-Concept Plan Conference

    Prior to the filing of a concept plan, the PUD development team coordinates a Pre-Concept Plan Conference in which the development team meets with relevant County departments and agencies to discuss the concept plan requirements.

  6. PUD Processing

    After the Pre-Concept Plan Conference, the PUD is processed in accordance with BCC Title 4, Subtitle 2.

Amendments to the Approved PUD

 If an amendment to an approved PUD project is proposed, the PUD development team may request an exemption from the Community Input Meeting (CIM) and the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing by applying to the Development Review Committee (DRC). If the proposed amendment does not materially alter the approved development plan, the project will be exempt from the BCC Title 4, Subtitle 2. Conversely, if the DRC determines that a change to the PUD plan is material, the plan will be subject to the major residential development process as established in BCC Title 4, Subtitle 2 beginning at the Development Plan Conference (DPC).

CHECK STATUS OF ONGOING PROJECTS

Search development projects to obtain project status and documentation, such as Concept and Development plans, comments from reviewing county and state agencies, Community Input Meeting minutes and Development Review Committee actions.