12302 Benson Branch Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21042

Rural Residential-Density Exchange Option Overlay District

The Rural Residential District is established to allow low density residential development within a rural environment. The Rural Residential District is intended for an area of the County which is already largely committed to low density residential subdivisions. Within the RR District, agriculture is permitted as well as residential development in both cluster and non-cluster forms. Cluster development is permitted in order to protect environmental and landscape resources and to preserve agricultural land.; The DEO Overlay District is established to provide land owners in the RC and RR Districts with opportunity and incentive to preserve significant blocks of farmland in the rural area of the county. This district is also intended to encourage the clustering of residential development in areas where the development will not have an adverse impact on farm operations. To accomplish this, the DEO District allows residential density in the RC and RR Districts to be exchanged between parcels. Density exchanges in the District should result in large parcels being preserved in perpetuity, while residential development is directed toward parcels which are able to absorb the additional dwellings.