418 Main St, Laurel, MD 20707

Commercial Village Zone

The purpose of this classification is to provide for a zone which,encourages the economic stability and improvement of the Main Street Business Area and its immediate environs, furthers the improvement and retention of the historic character of the Main Street Business District through modification options of the City Planning Commission guidelines on historic preservation of the Historic District Commission, encourages the continuation and establishment of small business, office uses, skilled craft occupations, and entertainment facilities along with certain residential uses, which are appropriate to the scale and existing character of the Main Street Business Area, encourages mixed use of permitted uses appropriate to the Business District. It shall be the specific intent of the Commercial Village Zone to be utilized where historic development of the business district uses formed a pattern of buildings and other features that would be disrupted by a standard zoning category intended for highway uses. Its placement is intended where established building patterns have been developed and new development, rehabilitation, or other improvement proposals face practical hardships due to their inability through conventional zoning to be compatible with the existing character of the district. The placement of any property within the Commercial Village Zone infers the use of modification procedures through the Planning Commission to alleviate undue hardship relating to parking restrictions, setback, and other yard requirements necessary to maintain the existing character of the Business District.