Caroline County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to enact two amendments to the county zoning code and held public hearings on two additional zoning measures.

The commissioners enacted Legislative Bill 2025-001, which amends Chapter 175 of the Caroline County Code to permit certain cannabis facilities under regulated conditions, and Legislative Bill 2025-002, which adds a code provision allowing the zoning administrator to deny a permit if the subject property has an unremedied state or county law violation, except where the permit application would remedy that violation.

Those two bills were read on their third reading and passed after floor motions. No individual roll-call votes were recorded in the meeting transcript; county staff stated the measures passed unanimously.

Why it matters: The cannabis bill implements state cannabis law by adding specific use categories and setbacks into the local zoning table; the permit‑denial bill codifies an existing planning-and-codes practice into ordinance, formalizing the county’s ability to require code compliance before issuing new permits.

Key details: The cannabis ordinance adds a new Section 175-8b to Article 5 and new use categories for small- and large-scale dispensaries, growers and processors to the County’s Table of Use Regulations (1-75 Attachment 3-4). Planning staff reported they checked municipal setback rules and found Denton already maintains a 500‑foot school setback that would apply inside town limits; county C-2 zoning parcels potentially near Lockerman Middle School and Denton Elementary were found to be outside the 500‑foot buffer. The permit‑denial ordinance clarifies that permits may be denied when existing violations on the subject property remain, but that applications intended to correct a violation will be permitted.

Public hearing items: Commissioners opened a public hearing on Legislative Bill 2025-003, a proposal to repeal limits on consecutive terms for Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) members. Multiple speakers, including Sabrina Barger Turner of Federalsburg and Gerald Franz of Greensboro, urged the board not to remove term limits, citing concerns about entrenched power and reduced community input. Planning staff and county officials responded that vacancies on the BZA are difficult to fill, that members must reapply at the end of each term, and that municipal boards are separate from county boards. The hearing was closed; no final vote on bill 2025-003 occurred at Tuesday’s meeting.

Commissioners also held and closed a public hearing on Legislative Bill 2025-004, which would change how wastewater treatment facilities are classified in the Table of Use Regulations (distinguishing accessory and non‑accessory facilities and moving some uses to special-use exceptions in industrial and mobile-home districts). No members of the public spoke on that bill at the hearing.

What’s next: County staff said third‑reading scheduling will continue, with follow-up sessions planned on the legislative calendar and possible continued work on items that require additional review.

Provenance: Discussion of third readings and enactments begins at transcript timecode ~1115–1202 (reading of bill 2025-001) and continues through ~1473 (passage of bill 2025-002); public hearings for bills 2025-003 and 2025-004 occur at ~1523–2072 and ~2100–2292 respectively.

Ending: The board’s actions complete two code changes now in effect and leave two other zoning matters—BZA term limits and wastewater facility classification—pending further action or later readings.