Charles County, MD Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Charles County Zoning Ordinance § 297-97E(4), Activity center zones, imposes 'Design guidelines' within the Waldorf Central and the Acton Urban Center zones. Subsection (a) states plainly that buildings shall conform to the architectural guidelines of the Downtown Waldorf Vision Plan and Design Guidelines, which the County Commissioners adopted by Resolution #2010-09. That design document controls building siting and architecture in the two zones and works alongside, and can supersede, the numeric standards in the base zoning text: § 297-97E(4)(b) separately requires that roads within these zones conform to the Waldorf Urban Road Standards of the same plan.

200(B), each of which states that 'buildings shall be sited and designed to comply with the Waldorf Downtown Design Guidelines' in addition to complying with § 297-97, Activity center zones. 0, and specifies that where the guidelines conflict with the general lighting standard, the guidelines control. Development applications in these zones are reviewed through the County's Site Design Architectural Review Board process referenced throughout Article VI.