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

16 creates the Downtown Towson District to implement Master Plan 2020's goal of a walkable, mixed-use urban center. 6 sets out design guidelines the Design Review Panel (DRP) and Department of Planning must weigh when reviewing development, covering eight categories: environmental sustainability, block configuration/site design, parking, downtown open space, building principles/architecture, building materials, lighting and signage. The guidelines are explicitly not mandatory; where a project cannot meet one, the applicant must explain how the underlying objective is still achieved. 5, any sign at or above the sixth floor of a building must go to the DRP, and every other signage proposal is reviewed administratively by the Department of Planning or referred to the DRP.

Within the sustainability category, mature trees of ten inches or more diameter at breast height must be preserved unless dead, diseased, or in the way of construction; a removed tree triggers on-site replacement planting or a fee-in-lieu used within the District. The DRP also pushes projects toward a goal of five percent of gross acreage as downtown open space, judged by site size and usability rather than a hard minimum. 16, and properties in the District carry no minimum parking requirement, no height or floor-area-ratio cap, and no yard setbacks.