Howard County leaders are eyeing a sweeping reboot for the aging motels that line U.S. Route 1, pitching a zoning change that could turn the corridor’s tired lodgings into new housing and mixed-use projects. County Executive Calvin Ball has described the strip as a long-standing trouble spot of vacancy, crime, and visual blight, and officials are betting that a clearer rulebook, paired with financial carrots, will coax private dollars into rebuilding it.
What the zoning petition would allow
The proposal would add an "Adaptive Reuse and Redevelopment" section to the county’s Zoning Regulations, letting eligible motel and hotel properties convert by right to multi-family, mixed-use, or commercial projects. It also sets up an optional affordability track that would require at least 15% of any new homes created under the policy to be Moderate Income Housing Units (MIHUs), according to the Howard County Department of Planning & Zoning.
Where the change would apply
Ball told local reporters that the rewrite is aimed squarely at parcels fronting U.S. Route 1 that currently host legacy motel or hotel uses, and he estimated that roughly 16 properties could qualify. As reported by CBS Baltimore, Ball cast the amendment as a way to line up Route 1 redevelopment with the county’s corridor plan and to steer private investment toward more modern, higher-quality uses.
Incentives and local rules already in place
The zoning rewrite is not happening in a vacuum. Howard County has already refreshed a Route 1 property tax-credit program, revising it in 2025 and extending it through fiscal year 2031 to encourage façade upgrades, landscaping, and broader site improvements, according to the county’s FY2026 Route 1 Tax Credit Annual Report. That report also details recent awards and legislative tweaks that expanded who can qualify and removed earlier caps.
On the tenant-protection side, the County Council in 2025 widened the local notice-and-right-to-purchase rules so that the county and the Housing Commission get advance notice, plus a first chance to buy, when certain rental properties are put up for sale. That list now includes motels and mobile-home parks, according to County Council bill CB10-2025.
Next steps for the petition
The zoning petition still has to run the full planning gauntlet. Staff will prepare an analysis, public hearings will follow, and both the Planning Board and the County Council must vote before anything becomes law. If the rewrite is adopted, any project that uses it will have to bring its site into compliance with the Route 1 Manual and standard site-development rules, a requirement that in practice is likely to mean demolition or major overhaul of existing motel buildings.
Community reaction and context
Supporters of the change say it strikes a middle ground between cleaning up the corridor and locking in some affordable housing protections. Some nearby residents, though, are nervous about displacement and how quickly the area could transform. Local reporting indicates county officials are already eyeing specific parcels and funding paths for mixed-income projects, and police have pointed to recent enforcement sweeps at Route 1 motels as one factor pushing the county to clamp down on short-term hourly rentals.
For more details on land deals and affordable housing efforts tied to the corridor, see coverage from The Business Monthly and the latest Howard County Police press release on Route 1 enforcement activity.
