Landowners petitioned for judicial review of district council’s adoption of sectional map amendments on court-ordered remand in proceeding concerning district council’s comprehensive rezoning for two subregions of county, alleging that district council improperly downzoned their properties following a work session on remand without giving them notice and opportunity to be heard, and in a manner inconsistent with remand instructions.
The Circuit Court reversed and remanded. District council appealed. The Appellate Court affirmed and remanded. District council petitioned for writ of certiorari, which was granted.
The Supreme Court held that:
- Countywide rezoning after work session was not a comprehensive rezoning reflecting substantive change in law with retroactive application;
- Countywide rezoning after work session did not moot landowners’ assertions of error in underlying appeal;
- District council’s enactment of sectional map amendments on remand did not comply with laws on notice and right to a hearing;
- District council did not comply with remand instructions; and
- Work session was not the effective equivalent of a public hearing.