Experts say county records show single legal parcel was split in tax mapping; applicants call it a factual mistake in 2009 SMA

Mark Ferguson and Eddie Diaz Campbell presented historical research on the subject property’s conveyances and tax accounts, telling the examiner that parcels labeled Tax Parcel 10 and Tax Parcel 12 were, at points in the chain of title, conveyed under a single legal description. Ferguson described deed evidence dating to the late 19th century and subsequent assessment and zoning map practices that resulted in two tax accounts and split zoning designations.

"I found that you had to go all the way back to the mid to late 18 hundreds to find the reason," Ferguson said while explaining the series of conveyances that led to the current tax accounting. Both experts argued the 2009 Marlboro Pike Sector Plan and the subsequent county‑wide map amendment carried forward a split zoning treatment that did not fully recognize the single legal parcel configuration; they characterized that as a factual predicate the sector plan did not adequately reflect.

Opposing counsel objected to duplication and to aspects of historical interpretation; the hearing record will include excerpts from a prior case file and the experts’ exhibits to allow the examiner to verify historical claims. The applicant agreed to provide requested materials to the record. No adjudication was made during the hearing about whether the historical record constitutes a legal "mistake" under zoning law; the examiner left the record open to review the submitted exhibits.

Why it matters: If the examiner finds a factual mistake in the SMA record — for example, that council applied different zoning to portions of a single legal parcel without adequate recognition — it can change how the rezoning criteria are applied for this site.