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Vital Views
The Severna Park Voice, July 2005
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Council in Action
by Cathleen M. Vitale, Councilwoman
June has been a slow, but technical month for the County Council. Since
the passage of the budget, the Council has been busy with final budget
bills for the 2004-2005 year, and several pieces of "clean up"
legislation relating to the comprehensive rewrites to the zoning and
subdivision legislation that was passed several weeks ago. Since many
residents take time during the summer for family vacations and trips, I
have outlined two pieces of upcoming legislation pending before the
Council.
Bill 38-05- Removal of Personal Property from County Property - This
legislation would permit the County to charge landlords for the removal
of property left on County roadways after a tenant eviction. Currently,
no one is responsible for the removal of the property, and consequently,
it just sits there.
Bill 49-05 - Comprehensive re-zoning of Pasadena/Marley Neck and Lake
Shore. Similar to the comprehensive re-zoning that took place in Severna
Park and Broadneck, this legislation will complete the re-zoning of the
Pasadena area. Since many portions of Pasadena touch the 5th district,
either by road or waterways, it is important that we monitor proposed
changes to insure that there are no negative impacts on our districts as
well as to insure that any modifications to current zoning enhance our
boundaries and not conflict with the look and feel of our area.
As you may be aware, Bill 21-05, Surveillance cameras, was withdrawn
from consideration and the June 20th Council meeting. The Council will
revisit the issue of surveillance cameras and shopping centers in the
fall. The goal of the legislation is to provide enhanced protection in
our larger shopping malls. The Council is working with the local
businesses in an effort to create legislation that is supported by the
citizenry as well as the business community.
I anticipate further discussion and introduction of the panhandling
legislation that I spoke of last spring. Since the state legislation
which enables us to create such a law is less than I had hoped for, the
bill will focus on keeping minors out of roadway center medians strips
and address the times in which roadside activities can take place. The
bill, at least at this juncture will begin to address the issue.
As summer goes on, and you find yourself with excess time on your hands,
I urge you to spend some time navigating the County web site. Much
useful information is provided within its many pages. For instance, want
to know when a hearing is scheduled before the Board of Appeals? The
Board of Appeals site lists, by month, each case, complete with date,
summary of the proceeding and location of the hearing. It references the
council manic district in which the property lies (for us, CD5), so you
can keep apprized of matters affecting your community. Interested in
critical area violations and the status of a certain case? The office of
Planning and Zoning carries on its site, the address of property, the
name of the violator and the status of the County's action. A quick
review today, for example, will show ten pages or so of violations, and
the steps taken by the County for correction or legal action. (FYI - SWO
means a stop work order was issued by the County). Under the Land Use
section, check on the status of subdivisions in your area that have been
filed with the County.
The list of useful and informative material goes on and on. Each month,
I plan to identify a different section of the web that provides useful
information to area residents. In the meantime, put www.aacounty.org on
your summer reading list, and have a safe and happy 4th of July. See you
in the parade!
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