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Vital Views
The Severna Park Voice, November 2005
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Council in Action
By Councilwoman Cathleen M. Vitale
Well it's fall again. Leaves blowing, temperature dropping and lots of
on goings in and about the County. The County Council is no different.
Pending before the County Council are the promised revisions to the
subdivision and zoning codes that I addressed this summer. The Glen
Burnie -- Brooklyn Park small area plan is up for final vote on November
7, 2005. I would be remiss if I did not thank the many Shipley's Choice
residents who contacted our offices to discuss Governor Stone Parkway.
Presently, there are no plans to complete the connection into Shipley's
Choice, and perhaps more importantly, no funding to take the project
beyond Elvaton Road. For those not familiar with this issue, I learned
last minute of a proposed amendment to the Glen Burnie small area plan
that would include additional development between Obrecht and Elvaton
Road. Knowing of course, that to be the area where twenty years ago, a
road was proposed that connected Glen Burnie to Severna Park via Gov
Stone and Benefield Road, the Shipley's Community and school was
notified. Within days (maybe even hours), our office heard from
Shipley's Choice. Although we were unsuccessful on the development
amendment, we raised the issue of the road to the entire Council. They
were made aware of wetland and environmental issues and will surely
review any future project with an eye to the Community. Thanks
Shipley's.
On November 21st , the Council will hear debate on the subdivision and
zoning amendments. Any time there are large scale revisions to the Code,
you can guarantee that at least one set of revisions will be necessary.
In this case, the issue of public input seems to be in the forefront.
Under the new code, any developer who wishes to develop a residential
community in Anne Arundel County must have, BEFORE they submit their
plans to the County, a pre-submittal meeting with the community that
will be most affected. The idea, so we thought, was a good one, and many
developers held meetings within the community in the evenings to discuss
their projects. As a result, the interaction between community and
project has been positive. Now for the exception. Imagine having a
meeting scheduled, in Prince George's County, at 9:00 a.m. for a project
in North County? Or perhaps, a meeting in Howard County, Friday evening
at 6:00 p.m. for a project in the Broadneck? Since the enactment of the
regulations, it has become necessary to legislate the dates, times and
location of community pre-submittal meetings, and the new bill does
this. I am hoping to add perhaps an additional requirement. Once the
plan has been submitted to the County, I believe there should be an
additional meeting between the developer and the community. In this way,
the community can see what ultimately was presented to the County,
compare it with the original plan they were presented, and address with
the developer and the County, any new concerns. We will see if I can get
council support for an amendment.
I have heard from residents that several old enforcement provisions have
been omitted from the new code. The Council is working to address
omissions in the enforcement regulations and expect to have several
amendments on that point.
While not directly a County Council issue, I wanted to let you know that
the Salary Standards Commission has been appointed and begun their
meetings. The Commission meets every four years to review the salary and
benefits of the Council and makes recommendations regarding compensation
packages. The meetings are open to the public but no public testimony is
given. Council members have the opportunity to meet with the commission
and respond to any questions they may have. Simultaneously, the
personnel board is meeting to review the County Executive compensation
package. Once the respective commissions meet, they will make a
presentation to the County Council who then has the authority, to change
the package, leave it alone or any combination thereof. For a list of
dates and times, please go to the County website www.aacounty.org and
look under the Council website.
Leave season is here! Please remember that there is no limit to the
number of bags of leaves you can put on the curb for recycling. Do not
mix it with trash, and if you want to avoid that "stale" smell, only bag
a few days ahead of pick up day. Otherwise, save it, store it in your
back yard and by spring you'll have mulch!
See you next month. cvitale@aacounty.org. Contact me on your issues and
concerns. I look forward to hearing from you.
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