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Vital Views
The Severna Park Voice, February 2006
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Council in Action
by Councilwoman Cathleen M Vitale
I recently had a constituent contact me with a rather unique problem It
seems he was included in a water petition for a neighboring community
and not his own community. What concerned him most of all was that the
first notice for him was when the County notified him that a preliminary
petition was approved and they were holding a hearing on the costs of
the project. Imagine the shock.
Under the current regulations any group of citizens may apply to the
County for public water or wastewater. When a request is made, the
Department of Public Works meets with the interested parties they
outline the boundaries to be included in the petition. Before the County
begins estimates and cost analysis, the generators of the petition
proceed to the homes of those that would be affected and seek fifty one
percent approval from the "boundary group". Once they receive fifty one
percent, in most cases, they stop... and hence the problem.
If you were not one of the fifty one percent, you have no idea that a
petition has even been circulated, or that the County intends to provide
public service? In the case of the constituent, he lives in one
neighborhood but was included in another groups petition. For those of
you who have recently petitioned the County for services, you know that
hook up charges and costs for laying the pipes can be quite expensive.
In a small neighborhood like the one in question, every community
members participation might mean the difference between moving forward
or stopping.
So the question becomes, should the County require notice to all
property owners potentially impacted by a water or sewer project? The
County would still proceed once fifty one percent approval is reached
(unless that percentage was changed), but at least all those affected
would have notice from the beginning of the proceed.
The current process could be easily amended (with four votes of the
County Council of course) to require the following:
a) All property owners must be notified of a potential project which
would include their property. Notice could be provided by certified mail
or as simple as signing a form showing you received your notice and had
your opportunity to say yes or no.
b) If a property owner is a member of an organized, recognized
subdivision, that property should be given the opportunity to be removed
from a petition area in order to be included in the subdivision petition
for the community in which he or she resides.
c) Petitioners who undertook to secure fifty one percent would be
responsible for notifying all interested parties and to show proof that
they did before the County would proceed with costs estimates.
d) Prior to the County proceeding with cost estimates, analysis or any
study, a preliminary meeting would be scheduled with the property owners
in the affected area in an effort to provide an overview of the process,
the time frame and the steps to go through before such a petition is
approved by the County.
These minor changes would, I believe go a long way to address an ever
growing concern that County government is not open and available to our
citizens. With costs for such a project approaching the tens of
thousands of dollars for an individual lot (over a course of thirty
years), we owe it to the citizens to ensure that we take all steps
necessary, from the very beginning of a petition process to make sure
that all interested parties have information necessary to make informed
decisions. The question is simple. Would you want to learn after a
petition has been approved by the County that you will owe $15,000 on a
project that you did not want in the first place, had no notice of and
now have no input? I wouldn't.
Look for a proposal before your County Council soon. Enjoy the rest of
your winter season and may the snow not befall you too deep. As always,
my contact is cvitale@aacounty.org or 410-222-1401. I look forward to
hearing from you.
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