Citizen Advisory Committee Will Advise County On Land Use

Posted Tuesday, October 2, 2018 2:12 pm

Zach Sparks

Seventeen Residents Will Represent The Citizens During Planning Talks

During an Anne Arundel County listening session at Broadneck High School last fall, Mayo resident Michele Danoff stood before a crowd and delivered a message her fellow residents countywide had been trumpeting throughout the evening.

“We would like to know when do the Small Area Plans, when do the [Adequate Public Facility Ordinances], when do the all the things that we have put input — dots on a wall, comments on websites — we know you’re listening, you hear us, and that’s great. We need you to do something about it.”

As traffic has become more congested, some schools have become overcrowded and stormwater runoff has ravaged the health of local waterways, citizens have lambasted county officials for overdevelopment.

In advance of the next General Development Plan, scheduled to be completed by December 2019, County Executive Steve Schuh and Planning and Zoning Officer Phil Hager have started a Citizen Advisory Committee to complement the feedback accrued during the public listening sessions.

Now, 17 Anne Arundel County residents will have another chance to ensure the wishes of the people are considered when the next General Development Plan is formed. The members, who are self-nominated, come from a variety of backgrounds, including the environment, building, education and planning sectors. Every council district is represented.

“The people who are on the CAC are plugged into their communities,” Hager said. “If the CAC differs opinion-wise from the feedback we received during the listening sessions, we would be surprised because we felt like we were well represented, but we would certainly have to take that into account. We think this is a valuable tool and will produce a document that expresses the wants, needs and desires of the citizens of Anne Arundel County.”

According to Hager, the committee will meet on the first and third Wednesday of each month through the rest of 2018, with additional dates to be determined as needed. Meetings are expected to last about two hours.

Amy Leahy is one of four women from District 5 who are part of the committee. Leahy is on the board of directors for the Greater Severna Park Council. She formerly served as a constituent services representative under County Executive Laura Neuman, and before that, she spent 17 years with the county budget office and Department of Recreation and Parks.

Part of her job involved subdivision reviews. “It gives me a varied background,” Leahy said of her experience. “I’ve seen it from the developer or builder’s side and I’ve seen it from the community’s side.

“A big concern that we have in Severna Park is the development of infill lots with cluster zoning,” she continued. “It adversely affects schools, traffic and infrastructure because of all stormwater runoff.”

Elizabeth Rosborg has been on the Arnold Preservation Council’s executive committee since 2009, including the role of president from 2012 to 2016. She has been a member of Growth Action Network since 2013 and the Anne Arundel Chapter of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters since 2014. Since 2010, she has been on the executive board of the National Military Family Association.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to being part of the long-term planning process,” Rosborg said. “Having served on APC these past few years, I’ve seen things that have been the result of things that were done many years ago. We’re seeing the endgame results. Everyone complains about these developments, but they’ve been in the pipeline for a long time.”

Leahy and Rosborg both expressed hope that these plans will be adopted by the county council as part of the code.

“I was disappointed the Small Area Plans were put on a shelf,” Rosborg said. “It is imperative this go-round that the Small Area Plans become code. A lot of people spent a lot of time and effort on those plans and to have some of them not be followed is incomprehensible.”

As Hager explained, a previous county administration abandoned the 16 Small Area Plans in 2007 because of “a series of unfortunate events,” such as a recession that caused the Office of Planning and Zoning to reduce staff by about 50 percent.

Hager said many people have asked Planning and Zoning to “put more teeth” into the plans.

“Plans are not regulatory instruments,” Hager said. “They have no enforcement capabilities themselves and that’s the way it’s set up under state law. You can’t put teeth in something that’s not a regulatory instrument.”

He said implementation of the plans will take action from developers, citizens and, most importantly, other government entities like the county council. But even if the plans are not law, he wants the plans to be followed.

“If you don’t fully implement the plans, you’re going to be less than satisfied,” Hager said. “It’s like a beautiful piece of architecture, but if you don’t build the structure, what good is the plan?”

Schuh instructed Planning and Zoning to consult the old Small Area Plans and see what information is still relevant and can be provided to the CAC.

Until then, the committee will work toward a new blueprint that will hopefully be followed. The first meeting is October 1 and members expect to have more insight and proposals once they have met. Anyone with comments can contact Rosborg at emrosborg@gmail.com.

“The Broadneck peninsula and its neighbors need to address land use and determine how we want to look in the future,” Rosborg said. “I understand that some citizens don’t believe they have been heard. I welcome them to contact me and I will make sure all their comments, suggestions and ideas are represented.”

For more information on the General Development Plan update, also known as Plan 2040, find the “Planning and Zoning” header under “Departments” on www.aacounty.org.

Members Of The Citizens Advisory Committee