County Council Addresses Cannabis, Pre-Born Children, Plasma Centers And More

Editor’s Note: Some of the bills in this article were voted on after the Voice’s October edition went to print. Visit www.severnaparkvoice.com for updates.

After its usual seven-week summer hiatus, the Anne Arundel County Council returned to the dais on September 4 for a marathon six-and-a-half-hour meeting to debate issues broad in scope, from the placement of transitional housing and plasma centers to school sizes and the county’s ability to keep records on abortion. Discussion on many of these bills continued into the September 17 and October 1 meetings.

Bill 69-18
Public Safety, Massage Establishments

Sponsored by Councilman Pete Smith, Bill 69-18 is an effort to combat human trafficking in Anne Arundel County businesses. Smith said the bill was inspired by similar legislation passed in Howard County.

“For example, in Glen Burnie, there was an establishment that was next to the chamber of commerce that was sort of doing some unsavory business there,” Smith said, “and this will allow the police to actually interact with those establishments that are sort of on their radar and be able to inspect them to make sure that they are running an appropriate business.”

Smith said the intent is not to target all massage facilities but ones that have received complaints about illicit behavior.

Councilman Chris Trumbauer questioned if the legislation would “shortcut” the current procedure of getting a warrant, and an unnamed detective testified that police have to start somewhere with a violation of the law. The detective explained that Bill 69-18 would allow police to visit massage establishments and check their certification.

Testifying were seven licensed massage therapists, one attorney and one customer who thought the bill would be harmful to the businesses.

During the subsequent council meeting on September 17, two amendments were passed — one to exclude home-based businesses from the law and another amendment that shifts oversight from the police to the health department.

The amended bill was heard on October 1.

Bill 74-18
Conditional Use Requirements For Plasma Centers And Transitional Housing

Councilmen John Grasso and Smith gave different explanations for a bill they put forward to limit the number of plasma centers and transitional housing facilities within North County.

“My people up in my area don’t have a problem of helping out society, but they feel that they shouldn’t be the only ones helping out society and currently that’s what North County is doing,” Grasso said. “We’re taking the burden for everybody.”

Currently, Anne Arundel County has just one plasma center in Glen Burnie, but the two councilmen emphasized their intent to prevent too many from impacting their districts.

Smith said, “People are suffering, whether that’s drug addiction, opioid addiction that we’re fighting right now, whether that’s plasma that actually goes to servicing folks who have blood ailments. These places are sort of a needed entity in the county. The question is: What is the right balance between a community identity and a nucleus of services that are all concentrated in a certain area?”

The council debated several amendments, including moving the provision from one mile to three miles between similar businesses. Bill 74-18 was held for the October 1 meeting.

Bill 76-18
Tax Credits For Veterans

Smith, who has served in the Marine Corps for more than 15 years, co-sponsored legislation with Councilman Jerry Walker to propose a property tax credit for veterans. Smith explained that the benefit was added at the state level and already adopted by Howard, Montgomery and Harford counties, so Anne Arundel should follow suit.

Representing the Schuh administration, Bernie Marczyk said the legislation would create the need for an additional staff person and add $1.8 million in taxes for citizens who are not veterans, unless further action is taken.

Several veterans supported the bill, but it also drew some opposition. District 5 Councilman Michael Peroutka said the concept was unconstitutional because it would tax classes of people instead of classes of property, therefore treating one group of people differently than other groups.

Trumbauer wondered whether the law would have an adverse effect if a veteran depended on the tax break and then it was taken away after five years.

The council debated nine amendments and held the bill for October 1.

Bills 77-18 and 84-18
Zoning Provisions For Licensed Dispensaries Of Medical Cannabis

If passed, Bill 77-18 would loosen restrictions for anyone looking to build medical cannabis dispensaries. More specifically, it would reduce from 1,000 feet to 750 feet the separation distance a dispensary must have from a dwelling, residentially zoned property or the lot line of a public or private school. It would also remove armed security requirements placed on growers while still adhering to state safety requirements.

“There are a limited number of these dispensaries that are legally allowed to operate within our county,” Walker said. “The initial legislation that was passed, I think it has proven to create a number of roadblocks for people who have been through a process that is heavily regulated by the state.”

Much of the discussion centered on Kind Therapeutics, which is looking to open a location on Generals Highway in Annapolis. Local residents testified about the burden the business would have on the heavily trafficked area.

Bethesda resident Rebecca Brown, the owner of one dispensary in Montgomery County and partial operator of three facilities in Maryland, said the traffic argument was being overstated.

“These dispensaries are seeing maybe 10 people an hour during a very busy time,” she said. “This is not a thing that is going to attract a ton of cars.”

Bill 84-18 would grandfather certain applications for variances to the conditional use requirements, and again, some residents argued that the proposal was drafted as a favor to one company. That legislation was also held until October 1.

Bill 78-18
Multi-Modal Transportation

Bike AAA president and Severna Park resident Jon Korin was among the architects of Bill 78-18, which would add a multi-modal transportation component to the county’s development procedures.

“To put it in one word, this will create connections,” Korin said. “It will create connections for biking and walking, between neighborhoods and schools, neighborhoods and places of employment, neighborhoods and existing trails. It will help us build out a network so that we can get more people making a choice to safely walk or bike or use transit to wherever they have to get to. So this brings the developers together with the county to help build out the network.”

Korin explained that several groups had already undergone the leg work of working out a compromise. Those entities were the Bicycle Advisory Commission, the Maryland Building Industry Association, the Anne Arundel County Office of Transportation and the Office of Law.

Because the legislation was amended, the vote was pushed to October 1.

Resolution 30-18
The Humanity Of Pre-Born Children

During a three-hour debate, county councilmen and about 70 community members from all backgrounds shared their staunch beliefs about abortion and, as the resolution sponsor Michael Peroutka termed it, “the humane treatment of all human beings.”

Before the public testimony was weighed, Peroutka addressed feedback that abortion is a federal issue and not a county issue.

“National government and state government to this point have failed to take effective action to stop the killing,” Peroutka said. “Moreover, every baby that dies dies locally. So it’s left to local government to interpose on behalf of its most vulnerable and arguably its most important constituency — that is our posterity.”

With that, dozens of people testified about their experiences. On the first panel was Therese Hessler from Maryland Right to Life. She noted that 46 states require reporting data. “We should all be able to acknowledge that life deserves a certain amount of respect and it starts in the womb,” she said.

Pasadena resident Sue Deaver testified that, “When I was carrying my son, I knew I was going to deliver a human baby, not a cow or a dog … what are we doing in this county to heal the brokenness that comes as a result of the women’s decision?”

One woman testified that she had a cervical ectopic pregnancy and the abortion was necessary to save her life. Stacy Korbelak of Odenton used the Bible not to oppose abortion as a few others did, but to promote free will. She said God told Adam and Eve not to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, but he didn’t remove their choice. “You do not have to be pro-abortion to be pro-choice,” Korbelak said.

Others were frustrated that the resolution was being discussed at all. “Your job is to fund the police, the fire department, the teachers; limit development; and protect the environment,” said Dawn Merino, a Glen Burnie attorney. “The citizens do not want you in their bedroom or at their doctor’s offices.”

Peroutka, Walker and Derek Fink voted yes, but the resolution failed, 4-3.

Other Legislation

John Grasso introduced Bill 70-18 to allow miniature pigs to be kept as pets in certain lot sizes. He also sponsored Bill 75-18 to keep animals “running at large” from being impounded. Both bills passed by a unanimous vote. If adopted, Resolution 31-18 would support a no-discharge zone in numerous Anne Arundel waterways, including the Magothy and the Severn rivers.

“Establishing a no-discharge zone would be one way for this boating community to go the extra mile, extra nautical mile I should say, in ensuring we safely dispose of the waste we produce, even the treated discharge that contains nutrients,” said Jeff Holland, the riverkeeper for the West and Rhode rivers.