A Time And Place For Redevelopment

An empty shopping center, the exterior paint chipping away with the rain of every storm. The once vibrant exterior fading to a pale color of what it once was with the bleaching sun of every passing summer. Patches of grass break through the broken asphalt, reminding us of the Earth below. A thriving commercial area is a distant memory as the surrounding area has changed and the retailers closed up shop and their doors.

What now? Is this an opportunity for housing supply, where stormwater management can be implemented on this now vacant parking lot? A development that may otherwise be built on undeveloped land? Redevelopment is a great tool, a tool that I support to make meaningful use of lots that stand abandoned with little to no commercial activity.

Bill 2-25 aims to do just that, and I believe it is a well-intentioned bill. As is the case with any bill that comes before the council, I have to take a very close look and consider the potential impacts to our district. The bill is small in scope. This is a good thing, in my opinion. The Anne Arundel County Council has passed several large-scale land use and housing bills in recent months, some of which have not yet become effective. I think it is important to see the impacts of large-scale changes before we continue to make them. Bill 2-25 limits the opportunity of redevelopment with incentives to a handful of identified areas in Plan 2040, the comprehensive rezoning bill that was passed in 2021.

If you have read my columns over the years, you may remember that Plan 2040 was the precursor to comprehensive rezoning, and it set out broad, long-term land use plans and goals for every area of the county. In that plan, the Route 2 commercial area of Severna Park (Severna Park Marketplace, Park Plaza and commercial buildings to the north) were identified as a “critical corridor.” This designation is one that is identified in Bill 2-25 as areas where the provisions of the bill could be utilized for redevelopment.

Critical corridors are located in the northern and western parts of the county, along Route 3 in the Crofton area and in the center of our district. As the council has worked through the bill, it has been described as a tool to redevelop vacant and blighted properties, while meeting the needs of our housing demands. It adds financial incentives, a 50% reduced connection fee to county utilities (water/sewer), and a shortened process for development applications and review.

Time is money, and redevelopment can be more expensive than standard development. The bill also removes the requirement for any redevelopment of commercial property to have any commercial space at all. This adds flexibility for design plans, and most certainly incentivizes more residential units over commercial space.

As I have reviewed the bill, I have thought of the thriving and robust commercial areas of Severna Park, captured in a bill intended for abandoned properties. I heard overwhelming feedback from surrounding residents about their desire to retain the characteristics that made them move to 21146 and raise their family. These are the same sentiments I heard when knocking on doors seven years ago, and they are words I have not forgotten.

I reflect on the ongoing and numerous challenges that Route 2 faces in this area, not just from a volume of traffic standpoint, but from a design standpoint. The Maryland State Highway Administration has already closed left-hand turn lanes due to the number of accidents and has reviewed the intersection light timing numerous times due to complaints of long cycles or turn lanes that are stacked into the passing travel lanes. But behind those regular traffic and infrastructure frustrations is the heart of our small-town feel in Severna Park, with active and thriving commercial centers.

With your feedback, I decided to introduce an amendment to remove the Route 2 commercial corridor of Severna Park from Bill 2-25, and I did so at a recent council meeting. The amendment passed by a vote of 4-3.

This does not close the door on changes forever. These properties have a planned land use of mixed use. The zoning is commercial (C3). The administration wanted to change the zoning to mixed use during comprehensive rezoning. I was not comfortable with that, and neither were the majority of residents.

I amended the comprehensive zoning bill to say that mixed zoning could not be granted without a sector study being completed. A sector study includes an assessment of the existing site conditions to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of the site area, including environmental features, access issues, etc. A sector study also includes stakeholders in a visioning exercise for review of what could be on the site, and it has community involvement with outreach to nearby property owners.

I support redevelopment in the right place and at the right time. This was not the time for either of these commercial areas. I believe this bill may be very useful for areas of our county that have sat empty and unused. In fact, there is another critical corridor area in our district, located on Veterans Highway along Route 97, that may benefit from this legislation.

I do not have any intention of amending this area out of the bill, because I see the potential Bill 2-25 may give to some of these commercial lots. That is the careful evaluation that is done with every bill I review, especially one that has different impacts on different areas of our district. It is a balance.

The Anne Arundel County Council meets on the first and third Mondays of every month to consider legislation that may impact you. Be sure to visit the council website to stay up to date: www.aacounty.org/county-council.

As always, you can reach out to me with any county related questions or concerns by emailing me at amanda.fiedler@aacounty.org. It is an honor to serve you and your families.