Latest news with #BaltimoreCountyCouncil
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Voters to decide Baltimore County Council's power over rural development
A proposal to limit the Baltimore County Council's ability to develop rural areas will go to the voters next year. The council voted 5-2 on Monday to put Bill 19-25 on the 2026 general election ballot. If approved, it would take a supermajority of council members to modify what's known as the Urban-Rural Demarcation Line (URDL), a decades-old boundary that has separated and managed the areas where growth is limited and where it is encouraged. Now that the charter will expand the incoming council to nine members, if the bill is adopted, changing the line would require six council member votes. Currently, it requires four of the seven. 'This is landmark legislation that gives the voters the ability to better preserve our green space and protect our northern reservoirs,' said Eastside Councilman David Marks, the bill's Republican sponsor. Council members Julian Jones and Pat Young, both Democrats, were against the measure, while the rest of the council — two Democrats and two Republicans — endorsed it. The county has been working to offset a slowing economy and a below-normal housing supply for years. Some argued Monday's bill could hinder needed development, while others said it would encourage growth by repurposing unused, already built infrastructure. 'This pattern of unchecked suburban expansion drains resources from established neighborhoods, leaving them behind as attention and funding shift elsewhere,' said Josh Sines, president of the Essex Middle River Civic Council. 'By limiting development on raw land, we can create a stronger incentive for reinvestment in places like Essex, where infrastructure already exists and revitalization is desperately needed.' Sines, who lives two blocks from an URDL border in Middle River, said the new bill wouldn't be a dramatic change of procedure — the council already considers recommendations from the county's Planning Board — but rather add 'an extra layer of protection' to the process. Changing the URDL, he said, should be a more unanimous decision. 'It shouldn't just be for the purpose of one project,' he said. 'It should be an overall good decision.' Established in 1967, the URDL was the county's response to mammoth population growth across the two decades before. It divides Baltimore County into two land categories: urban and rural. According to the Department of Planning, 90% of Baltimore County's population lives in urban areas that make up one-third of its total land mass. The remaining 10% live in rural areas, mostly in the north and to the Pennsylvania border. When it was created, the URDL largely coincided with the Metro line, which governs how far public water and sewer can reach. Since then, there have been adjustments. In 1999, for instance, limited water and sewer service was installed outside the URDL to reduce pollution in the lower Back River, according to a county fiscal note. Over the last 20 years, the Department of Planning's unofficial policy has recommended 'no net change' to the URDL. In fact, the fiscal note suggests that the largest recent change has come from advancements in GIS technology, which allow for a more specific, searchable line as opposed to the 'old one's ambiguity.' This directive of non-action has caused some to criticize Monday's bill, the Baltimore County Farmland Preservation Act, as unnecessary. Young, one of the two opposing Democrats, said he struggled to see how shifting the number of necessary votes changes what the county's already doing to preserve its farmland. 'It doesn't add to the security of the URDL,' Young said. 'It interjects politics … and doesn't follow the spirit of the URDL.' The initial proposal would have allowed a council member to stop an URDL change inside their district. Before the bill was amended to require a supermajority, some said the suggested veto power could open the door to corruption in other areas of the law. 'You give it validity and say this is the policy of the Baltimore County government,' said Nick Stewart, co-founder of the smart growth advocacy group We The People — Baltimore County. 'And at that point, pack it up. It's over.' Marks argued that council members representing those most affected by a project should be able to evaluate the need for change. With the change to a supermajority, he said the bill still provides a proactive safety net for districts. 'Allowing four or five council members from outside a district to ram through new developments is hardly democratic,' he wrote in an April 2 op-ed for The Baltimore Sun. Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker@ 410-725-6214 and
CBS News
11-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Baltimore County executive plans to intervene in application for controversial electrical grid project
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore County's executive is moving to intervene in the application process and approval for the controversial Piedmont Reliability Project. Kathy Klausmeier said Baltimore County Council will "continue to work with state partners to share serious concerns about this project's impacts and work to protect our county's agricultural legacy and land preservation interests." PSEG Renewable Transmission, a New Jersey-based company, applied for a permit to begin the construction of 70 miles of overhead 500,000-volt powerlines connecting an existing transmission line through parts of Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick counties. The Maryland Public Service Commission says the review process will include public hearings in the counties where the project is set to be constructed, and public comments can be submitted through their website. "PSEG has applied for what is known as a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which, if granted, authorizes an applicant to construct an energy generating station or high-voltage transmission line in Maryland," the MPSC said Carroll and Frederick counties have also filed petitions against the project. A spokesperson for PSEG said that the project is essential to support Maryland's growing electric needs and that the current electrical system is overloaded. The pushback Residents in the path of the proposed Piedmont Reliability Project argue these transmission lines could have a potential negative impact on the environment and how it may impede personal property. Property owners also fear that the project would cut through family-owned farms. "This issue is of great concern to a significant amount of my constituents," said Maryland Delegate Jesse Pippy, who represents Frederick County. "This project is unnecessary, it severely adversely impacts thousands and thousands of people. It's for the benefit of Virginia, not Maryland. The project itself is going to be paid for by Maryland ratepayers." Last November, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said the project posed several risks to Maryland's habitat and water quality, damaging protected forests, nutrient-rich wetlands, and sources of clean water. "As the state moves towards a greener grid and electrification of appliances and cars, more power will be needed. However, the deforestation and environmental devastation required would contradict many of Maryland's climate change goals," the CBF said in a statement. "It is much more cost-effective to preserve high-quality waterways upfront than to try and restore streams and landscapes after devastation occurs." What's next?
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Baltimore County Council violated Maryland's Open Meetings Act, chair says
BALTIMORE — When the Baltimore County Council initially selected the county's top political official, they did so outside of public view. The council chair now realizes they violated state transparency laws. 'Apparently we were in violation of the Open Meetings Act,' council Chair Mike Ertel told The Baltimore Sun, adding, 'We were, kind of, of the mind that, well, it's a personnel decision. You know, we don't need to call a public meeting to close it,' he said. 'But that's what we're in violation of.' The council was scheduled to vote Jan. 6 on a new executive to replace Johnny Olszewski, who was leaving for Congress. The biggest snowstorm to hit the area in years prompted the council to shift the meeting to the next day. The council had held a prior meeting Jan. 3, mostly to discuss the logistics of the public vote, Ertel said. During the Zoom meeting, council members also discussed one of the county executive candidates, then-State Sen. Katherine Klausmeier. 'The only question was, 'I understand that people, you know, everybody, seems to be for Kathy. Is that still the case?' Everybody was like, 'Yep,'' Ertel said. Then, instead of waiting until the public vote that was scheduled for 3 p.m. on Jan. 7, the council sent out a press release that morning, saying they'd 'selected' Klausmeier for the role, adding that the council's 'formal vote' would take place later that day. Although Maryland's Open Meetings Act does allow discussion of personnel matters behind closed doors, it requires the council to give prior notice of a closed meeting and a reason for why it can't be open to the public — which, in this case, they did not. Ertel said council members didn't know they were violating the act and described the violation as a 'technicality.' 'We thought we were fine because it was a personnel decision,' he said. He added that if they had given prior notice of the meeting, 'What would the public have had information on that they didn't have already? We had some closed meeting — that would be the only thing that they would know that they didn't know.' Asked about the apparent meeting violation, Council Member Izzy Patoka, who was serving as council chair at the time of the vote, said, 'The only thing that should have been done is that it should have been posted on the council's website, and it was not.' Patoka added, 'One of the reasons we held that meeting is because we were concerned about the weather and whether we would have a chance to deliberate. And so it was put together pretty quickly.' The council's consensus on Klausmeier wasn't technically a vote, according to Patoka. 'During that time, we talked about kind of zeroing in on a finalist … but there was no voting, per se,' Patoka said. He added that while there was 'discussion' and 'consensus' about Klausmeier, 'There's never a vote until we're up in the chambers and cast a vote.' Patoka said there have been times when members made 'commitments' on specific votes and later changed their minds. 'So there's no such thing as a vote until, in my opinion … until it's cast,' he said. Patoka said the reason for alerting candidates about the council's selection before the meeting was 'to be respectful' to the candidates rather than having them 'sit there in a public setting and find out they weren't selected.' During the Jan. 3 meeting, the council discussed whether they could swear in a new executive over Zoom, Ertel said. The clerk of court advised that the swearing-in had to take place in person. 'You've got to go and put your hand on the Bible and all that stuff,' Ertel said. 'So that was what the meeting was about — well if we can't do it Monday because of the snow, we'll have to do it Tuesday.' Asked whether the council had discussed before Jan. 3 voting for Klausmeier, Ertel said, 'It's all just collected individual conversations among us.' Patoka also described 'individual discussions on the merit of different candidates.' The situation was 'a clear violation of the Open Meetings Act,' said Joanne Antoine, executive director for the Maryland office of Common Cause, a grassroots organization focused on 'upholding the core values of American democracy,' according to the organization's website. 'While Common Cause at least takes no position on who was appointed, I do think the process could have been a lot more transparent,' she said. Ertel also noted that it's unusual for the county council to select a county executive — who's usually chosen by Baltimore County voters unless there's a vacancy. The last time the council had to fill an executive vacancy was in 2018, after the sudden death of former County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and before Ertel or Patoka took office. Ertel promises the meeting violation won't happen again. 'It was an honest oversight,' Ertel said. 'There was nothing nefarious going on.' Maryland's Open Meetings Compliance Board received two complaints regarding the selection of the new county executive. WYPR reporter John Lee and Michael Ruby, editor of two local publications, The Country Chronicle and The Villager, filed the complaints. The council's response to the complaints is due by Feb. 10, according to Assistant Attorney General Rachel Simmonsen. After that, the complainants and the council can issue further replies, and the board generally issues an opinion 30 days after all submissions are received. If the compliance board finds a violation, then a majority of the council would need to sign a copy of the board's opinion acknowledging the violation. The violation must be announced at the council's next open meeting. Neither the compliance board nor the attorney general's office has the power to impose penalties for violations, Simmonsen said. The only enforcement mechanism for the Open Meetings Act is if a person files a lawsuit in county circuit court, according to the attorney general's website. 'During that process… representatives of the public body may be required to give sworn testimony and produce documents,' the website says. The council's legislative counsel, Thomas Bostwick, did not respond to a request for comment. He previously told WYPR that 'the Council adhered to the spirit of the Open Meetings Act.' Ertel emphasized that the decision for a new county executive, as a whole, was 'a very public process,' which included a hearing featuring public comment and a public presentation by five candidates who had applied. One of the candidates, former Democratic State Sen. Jim Brochin, criticized the decision to have candidates read prepared speeches, instead of having them 'speak off the cuff' or respond to 'tough questions' from council members. 'Anyone can open a notebook and read a speech,' Brochin said, adding, 'That's not how you select a person of power.' Brochin added that he believes Klausmeier 'will be a fine county executive.' Asked about the lack of a question-and-answer session, Patoka said there wasn't enough time since the council had two months and two major holidays between Olszewski's election to Congress and his swearing-in on Jan. 3. Patoka added that there was a 'rush' to swear in Olszweski's replacement because of ongoing county budget discussions and a need to present the council's priorities to the Maryland General Assembly during its legislative session, which began on Jan. 8. He also noted President Donald Trump mandating 'unknown variables on a daily basis.' ---------
