Waterfront homeowners are happy – Anne Arundel officials have nixed a plan to toughen laws protecting the county’s environmentally-sensitive watershed that some say would violate their constitutional rights.
Environmentalist are happy – even without the county law, the default state law in place still comes down heavy-handed on those who illegally build in the critical area.
But some county officials aren’t sharing the joy, and vowed Wednesday another attempt at such a controversial fix to what some call the county’s “black eye” will be in store by the end of the year.
“This will be revisited in the next 90 days, if not sooner,” said County Executive John R. Leopold, who introduced the failed legislation.
“This administration treats such violations seriously and I’m not going to tolerate it.”
Leopold’s bill would have required anyone who builds structures in the critical area – property abutting waterfront areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed – without a permit to enter into a consent decree, pay hefty fines and fix the damage. The county also had the right to demolish the building.
The proposal is in response to a state law passed in April requiring all local jurisdictions to crackdown on critical area violators by either creating new laws or adopting the state’s law.
The main difference between the state and county versions of the critical area law is the county would require a consent decree – an admission of guilt – while the state law allows appeals to be filed with the county Board of Appeals.
County officials said the state version would bog courts, cost more for the homeowner (fines incur everyday the illegal structure stands while a consent order would create a single fee) and significantly delay any remediation of destroyed land.
But residents said the county’s version violated homeowner’s right to appeal, and two school buses filled with dozens of homeowners and supporters clad in red T-shirts that said, “Stop the Zoning Gestapo” packed the County Council chambers Monday night in opposition of the bill.
“This bill would have given the county carte blanche and homeowners no due process,” said Tom Redmond, a former county councilman and organizer of the protest.
Though the bill’s aim is at large structures like houses – many pointed to the illegal house built on Dobbins Island – residents said their smaller issues would be caught up in the legislation.
Mike Huff, a Pasadena resident, said he and his girlfriend were taken to court over a pavilion on their waterfront property that was built within the critical area and without a permit. Huff said the pavilion was there when he bought the property.
“These inspectors come around like the gestapo police and start fining me for something I had nothing to do with,” he said.
The County Council argued mostly against the bill, agreeing with Redmond’s view that the bill would take away due process.
“Looking at this bill, I feel like saying welcome to the Peoples’ Republic of Anne Arundel County,” said Councilman Ed Middlebrooks, R-Severn.
The council heard over an hour of testimony, most against the bill. The administration then offered a handful of amendments.
The council voted down the first one, and did not offer a motion to take up the second one, effectively killing it. Alan Friedman, Leopold’s government affairs director, then said he wanted to pull the amendments and the bill.
The only supporters of the bill were the leaders of the local river associations, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups.
The critical area consists of land near the state’s Chesapeake Bay watershed that environmentalists say if not protected could lead to loss of habitat and even more pollution in the Bay.
The state passed a law in 1984 creating the critical area and rules on how to develop there, but lax local enforcement has led many to build pools, shed and even houses in the critical area with little fear of reprimand.
But even with the bill’s defeat, environmentalists are pleased with the state law.
“There’s no difference – they all have the same minimum conditions, and everyone still has to pay the fines,” said Bob Gallagher, director of the West/Rhode Riverkeeper group.
Gallagher said the state’s critical area commission is drafting model legislation this month that Anne Arundel should consider.
Even though it seems both sides may have gotten their wishes, elected officials are still concerned about either version of the law.
“We have two hammers here – the county and the state. One of them will come down, and it will come down hard,” said Councilman Ed Reilly, R-Crofton.
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