Baltimore County lawmakers Monday night approved a measure that gives an appointed department head the exclusive discretion to exempt developers from providing required recreational land.

The vote gives the county?s recreation and parks director sole discretion to allow developers to pay cash instead of providing open space, removing responsibility reserved for the county hearing officer on projects of 20 homes or more. More importantly, said County Council Chairman Sam Moxley, D-District 1, the bill requires the county to spend waiver fees on park projects in the districts they came from.