More than 2 million square feet of office space could be built in Odenton during the next four years ? and none of it would be taxed or required to pay for roads and water service.
“The infrastructure would be paid for by all other taxpayers, and that?s not fair,” said state Del. Pam Beidle, D-District 32, who represents the Odenton area in Anne Arundel.
About 175 acres of Fort Meade property will be privately developed and house 10,000 potential jobs, but it is exempt from state and county taxes thanks to a 2005 state law granting the property exemption.
Developer Trammell Crow has an enhanced-use lease with the U.S. Army to develop the land as part of the Base Realignment and Closure expansion coming Fort Meade?s way.
Officials say that sets up an unfair situation where the Fort Meade property isn?t taxed, while the neighboring Odenton Town Center development has to pay taxes and fees for improving roads and water lines both properties will use. The Fort Meade property could generate $260 million in tax revenue.
“If we don?t get taxes from developments, they have to come from somewhere,” said Claire Louder, executive director of the West County Chamber of Commerce. “There?s no way you can put 10,000 new employees on the roads in the area and not show an impact.”
Officials have contended that Route 175, which will be the main access point for the property, will need to be expanded and is not expected to be ready for the 2010 BRAC expansion.
Bob Leib, the county?s BRAC coordinator, said the development can?t move forward until the environmental impact study is completed Sept. 15. But Trammell Crow can bypass county planning procedures and develop faster than other county projects.
“We need to talk about what needs to happen and why before we start pushing for legislation,” Beidle said.
Leib said the U.S. Army is not against Anne Arundel levying fees on the developer for improvements.
“We want Odenton Town Center Boulevard extended into the property, which was agreed upon by the Army Corps of Engineers,” Leib said. “Making that desire into reality is where the challenge lies.”
