The Harford County Council defeated one councilmember?s attempt to close a legal loophole in the rules regulating development in overcrowded school districts.
In a 5-2 vote split along party lines, District A Democrat Dion Guthrie?s revision to the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance was defeated amid questions of whether it would really address problems where development planning and school construction intersect. Guthrie represents Edgewood and Jopppatown.
Guthrie?s plan would have barred the county from using projections of future school capacity to justify lifting moratoriums on new development, as officials have done in one Bel Air school district, despite current enrollment at two of three schools exceeding the 105 percent cap. The revision would make developers wait until school construction was complete and seats were available before lifting moratoriums in the affected school districts.
“I agree with Mr. Guthrie in that the current law leaves too much room for interpretation,” Council President Billy Boniface said. But Guthrie?s bill “does not manage growth, it redirects,” Boniface said.
He said he feared it would encourage growth in the rural areas where schools are below capacity.
So many people came to speak on the bill that the public hearing had to be stopped for the council to finish the rest of its business, then resumed afterward.
“The spirit of the law is to provide adequate public facilities,” said Janet Noone, of Bel Air. “If there are schools that are at 140 percent, there should be no development in this region until a new elementary school is built.”
“This legislation is a minor step in a big process, but it?s the only one we?ve got,” said Councilmember Mary Ann Lisanti, who represents District F (Havre de Grace and Perryman) and voted for Guthrie?s bill.
