A controversial bill allowing small-property owners in Anne Arundel to skirt a six-year waiting list to build new houses may have found a needed compromise.
The County Council amended legislation granting exemptions to certain property owners from the school capacity test that prevents new houses from being built near overcrowded schools.
The original bill would allow a property to be subdivided into five new houses. The amended version allows only three.
Opponents said the bill would burden schools that are over capacity, though supporters say only 77 students would be added to the entire school system.
“The [original] bill will cause all sorts of problems. We can?t fix big problems, so why create smaller problems,” said Lothian resident John Butler.
Advocates for the bill were dismayed by the amendments, claiming it still hinders families from granting acreage to family members for new houses.
“It?s not the family?s fault the schools are overcrowded, because the school system refuses to redistrict to solve this problem,” said John Pantelides, head of the Alliance for Fair Land Use, the group that has most advocated for the bill.
The bill?s sponsor, Councilman Ed Reilly, R-District 7, agreed, but said he was glad to see the bill still had legs.
“I?m not pleased with the amendments, but if we can help some folks, it?s better than nothing,” Reilly said.
Another amendment was approved requiring the property owner to possess the property for five years, in hopes of reducing possible overdevelopment and school overcrowding.
“These amendments address families, in contrast to speculative investors,” said Councilman Josh Cohen, D-District 6, who introduced both amendments.
Councilmen Ronald Dillon, R-District 3, and Jamie Benoit, D-District 4, said the problem could be solved when the council develops a new formula to determine school capacity.
At a glance
The bill, as amended, will allow property owners seeking to build two new houses on their land, and have owned their land for at least five years, to build the houses even if nearby schools are overcapacity.
If you go
» What: Public hearing and council vote on the property owners bill
» When: 7 p.m. Jan. 22
» Where: Arundel Center, 44 Calvert St., Annapolis
