There?s no free pass for housing development in Westminster.
Getting one of the coveted building permits approved to start ? or continue ? construction will be a core issue as development begins again this week. In the wake of a seven-month building moratorium ending in Westminster, the seat of Carroll County, local contractors are raring to get back into the action.
“I have been looking at a couple properties [in the area],” said Nick Pirone, president of Robyn Properties Inc., a developer and property manager from Baltimore. “But now with the ban lifted, I can be more realistic about purchasing properties within the area that were hindered.”
For the county, the average cost of real estate was $395,635 on average. This cost represents nearly a 12 percent jump over last March?s figure and is about $90,000 more than the average for the Baltimore region, the March Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. data indicated. Since the moratorium was enacted, about 60 building permits and six commercial and residential projects have been delayed, Matt Davis, the city?s manager for planning and development previously told The Examiner. With selling houses for such a high amount compared with the rest of the area, and many of their projects put on hold, Carroll County developers are eager to get back to building.
But it might not be that easy.
The root of the problem stems from a new state mandate adopted last year that requires towns to have ready access to enough water for all its residents in the event of a worst-case drought. In Westminster, a drought in 2002 required the city to pay about $120,000 to truck in water, the county?s hazard mitigation plan revealed.
Westminster Common Council approved a plan this week that limits the water pumping to 60,000 gallons of water per day for 30,000 Westminster residents, both in and outside city limits. By comparison, the average household uses 235 gallons of water a day. Despite this allotment, the hottest point of contention will be who is ready to resume building. Part of an interim water capacity management plan, the builders who are immediately ready to resume building and utilize the water might be bumped to the top of the list for approval.
