The environment and growth again will challenge Anne Arundel leaders this year.
“We?ll be watching with breath abated,” said Dan Nataf, director of the Center for the Study of Local Issues at Anne Arundel Community College, which surveyed residents on taxes, slots and government spending in October.
The revival of the Stormwater Management and Restoration of Tributaries Fund is expected to come before the County Council in the second week of January.
The bill, originally penned by County Executive John R. Leopold, was killed by the council because it had an unpopular fee on all property.
“I expect that we can find some common ground with some form of optional fee,” said Councilman Josh Cohen, D-District 6.
Growth has been an ongoing problem in Anne Arundel, and the council took steps to promote and curb development. Impact fees on developers and a new formula to calculate school capacity is expected to surface by March. The fees pay for road, school and public safety improvements needed to accommodate expansion.
But the county?s greatest growth endeavor will come next year in the general development plan, the master zoning and land use plan that is updated once a decade.
Accommodating for potential slot machines in Laurel, addressing the growth in the county?s western end and preserving the agricultural nature of Anne Arundel will be among the competing interests in the plan?s update.
“The GDP is our opportunity to set public policy on land use,” said Councilman Ed Reilly, R-District 7.
An issue that the county deals with every year is its budget, but 2008 could prove to be tumultuous. A slumping housing market and cuts from the General Assembly will hurt revenues.
“Because of what we?re facing, next year is going to be very tough because a lot of the legislation is emotion-driven,” said Council Chairwoman Cathy Vitale, R-District 5.
At a glance in ?08
» The SMART Fund pays for stream restoration that could either be an optional fee on all property or a fee on new development.
» The General Development Plan outlines countywide zoning and land use and gets its 10-year update in 2008.
» The fiscal 2009 budget faces dwindling revenues because of state cuts and a sluggish housing market that could mean more cuts in grant funding and education.
