The County Council approved several bills at Monday?s legislative session. Here are a few of the highlights:
» Council Bills 30 and 31: Amending the county code to require that presubmission community meetings for conditional use and zoning board petitions be held in public buildings within five miles of the location. These laws bring the meetings in line with recent changes to residential subdivision meetings.
The bills also direct petitioners to notify community associations. The council will continue to review ways to include homeowners associations in that communication, which couldn?t be done through this legislation.
» Council Bill 26: Requiring property owners to hire a licensed utility contractor to make certain water and sewer connections at new developments. Before, Department of Public Works officials provided the connections, but this change allows the county to focus more on maintenance of county-owned infrastructure, officials said.
» Council Bill 32: Establishing a tax credit for property jointly owned by a resident and the Howard County Housing Commission. Residents who own a portion of the land through an affordable housing program will pay the same percent of taxes as the percent of land they own.
The council also introduced several new bills, which will be the subject of a public hearing June 18. Amongthem were:
» Council Bill 37: Allowing the county government to buy the development rights to more than 166 acres of farmland in Mount Airy from Calvin Murray. The $6.6 million purchase is possible through the county?s agricultural land preservation program.
» Council Bill 39: Amending the county zoning restrictions to remove the two-family dwelling conditional use from certain residential zoning districts. This bill, introduced by Councilwoman Courtney Watson, D-District 1, follows proposed zoning regulation amendments aimed at curbing so-called infill developments.
