The Baltimore County development process is at best confusing. To the attorneys who represent certain developers, it can be very profitable since few others can navigate the twists and turns of its convoluted pathways. To other developers, citizens and community groups, it is a brick wall barring them from what should be an open process.
To get a waiver from the full development process, a developer appeals to the Baltimore County Development Review Committee. That committee is a panel of representatives from various county departments. The full development process includes a community input meeting and a hearing before a county hearing officer at which community concerns must be addressed.
Thedeveloper or their attorney informally summarizes their proposal before the DRC and requests an exemption. No formal opportunity for citizen comment exists, and because no official minutes are taken, there is no public record. This is often the only public exposure the project receives.
No construction plans are required to determine the appropriateness of an exemption. Often, the only plan shown is an earlier site plan with a red line generalizing the area of proposed development. The committee takes the petitioner at their word that no zoning changes, environmental issues, traffic or other mitigating factors will later surface.
There are several exemptions from the full development process. Most common is the “minor refinement to a previous plan.” Here the course reverts to a long defunct process with no public input requirement. It does not matter that the current proposal may bear no resemblance to the plan it is linked to, or that the size and scope of it are greatly increased. This was recently the case when a 198-unit condominium proposal in Hunt Valley was linked to a 1979 plan for a mall that no longer exists.
Also popular is the “lot line adjustment” exemption, which can range in size from a few inches, permitting construction of an in-law dwelling on a property with one existing dwelling, its intended purpose, to a multi-acre subdivision. This too, eliminates the community input requirement.
It is unknown whether any exemption has ever resulted in complications so severe that a proposal had to revert to the full development process. Community activists are hard-pressed to think of one. This is not to say that problems do not arise; two partially constructed houses were recently ordered removed when it was discovered they were built in a wetland. Ordinarily, obstacles are overcome behind closed doors between county officials, developers and their attorneys.
The first level of appeal for DRC decisions is to the County Board of Appeals, where a three-member panel relies largely on the testimony of attorneys to interpret the complex county code. Therefore, without an attorney, the cost of which starts in the $3,000 ? $4,000 range, citizens stand little chance of success. Higher appeals can be made to the Maryland Circuit and Appellate Courts but due to cost, this is generally not an option for community groups. Consequently, many precedent setting state rulings that go overlooked at the county level never make it to a higher court where they would likely be upheld.
County Executive Jim Smith started the Renaissance Redevelopment Process and assembled several Urban Design Action Teams, which include much citizen participation. Unfortunately, their usefulness is undermined by continued use of the existing system.
The Baltimore County development process needs a complete overhaul, from which a standardized process that gives equal clout to citizens and developers will emerge. This revamped system should not contain loopholes through which substantial projects can be streamlined, effectively cutting citizen input out of the equation.
Corinne Becker writes about quality of life issues in the community. She is president of Riderwood Hills Community Assoiation in Towson, Baltimore County. She can be reached at [email protected].
