Press Room

City passes public facilities bill
It doesn't include roads, traffic

By Nicole Young, Staff Writer

A bill mandating that some infrastructure catch up - and keep up - with the rate of development in the city was approved by the City Council last night.

But the biggest piece, a requirement that roads adequately handle additional congestion, didn't make the final cut.

First introduced last September by Alderman David Cordle, R-Ward 5, the bill took a full year to make it through the process and required the help of Alderman Ross Arnett, D-Ward 8.

Had the ordinance been on the books in recent years, for example, it could have thrown a monkey wrench into major developments such as Park Place, 1901 West and the Severn Savings Bank building on the West Street circle, subjecting them to stricter standards.

Mr. Cordle originally proposed a set of nine standards for traffic, stormwater control, police and fire protection and other aspects of development, but the revised version is scaled back, leaving traffic, roads and schools out of the bill.

"It's never going to please everyone," Mr. Cordle said. "But we need to quit dragging our feet on this."

He said he wanted to leave anything the city doesn't have complete and immediate control over out of the set of standards.

The bill also was delayed by work on the city's comprehensive plan, which is revised every 10 years to address infrastructure, land use, zoning, transportation, economic development, housing demographics and population growth. Still being worked on by city officials and residents, the comprehensive plan should go into effect next year.

The adequate facilities bill passed by a margin of 7-2, with Aldermen Julie Stankivic, I-Ward 6, and Sam Shropshire, D-Ward 7, voting against it.

"Any adequacy of public facilities ordinance that doesn't take into consideration traffic is a weak, ineffective APFO," Mr. Shropshire said. "It doesn't deal with the overwhelming impact of development in our city."

Ms. Stankivic agreed, saying the bill had "no teeth in it."

The city Planning Commission also reported unfavorably on the bill, saying it could expose the city to litigation, inhibiting its ability to implement the comprehensive plan.

Implementing the adequate facilities bill could cost the city as much as $225,000 for the development of the computer system need to identify and track city projects, as well as hiring a part-time staff member, according to a financial impact note prepared for the bill.

Mr. Arnett said department heads will be able to review the bill and offer any suggestions to tweak it over the next 60 days.

Light-rail study

In other council business, Mr. Shropshire and Ms. Stankivic introduced resolutions requesting the General Assembly and state Department of Transportation to develop a feasibility study of constructing a light-rail line down the West Street corridor between the Historic District and Parole, in addition to considering connecting Annapolis to Baltimore and Washington via rail.

"To address traffic, we need to look at a regional transportation network," Ms. Stankivic said. "Widening Route 50 is not the answer."

Published Sept. 11, 2007, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2007 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.