Citizens Express Concerns at Last Public Hearing on Comprehensive Rezoning

Monday's meeting of the Anne Arundel County Council, the last public hearing on comprehensive rezoning for Districts 2, 3 and 5, filled the council's chambers with a final wave of citizens concerned over rezoning proposals for Severna Park, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, Broadneck and beyond.

The council is scheduled to vote on the rezoning ordinance for Districts 2,3 and 5, Bill 66-11 (see attached PDF) at the Dec. 5 meeting. Also on the agenda are:

• A bill that would create a sanitary subdistrict for Sylvan Shores in Riva to recover costs for extending water and wastewater services to that area;
• Several bills related to funding school construction projects;
• A bill that would allow the county to charge residents a fee that would go to a Stormwater Management and Restoration Fund, which would provide money for stormwater projects.

Much of the discussion at Monday’s meeting focused on rezoning a 26-acre property on Long Hill Road in Pasadena. District 3 Councilman Derek Fink recused himself from the matter and left the room, saying his exit was "because of one of my business associations."

Gary Koch is the owner of the Long Hill Road property and the landlord for one of the businesses Fink is invested in, The Greene Turtle.

Koch requested his 26 acres of undeveloped land on Long Hill Road be upzoned from R1, low-density residential, to R15, high-density residential. With that zoning, the property could be developed into multifamily units. The request complied with the county’s General Development Plan, and so it earned the recommendation of the county’s office of planning and zoning.

Throughout the public hearing on Monday, the R15 zoning took heat from surrounding residents who said they already feel sandwiched by dense developments. They said they were concerned about increased traffic in the area, among the other infrastructure strains that come with an influx of residential growth.

During the meeting, the Office of Planning and Zoning’s Officer Larry Tom said they had changed their stance, and wanted to keep the land at its original R1 zoning. Part of the change of heart was due to testimony, he said.

“Their same concerns resonated with the administration,” Tom said. “We’ve worked with the council to take our recommendations out of our bills in light of significant community opposition.”

Because Fink, Pasadena’s representative, recused himself from any legislation on the matter, County Executive John Leopold asked for Council Chairman Dick Ladd to introduce the rezoning amendment instead. The motion would have erased the R15 recommendation on Koch’s land, and it would remain as an R1 property.

When a vote was finally taken, the council was split by a 3-3 vote, with Councilmen Ladd (District 5) John Grasso (District 2) and Chris Trumbauer (District 6) voting yes; and Benoit, Jerry Walker (District 7) and Daryl Jones (District 1) voting no.

Without Fink to break the tie, the motion to keep the property at an R1 zoning failed.

If the council approves comprehensive rezoning bill 66-11 on Dec. 5, the R15 zoning on Long Hill Road will stand, and even a veto from Leopold won’t be able to remove it.