County Council Discusses Workforce Housing, Creamatories and Rezoning

An ambitious bill that would use taxpayer dollars to incentivize developers to construct more housing in the county fell under scrutiny of a county official Monday night.

The legislation, introduced by Councilman Daryl Jones (D-1st District), would open the door to developers interested in building more workforce housing. This comes during a time when, depending on who you listen to, the county still has a surplus of housing available.

Alan Friedman, director of government relations for Anne Arundel County, said this was the wrong time to be incentivizing new developments. He said the county should instead be helping new home buyers buy homes.

Jones’ legislation, however, claims that there is a lack of available homes on the market, and now is the time to begin expansion.

Friedman unveiled a 20-minute presentation to the council on the matter that began shortly after midnight. But Chairman Dick Ladd (R-5th District) said they would continue the discussion of the legislation at the next council meeting, scheduled for Aug. 15.

Crematories Debated

The council is in the process of drawing a line in the sand on how crematories operate in the county, and one business owner fears it would jeopardize their livelihood.

A new state law mandates that funeral establishments be separate from crematories. Under the county’s current law, they are treated the same. But a new proposal introduced by Ladd would segregate them.

The passage of the bill would only affect new businesses. Established businesses would have to abide by the change if they expand, remodel or make a serious change to the structure of their business.

Ladd introduced the legislation, saying this was a controversial topic, and he had done his homework.

“The use of crematories is growing, but this is still a touchy issue,” he said.

At risk for some residents of Millersville was a new crematorium being built in an office park near the Shipley’s Choice community called Maryland Cremation Services. Some residents who spoke Monday said they were concerned about the air quality, with ash being blown up smokestacks into the nearby air.

Planning and Zoning Director Larry Tom said his department had no objection to the proposed legislation, and called the science behind the environmental impact of such a business “unclear.”

The owner of the business in question, Dorota Marshall, said she and her family have been the subject of rumors and accusations, which she said were untrue. She said if this bill went through, her business would cease to operate.

“This bill will attempt to take away my livelihood," she said. "This bill not only threatens my livelihood it sets a bad precedent of changing the rules of the game.”

Her husband, Sean Marshall, said he and his family had invested $120,000 into the business. He fears the bill would invalidate that sum.

“It will completely devastate us as a business if this passes,” he said. “It would put our whole future in peril.”

However, when asked by the council, Tom said he didn’t believe the bill would keep the Marshalls from opening.

“My understanding is that this bill would not preclude them from opening,” he said.

Ladd later said that this bill was not about a particular person or business, but was a policy the county needed to adopt because of changes in the state law.

A final vote will be heard on the matter at the council’s meeting on Aug. 15.

Rezoning for Districts 6 and 7

On Monday, the final 15 additions to the county’s 10-year comprehensive rezoning process were added to the table for Districts 6 and 7. The deadline for the new proposals was Aug. 1.

A final vote for the full package of 46 amendments will be taken at the council’s next meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 15.

For more rezoning information, visit the county’s website.