County Exec Vetoes Three Items in Rezoning Bill

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold has vetoed three of the 57 amendments to the most recent comprehensive rezoning bill, saying the additions violate the principles of the process.

Leopold sent the note to the county council regarding Bill 66-11, the rezoning legislation for Council Districts 2, 3 and 5. The letter outlines his reasons for vetoing amendments 32, 52, and 57, which council members added to the bill just before voting between November and December.

 “I find that amendments were added that are unacceptable in that they violate some or all of the important principles that guide us in the comprehensive rezoning process,” Leopold wrote.

Amendment 32, 4110 Mountain Road in Pasadena, would change the property from C2, low-density commercial to C4, high-density commercial. Leopold said this particular request has been recurring for 30 years and he saw no reason to change it now.

“The reasons for those denials are as valid today as they were in the past,” he said.

Amendment 52 assembles multiple plots of land in Severn and rezones them from R1 to R5, a low density to high density residential shift. The affected properties are 913 Wieker Road, 907 S. Wieker Road, and portions of West B&A Road, and Elmhurst Station Road.

In Leopold’s note to the council, he reiterated that the county’s Office of Planning and Zoning opposed increasing the residential density of the area.

Amendment 57, which deals with 7560 Telegraph Road, would change the property from R2, low-density residential, to C2, low-density commercial. Leopold said this change was inconsistent with the surrounding community, which is mostly residential.

When this proposal was up for a vote at the county council in December, it passed narrowly by a 4-3 vote.

Although he vetoed these three items, Leopold signed off on the rest of Bill 66-11.