Adequate Public

Crowded schools delay the construction of subdivisions in Howard County - all, that is, except the very smallest developments. Though relatively few houses have been built under this exemption, residents are beginning to question its wisdom in a climate where every little bit of classroom space counts. People who want to build another house on their property - or two, if the land is empty - can do so without being held up for as long as four years by crowding in local elementary and middle schools.

A developer who has been trying for more than two decades to build a subdivision in Solley can go forward with a lawsuit challenging the validity of a secrecy clause in an agreement with Anne Arundel County, under a judge's ruling filed yesterday. Rebuffing the county's move to dismiss the case, County Circuit Judge Joseph P. Manck said the developer, Jane Nes of Baltimore, did not waive her right to proceed with the suit by failing to challenge the secrecy clause's validity when she brought her subdivision plan to the Board of Appeals for one of many required approvals.

A bill that would temporarily halt home building around several crowded elementary schools in western Howard County was unanimously approved Monday night by the County Council. In the same session, higher rates for taxicabs were approved. The council voted to close the Bushy Park and Lisbon school districts to new development in 2003, in addition to shutting off development around Pointers Run and Atholton elementary schools that year. County enrollment projections put Pointers Run and Atholton over 115 percent of their designed capacity by 2003.

A Howard County citizens committee last night edged closer to recommending a middle school crowding test for new home development, though a final vote was postponed until next month. In a key vote, the committee appointed last year by County Executive James N. Robey unanimously agreed to recommend a change in the way development can be limited - using county planning districts instead of school district boundary lines. In that way, committee members and Joseph W. Rutter Jr., county planning director, said the law would regulate developers based on the adequacy of all public facilities within that planning district.

Stop crowding in Howard schools now, not later I was pleased to see Larry Carson's article ("Panel delays vote on schools," Jan. 26) concerning the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO). Having attended and testified at the County Council meeting to address and support the amendment to the APFO, I am pleased to note Councilman Guy J. Guzzone's desire to explore the issue and consider other alternatives. However, the amendment is fine as is and would go a long way towards addressing the issue.

Solving overcrowding in Howard We read with interest your editorial ("A growing concern," Jan. 6) concerning our proposal to include a middle school test in the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. As you noted, there is general agreement on the APFO Committees recommendations. We support reducing the test for elementary school capacity from 120 percent to 115 percent and limiting the number of new homes allowed in an elementary school region that is at more than 100 percent of capacity.

Balto. County bill would not generate `adequate facilities'The "adequate public facilities" bill Baltimore County Executive C. M. Dutch Ruppersberger has recently proposed is an insult to those who have begged the county for years to revise development laws so that schools, roads and recreational facilities are planned and provided before new homes are built.This deceptively named bill will not achieve that goal. A few specifics are enlightening.In determining whether a school district will become over-crowded, the new law counts students already in the school and the students to be generated by the development being proposed.

The Adequate Public Facilities Committee will meet tonight to hear recommendations from county and school officials regarding the county's law regulating home construction based on crowding in county schools and on roads.The 15-member committee has suggested lowering the overcrowding threshold that triggers a building ban from 120 percent to 115 percent of elementary school capacity. The ban's intent is to limit the number of homes built near crowded schools.Several County Council members, including Ellicott City Republican Christopher J. Merdon, say they'd like to examine the possibility of lowering the crowding threshold further, to 110 percent capacity.

A long-awaited report evaluating the effectiveness of a 7-year-old law that ties development in Howard County to the construction of roads and schools is being held back a little longer.The Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Committee -- with two of its 15 members absent because of vacations -- met last night in a conference room of the Columbia Gateway Building to approve a final draft of a list of recommendations for submission to County Executive James N. Robey.But debates over wording and new suggestions prompted some members to wonder aloud whether the committee should meet again.

Yawns and caffeinated beverages were plentiful at a late-night meeting of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Committee last week, but the group finally plowed through the schools issue of a 7-year-old law that links development to capacity in schools.Ending their meeting 10 minutes shy of midnight Thursday, 16 members of the committee compiled several key recommendations that drew generally favorable reactions. Member William Waff did not attend because he was at a Board of Appeals hearing.