Approval Process

CONFLICTS OF interest are a reality of modern life. They have to be acknowledged and dealt with. But imagined conflicts shouldn't paralyze governments, businesses or other institutions.Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens' decision to review all major subdivision approvals and waivers does not get at the heart of the conflict-of-interest problem that has arisen over the county's development approval process. It does, however, threaten to overwhelm her with work that requires a technical background she doesn't possess.

MIDDLE RIVER RACING Association seeks to build a 54,800-seat auto speedway by the year 2000 west of Fort Meade, near the Anne Arundel-Howard county boundary. It wants Anne Arundel government to expedite the approval process. Considering the magnitude of the project and its impact on nearby Russett and Maryland City, any effort to streamline the process is likely to be interpreted as coming at the public's expense.Even though the abandoned Laurel Sand & Gravel Co. at Route 32 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway being eyed for the oval has industrial zoning -- a "moonscape," an executive of the racing group called it -- such a project requires a special-exception hearing.

THOMAS W. Redmond Sr. is making a mistake by pushing legislation that would excuse a proposed racetrack in Pasadena from Anne Arundel County's special exemption process.Rather than boost the chances for this $100 million project, special treatment might be the kiss of death.Mr. Redmond, the county councilman from Pasadena, is proposing a rewrite of the zoning code to allow "motor sports racing complexes" as a conditional use rather than a special exception. The difference is significant.Under special exceptions, a hearing officer presides over a quasi-judicial proceeding in which the public has input.

Renewing city beats wrecking countrysideThe two divergent perspectives on the elusive American Dream printed in The Sun Feb. 23 are of great importance to the future of this state.Jacques Kelly's column, ''The suburbs hold no appeal when you love your big old house and friendly neighbors,'' gives us hope that urban living is not only alive and well, but thriving in neighborhoods like Charles Village.While mindful of our city's shortcomings, great numbers of Baltimoreans are committed to righting the wrongs and injustices in order to build a better city.

BY RAISING money at a record rate before next year's election, Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary is doing what comes naturally to incumbents facing re-election: Accumulate as much cash as possible to deter potential challengers.His $370,000 to date is on pace to top the $475,577 raised by Robert R. Neall in 1990 -- and all this without a declared opponent.As the county's top elected official, Mr. Gary is in the position to tap many pools of money to fill a campaign war chest.The most obvious targets are companies and people who do business with the county.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and the Potomac Electric Power Co. have filed a joint application with the primary federal regulatory agency charged with approving the two utilities' planned merger.Approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is perhaps the most important federal regulatory hurdle for the expected March 1997 formation of Constellation Energy Corp., a $15.1 billion power concern that would be the nation's ninth-largest utility.FERC approval is important because the commission is largely responsible for directing and implementing fundamental changes in the electric utility industry, changes that have touched off a flurry of mergers and that are expected to result in significant deregulation.

IMPROVISING IS a much admired quality in jazz, but making up the rules as one goes along is hardly appropriate for government.Carroll County government's granting of a grading permit to developer Martin K. P. Hill for his new project in Hampstead without the town's approval is unprecedented. It is a violation of the county's own ordinance as well as a slap at all eight of Carroll's incorporated towns.On Dec. 18, the county issued Mr. Hill a grading permit for the 90-unit Roberts Field condominium community without Hampstead's approval.

The county commissioners approved an ordinance yesterday restricting clusters of communications towers to industrial land, a move that effectively kills a six-tower project proposed by WCBM-AM Radio for a South Carroll farm.The Owings Mills radio station has faced stiff opposition from neighbors of its proposed tower site on Hoods Mill Road near Route 97 and the Howard County line.WCBM Vice President Louis Mangione had planned to build six 350-foot radio towers on about 55 acres of a 400-acre farm owned by Harold and Esther Mercer.

'Input' Editorial Was MisguidedThe Oct. 22 editorial, "Fast Track and the Fast Shuffle," endorsing the proposed legislation calling for additional public input to the building development approval process in Harford County, is totally misguided.Our company has built homes, developed residential communities and commercial properties in Harford County for more than 45 years. We know very well the importance of public input, not only for our future public relations but also for gathering information to satisfy any issues we may have overlooked in planning our various projects.

Economic development has moved to the top of Carroll County's agenda, and government officials are now searching for ways to remove impediments hindering business development.County and town officials spent an entire day recently talking among themselves at Carroll Community College about ways to increase Carroll County's industrial and commercial base.At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce's leadership development program, the participants focused most of their discussion with a panel of editorial writers and broadcast station managers on ways to improve the county's business environment.

Miracyle Thompson, a pregnant Baltimore County mother of two little boys who have sickle cell disease, was skipping meals and battling with angry doctors over unpaid bills. Her husband's sales job wasn't bringing in enough money to support the growing family. Seeking help, she applied in February for state food and medical assistance. Federal law requires that those emergency benefits be approved within 30 days. A month ticked by, and then a letter from the state Department of Human Resources arrived: "An agency delay has occurred beyond our control."

At the request of some Turners Station residents, the National Association of State Fire Marshals and federal regulators are scheduled to hold a meeting today in Washington about the approval process for liquefied natural gas projects. "Some folks who, to date, haven't been involved - who missed those initial hearings - wanted to learn about the LNG approval process," said Peter O'Rourke of the National Association of State Fire Marshals. AES Corp. is seeking approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build an LNG terminal at the Sparrows Point shipyard and an 88-mile pipeline into Pennsylvania.

ISSUE: During a forum last week, the seven candidates for Anne Arundel county executive criticized the county's approval process for development, with most calling for an overhaul of the Department of Planning and Zoning to cut red tape and the time necessary to obtain permits. A revision of land-use laws last year was intended to establish a more usable set of rules without the inconsistencies that hampered previous regulations and led to delays in the review process. But representatives of the development community say that has had little practical effect because the department lacks enough planners to review the thousands of proposals they receive each year.

WASHINGTON -- Circumventing normal practices, the nation's top drug regulator seized control of a request to sell the "morning-after" pill without a prescription and delayed the drug's approval, two senior Food and Drug Administration officials told lawyers suing the agency over the decision. Lester M. Crawford, then acting commissioner of the FDA, intervened in early 2005 as the agency's staff was preparing to authorize over-the-counter sales to women 17 years and older, the two FDA officials said in sworn depositions last month.

The Baltimore County Council is to vote Monday on legislation that would give property owners four years to begin building houses after their development plans are approved -- and force those who haven't to start over in the approval process. The proposal is designed in part to require property owners who seek to build housing under old development plans to comply with current regulations. As open land in the county becomes scarcer, some owners are amending plans -- including some that were approved decades ago -- by carving up their properties into multiple lots and building more houses than were initially approved, officials say. The problem, as supporters of the bill see it: The amended plans often go through old processes that lack current requirements, such as public hearings.

WASHINGTON -- As bird flu spreads more quickly than expected into Europe, the Food and Drug Administration announced measures yesterday to speed up the development and approval of new vaccines. The agency proposed the guidelines amid concerns about the ability of the United States to deal with an outbreak of an avian flu pandemic. Companies that make flu vaccines rely on a slow, egg-based process, and FDA officials expressed hope that the new guidelines would encourage other manufacturers to step in and use faster technologies to develop additional vaccines.

FDA sets standard for drug safety Merrill Goozner is misguided in questioning the thoroughness and safety of the Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process, which has been held up as the worldwide standard for safety ("Protocol of convenience," Opinion Commentary, Dec. 19). The user-fee law he referenced was implemented in 1993 and has had no impact on safety, contrary to Mr. Goozner's assertions. The safety record is clear - in the last 20 years, fewer than 3 percent of medicines have been withdrawn from the market for safety reasons.

IT MAY be difficult for private homeowners or shopkeepers to see their property condemned and replaced by office complexes and shopping malls, even with fair compensation. But a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court seemed to strike the right balance in last week's 5-4 ruling allowing cities to take private land in the larger public interest of economic development. The case involved efforts by New London, Conn., to recapture tax dollars and jobs after decades of decline. By 2000, after the federal government had closed a waterfront naval facility, spiking unemployment and helping to push the city's population to a near 80-year low, state and local officials had targeted the city for revitalization and authorized a private nonprofit development agency to help bring the waterfront area back to life.

The Baltimore County Council is likely to revamp today a rarely used development process that was meant to encourage creative, high-quality development. One of the most complicated pieces of legislation the council has attempted in years, the measure would also overhaul the way construction of assisted-living facilities is approved in the county. Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, the Pikesville-Ruxton Democrat who wrote the bill, said he has seen a great need for more housing for the elderly in the county.

Work is set to begin today on the Army's accelerated mustard agent disposal program at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a $200 million project that is expected to rid the installation of the banned chemical weapon by the end of the year. Defense Department approval for a smaller disposal building than the project originally called for arrived last week. Construction is expected to start today. The approval occurred two weeks later than expected, but the project manager said he's optimistic the Army can meet its goal of destroying the 1,621 tons of mustard agent - which blisters the eyes, skin and lungs - nearly three years ahead of schedule.