Conservation Ordinance

Carroll Commissioner Donald I. Dell said yesterday he is not particularly worried that Mount Airy's forest conservation ordinance usurps county authority, now that he knows more about the town law.The commissioners plan to discuss the issue with Mayor Gerald R. Johnson Jr. tomorrow at their quarterly meeting with the mayors of Carroll's eight towns.Last week, Mr. Dell said he did not feel comfortable with having county staff members enforce the town ordinance when the commissioners did not know what the ordinance said.

Atlee Edrington is ready to declare victory and start harvesting trees as soon as the County Commissioners clear his path by approving a change in the forest conservation law.The county's Environmental Affairs Advisory Board unanimously approved last week a measure that would exempt some timber harvests from the county's forest conservation ordinance.The proposed change faces opposition from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which has the authority to disapprove or order modifications in local programs.

A recycling corporation that plans to remove lead-laden ash from an old pit in Finksburg won support last night from Carroll's Environmental Affairs Advisory Board (EAAB) for reduced tree-planting requirements on the property.The board's action becomes a recommendation to the county environmental services administrator, James E. Slater Jr.Mr. Slater said last night that he is "not sure yet" whether he will follow the recommendation to reduce Phoenix Recycling Inc.'s planting obligation under the county forest conservation ordinance from 3 acres to .4 acre of trees at the site.

Lynn R. Pipher and other Carroll farmers say the county's forest conservation program not only infringes on their rights to harvest timber but is unconstitutional.Pipher, a Woodbine farmer, cannot get a county permit to cut timber unless he agrees -- by signing a "declaration of intent" -- not to subdivide his land for seven years."I am extremely reluctant to sign away any of my rights as TC property owner without recompense," Pipher told a county environmental board at a public hearing last week.

Carroll's commissioners are reviewing a final draft of a policy that would allow builders to tap into "tree banks" when they must plant trees to comply with the county's forest conservation ordinance.Under the so-called banking program, developers may buy the rights to trees that have been newly planted in designated areas specifically for that purpose, county officials have said.The program allows developers to avoid having to plant trees to compensate for those they have destroyed if they can prove that trees could not be replanted on the developed property.

Agencies to seek waiver to forest lawTwo Carroll agencies will likely seek variances to the county's forest conservation ordinance, said James E. Slater, administrator of the Office of Environmental Services.The Recreation and Parks Department wants a variance to count recent plantings as part of a proposed forest bank.The variance is needed because not all of the species are on the county's approved species list for forest-related projects.Under the county's forest conservation ordinance, anyone disturbing 25,000 square feet or more of land must replace any trees felled during construction.

Creating a "forest bank" and relaxing restrictions for municipalities under the county forest conservation ordinance are good ideas, Carroll County residents said at a hearing yesterday concerning amendments to the ordinance.But once the law has been amended, leave it alone for a while so the county staff can enforce it, Westminster Mayor W. Benjamin Brown suggested to the county commissioners."I believe at the time you passed it [the county forest conservation ordinance], you said you had a basic understanding and wanted the staff to go out and enforce it," said Mayor Brown, who is running for county commissioner.

A Finksburg construction company caught the county government unprepared when it filed the first appeal of a forest conservation ordinance decision in the ordinance's 14-month history.The county government didn't have a procedure for handling appeals when Kibler Construction Co. Inc. filed its challenge Feb. 9.An assistant county attorney and the hearings coordinator from the county office of administrative hearings have drawn one up, so now a hearing can be scheduled before the county commissioners.

The Carroll County commissioners yesterday adopted amendments to the county's forest conservation ordinance that would allow the creation of a forest banking plan and would give credit to developers who plant trees in towns with tree-management plans.Under the forest banking program, developers who can't meet forest conservation regulations may buy easement rights from property owners who create "banks" of forests."Property owners can capitalize on the banks they create by selling rights to developers who can't plant on-site at their developments," said Neil Ridgely, the county's landscaping and forest conservation program manager.

Two county commissioners are supporting a bill that might make it easier for developers to circumvent the county forest conservation ordinance.Supporters of the bill say it is an effort to help an 82-year-old Finksburg-area resident who wants to cut trees, but refuses to sign a pledge not to subdivide his land for seven years. The forest conservation ordinance requires the pledge.But nothing in the bill, sponsored by Carroll's General Assembly delegation, would stop a developer from buying wooded acreage, then getting a waiver of the seven-year ban from the county government.

Two county commissioners are supporting a bill that might make it easier for developers to circumvent the county forest conservation ordinance.Supporters of the bill say it is an effort to help an 82-year-old Finksburg-area resident who wants to cut trees, but refuses to sign a pledge not to subdivide his land for seven years. The forest conservation ordinance requires the pledge.But nothing in the bill, sponsored by Carroll's General Assembly delegation, would stop a developer from buying wooded acreage, then getting a waiver of the seven-year ban from the county government.

The owner of Four Seasons Sports Complex in Hampstead must comply with the Forest Conservation Ordinance even though his construction project will not disturb any trees, a citizens board ruled yesterday.Afterward, Environmental Affairs Advisory Board members said they were not happy that the law required them to make the ruling and agreed to meet next month to discuss amending the ordinance, which was enacted last year."I personally am dissatisfied with not being able to give him a certain degree of latitude.

Carroll's commissioners may be backing off from their pledge to retain a forest conservation program manager on staff.Commissioners W. Benjamin Brown and Richard T. Yates said they would fill the position after Neil M. Ridgely, the county's first landscape and forest conservation program manager, resigned in January.Now, however, Mr. Yates and Commissioner Donald I. Dell have voted to add the position to a list of possible budget-cut targets.The job involves working with developers to assure that the fewest possible trees are cut down for subdivisions, commercial or industrial projects, and reviewing developers' plans to replace and add trees to meet county forest conservation ordinance requirements.

Developers may pay partial bonds before each phase of a subdivision is built to meet tree planting requirements without harming the environment, the county's environmental oversight board concluded yesterday.The Environmental Affairs Advisory Board will recommend to the county commissioners that when a subdivision is built in phases, the developer should be permitted to post forest conservation performance bonds for each phase as it is scheduled for construction.The bonds help guarantee the developer will plant trees as required or cover tree planting costs in case of bankruptcy.

Neil Ridgely, Carroll County's landscape and forest conservation manager, announced Friday he is quitting to manage a tree and shrub farm in Linwood.Mr. Ridgely, 46, of Finksburg was a Democratic candidate for county commissioner last fall. He lost in the primary.He said he is not leaving his county job as a result of the election, but because the opportunity to manage the farm presented itself.He will work at Clear Ridge Native Plant Nursery in the 200 block of Clear Ridge Road. Joe and Sharon Barley own the business, which is on their 100-acre farm.

Kevin Dayhoff owns a landscape design business and also serves on the Carroll County Environmental Affairs Advisory Board, which, among various duties, oversees implementation of the county's forest conservation ordinance. At the board's last meeting, because Mr. Dayhoff handed his card to a witness, he now finds himself answering unfair charges that he was soliciting business.Mr. Dayhoff was appointed to represent the county's environmental interests. By his own account, Mr. Dayhoff believes his job on the board is to promote an environmentalist ethic.

County landscaper Neil Ridgely believes the committee writing a forest conservation ordinance has come up with a draft that could become a model for the state.The county's proposed ordinance, due beforestate officials on Thursday, is more stringent than the state's. Carroll's ordinance emphasizes forest conservation and, among other things, makes the review process "less contentious," Ridgely said."If (the ordinance) stays intact between now and December, I believe we will have a good ordinance," Ridgely said.

Atlee Edrington is ready to declare victory and start harvesting trees as soon as the County Commissioners clear his path by approving a change in the forest conservation law.The county's Environmental Affairs Advisory Board unanimously approved last week a measure that would exempt some timber harvests from the county's forest conservation ordinance.The proposed change faces opposition from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which has the authority to disapprove or order modifications in local programs.

The Carroll County commissioners yesterday adopted amendments to the county's forest conservation ordinance that would allow the creation of a forest banking plan and would give credit to developers who plant trees in towns with tree-management plans.Under the forest banking program, developers who can't meet forest conservation regulations may buy easement rights from property owners who create "banks" of forests."Property owners can capitalize on the banks they create by selling rights to developers who can't plant on-site at their developments," said Neil Ridgely, the county's landscaping and forest conservation program manager.