Development Review

The county planning commission agreed yesterday to explore a proposal that would curtail the development review process for small businesses, saving them time and money.If the proposal wins final approval, it would trim up to two months from the review process, a bureaucratic labyrinth that takes up to a year to complete."It's a shortcut that's needed to cut out a lot of red tape," said Maurice E. Wheatley, a commission member.The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission took no formal action yesterday.

Weeks ago, when 5th District County Commissioner Doug Howard scheduled his April 30 meeting with Eldersburg residents, he assumed it would be the usual "get-together" where the commissioner gives updates on ongoing issues such as the county budget, funding for schools and the future of the beleaguered Carrolltown Center mall. But by the time this past week's meeting rolled around, a more pressing matter steam rolled other issues aside - namely the controversial proposal to build a 235-unit retirement facility on the 16-acre Ely property near the Oklahoma and Bennett roads in Eldersburg.

CARROLL'S CURRENT fiscal problems are driving the county commissioners to make enemies they don't need. The county government's continuing quest to find revenue sources recently resulted in a totally unnecessary battle with the county's eight municipalities. It was over the magnitude of the increase in development processing fees that the county charges towns for handling their permit review and inspections.The commissioners operate from the premise that the various development reviews should generate sufficient sums to be self-supporting.

More shutdowns are predicted at the Howard County Soil Conservation District after the County Council approved slightly higher fees Monday night for required development review plans. The move continues the long struggle between the Ulman administration and the independent agency. New legislation included a bill that would preserve 500 acres of farmland at historic Doughoregan Manor, which is also the subject of a zoning board hearing Wednesday night — part of a plan to rezone a portion of the property for 325 new homes clustered in one section of the 892-acre estate.

The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to make a decision tonight on whether citizen comment should be part of the development review process.Community groups, primarily from South Carroll, have urged the six-member panel to create a public voice in development, allowing comment long before bulldozers arrive on a property. Many residents feel they have no formal say in the process.The proposal before the planning commission calls for posting signs on any property that would be developed and allowing citizen input at subdivision advisory committee (SAC)

Largely in response to developers' complaints that the system was slow, unresponsive and cumbersome, the past Board of County Commissioners consolidated the development review process and hired an experienced director to make it work.Several prominent Carroll developers and others whose livelihood depend on the system say they have noticed marked improvements since J. Michael Evans took charge of the then-new Department of Permits and Regulations about three years ago.Under a government reorganization plan, the new Board of Commissioners has proposed going back to the pre-Evans days by splitting development review into several departments, which developers say could nullify progress and re-create old problems.

After nearly an hour of debate yesterday, the Maryland Senate failed to overturn Gov. Parris N. Glendening's veto of a controversial Carroll County bill that would have exempted some farmland from county development review rules.The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Larry E. Haines -- the county delegation chairman and owner of a Westminster real estate company -- led the effort to overturn the veto, but his arguments apparently were not persuasive.The 18-29 vote fell well short of the three-fifths majority needed to override the governor's veto.

A story in Tuesday's Carroll County edition incorrectly stated the number of lots that farmers would be allowed to subdivide under proposed legislation exempting agricultural land from county adequate public facilities regulations. If Senate Bill 649 is approved by the General Assembly, county farmers could develop as many as six lots without facilities review.The Sun regrets the error.State planners and Carroll's only Democratic legislator have joined local slow-growth activists in opposing a bill that would exempt farmland from county rules on development review.

Developers planning to turn the historic Oella Mill into upscale apartments are seeking a waiver to Baltimore County's development review process that would exempt them from holding a community input meeting. Community activists are angry that Forest City Residential Group, a Cleveland-based developer, is asking the county for a "limited exemption" that would also allow them to circumvent a hearing before a county zoning commissioner. In November, Forest City announced plans to turn the 19th-century mill at 840 Oella Ave., an eclectic emporium of art and antiques dealers, into apartments that would command rents of $1,400 to $3,000 per month.

TODAY Landfill meeting -- Eastern Sanitary Landfill will hold its bimonthly meeting at 10 a.m. at 6257 Days Cove Road, White Marsh, to discuss operations of the landfill. 410-887-3188. Development review -- The Department of Permits and Development Management's Development Review Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. in Room 123, County Office Building, 111 W. Chesapeake Ave., Towson. The request is for a development refinement to construct a hotel at 8477 Cordon Way, White Marsh. 410-887-3353.

A wooded area at the edge of a sprawling Pikesville cemetery becomes the site of a proposed townhouse community. In Towson, developers seeking to expand a retail complex add a wrinkle that its neighbors don't like: plans for a 600-bed college dormitory. And in Bowleys Quarters, the parking lot behind an aging strip mall is staked out for a new Wal-Mart. All were proposed in Baltimore County, and all were allowed to move forward - without a requirement for public hearings. They were instead granted "exemptions" to the full review process by the county's Development Review Committee.

TODAY Planning Board -- The county Planning Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. in Room 407 of the New Courts Building, 401 Bosley Ave., Towson, for a capital improvement program work session. 410- 887-2450. THURSDAY Community meeting -- Greater Parkville Community Council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Parkville Recreation and Senior Center, 8601 Harford Road. County Councilmen Joseph Bartenfelder, Vincent J. Gardina and T. Bryan McIntire will be guest speakers. 410-668-2580. Police meeting -- Baltimore County Police Precinct No. 03 (Franklin)