Permits

CONVENTIONAL wisdom is that Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary has opened the floodgates and allowed residential development to overrun the county.It's wrong.During Mr. Gary's term, home construction -- as measured by dwelling permits -- has been at its lowest levels in years.In 1997, the county issued 2,832 permits for residential construction. That was the fewest permits since 1991, a recession year when 2,554 were granted. The peak was 1993, during Robert R. Neall's administration, when 3,828 permits were issued.

A Baltimore building inspector who was suspended for two months after allegations that he had worked for and accepted cash from contractors has made a remarkable comeback:He's been promoted.Leon A. Peters, an electrical inspector since 1974, has received a nearly $6,000-a-year promotion to direct enforcement of Baltimore's electrical code, even as prosecutors continue to investigate his ties to several contractors he regulated in the past."He was the most qualified person for the job," said Daniel P. Henson III, the city's housing chief.

New-home permits rise nearly 10%The rate at which homebuilders obtained permits for new homes in metropolitan Baltimore rose nearly 10 percent in January, compared with January 1995, according to the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.The council said the Blizzard of '96 may have slowed construction during the month, which is normally very slow for construction-related businesses. The full report painted a more mixed picture than the bottom-line numbers, as a handful of large projects took the edge off an otherwise very slow month for both residential and nonresidential construction.

Commercial construction began to take off around Baltimore during November, and housing construction turned up sharply in response to lower interest rates, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council said yesterday.Developers in metropolitan Baltimore took out permits during November for $64.8 million of new commercial construction, the council said, up from less than $10 million in November 1994. And the value of commercial additions, alterations and repairs exploded to $221 million, up from $33 million in the same month a year earlier.

A senior Baltimore building inspector was suspended without pay yesterday after disclosures that he has unusually close ties with the construction companies he regulates.Leon A. Peters, a supervisor of electrical inspections, was put on indefinite leave after disclosures that he had worked on the side for two contractors and had taken cash payments from others. The city also asked for an immediate investigation by the state's attorney.On Sunday, The Sun reported that Mr. Peters had issued building permits to contractors who employ his son, had accepted cash "tips" for shortcutting the building and inspections process, and had signed off on documents peppered with erroneous and misleading information.

The value of planned commercial and other nonresidential construction in the Baltimore area more than doubled in October, as compared to a year ago, according to building permit figures compiled by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.But October's $14.8 million worth of activity -- a 144.5 percent increase -- belies year-to-date results, which fell 45.3 percent to $162.9 million through the first 10 months of 1994 over the same period last year.The figures indicate that while the local commercial real estate market has been improving, the rebound has yet to result in significant new construction.

Construction remains mixedThe housing construction market remained bullish in August but commercial construction continued its deep sag, according to data released by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.The council reported that building permits for single-family homes rose 10.5 percent from August 1993, a pace close to the 12 percent gain in permits for the year to date. Builders have taken out 7,296 permits for new single-family homes this year through August, the council said.Permits for multifamily housing such as apartments and condominiums fell 10.5 percent and are off 26 percent for the year to an eight-month total of 1,606 units.

Upset about government-sanctioned incinerators, landfills and potentially polluting development in their back yards, angry Marylanders are petitioning the General Assembly to make it easier for them to take their cases to court.Residents, community associations and environmental groups complain that they often find themselves denied a hearing when they object to government permits allowing waste disposal facilities or construction that they fear will harm farms, streams and wetlands.The disillusioned activists say that happens despite a 1978 state law saying courts are "an appropriate forum for seeking protection of the environment."

Satisfied that the spread of zebra mussels can be controlled through less-restrictive measures, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said yesterday that the city will lift the boating moratorium on three city reservoirs in March.The moratorium was imposed last April to protect the city water supply from zebra mussel infestation. Zebra mussels are small organisms that multiply quickly and can clog pipes and cause millions of dollars worth of damage.The moratorium angered recreational boaters and sportsmen who enjoyed angling for bass, rockfish, perch and catfish on the three city reservoirs: Liberty, Loch Raven and Pretty Boy. But city officials considered the precaution necessary to avert the spread of zebra mussels, which can cling to boat bottoms.

Building survey reflects slow recoveryThe latest statistics on Baltimore-area building permits keep alive questions about the strength of the construction recovery.The value of permits for commercial construction fell to $13.1 million in April, an 11 percent drop from the previous April, according to the Baltimore Metropolitan Council. The value of permits for additions and repairs, which has been stronger than that of new construction, fell by 40.5 percent.Council figures for January had offered hope that there would be a fairly strong commercial construction upturn by summer.

GREENBELT -One by one, five watermen admitted yesterday in federal court that they poached more than $2.1 million worth of striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River as part of a black market. With wives and relatives watching, the men - four from Maryland and one from Virginia - pleaded guilty to falsifying catch records to exceed their annual quotas and selling illegal fish to dealers who supplied them to shops and restaurants across the country. Individually, they also admitted to crimes ranging from fishing out of season to conspiring with wholesalers to lie about the species they caught to cover up their activity.

In all likelihood, the U.S. will soon implement a cap-and-trade system to reduce its carbon emissions. Such a system sets a maximum level of pollution that the nation could emit each year. The system would create a limited number of emissions rights or permits that would decline over time. For each ton of carbon a polluter emits, it would need to hold one permit. Polluters would be allowed to buy and sell permits from each other as needed. While some thoughtful people oppose cap-and-trade systems for a variety of good reasons, they have one important economic feature: Economists widely agree that a well-designed cap-and-trade system can minimize the costs of achieving whatever emissions reduction target policymakers choose.

Grand Canyon National Park will start taking applications today for self-guided rafting permits on the Colorado River, using a new lottery that replaces a 26-year-old wait-list system. The lottery will allocate permits for private trips as opposed to those run by commercial outfitters. Private, or noncommercial, trip permits, which have attracted more than 1,000 applicants a year, are among the most coveted and hardest to obtain in the national parks. Whether the lottery will make the permits easier to get is debatable.

Federal Hill residents eager to halt construction on the luxury townhouses along Key Highway soon will square off against developers in a hearing open to the public, a spokeswoman for the city housing department said yesterday. On Monday, opponents submitted an appeal to City Housing Commissioner Paul T. Graziano, asking him to revoke the building permits for the HarborView development. Housing spokeswoman Tania Baker said a hearing must be held but has not been scheduled. The public is invited to the hearing, but only those who filed the appeal and the developer will be allowed to testify.

The developer of an upscale waterfront townhouse complex will not be fined for defying a stop-work order or violating height restrictions, a city housing spokesman said yesterday. But HarborView developer Richard Swirnow was forced to pay the city more than $10,000 in permitting fees so that new plans -- replacing those previously approved by city officials -- could be authorized and construction could continue, housing department spokesman David Tillman said. "The city shares some responsibility," Tillman said.

Baltimore may soon give the boot to drivers who cheat their way into coveted curbside parking spaces intended for local residents. Under a City Council ordinance expected to be introduced today, the city would gain more power to enforce residential parking rules, including the authority to immobilize vehicles with a car boot and to impose stiff fines. Supporters say the sweeping proposal will refurbish a once-groundbreaking parking initiative that has recently become the target of abuse.

Anne Arundel County is suing a man who, county officials allege, built a large home on an island in the Magothy River without obtaining the necessary permits. Daryl C. Wagner, a Millersville builder, constructed the 3,500- square-foot house on Little Island without any form of county permission, land-use officials say. The lawsuit, filed yesterday, names Wagner and a corporation he formed as defendants. It asks an Anne Arundel Circuit Court judge to order all illegal structures demolished, to order wells and sewer systems sealed and to make the defendant pay for the cost of any legal proceedings.

Baltimore car dealer Scott Donahoo, who built a waterfront house for his elderly mother in Pasadena without getting the necessary permits and is now trying to keep local officials from demolishing it, has lost a bid to get a county board to issue him retroactive permits. The Anne Arundel County Board of Appeals rejected Donahoo's request after a few minutes of discussion Tuesday night. However, the decision will not be official until notice is mailed to Donahoo after 60 days. Donahoo, known for his humorous TV commercials featuring himself as a singer, among other roles, said he had not heard about the board's vote and could not comment on it. "But I will say we've been working for two years to bring this house into compliance, and we will continue working to bring it into compliance," he said.

An Anne Arundel County hearing officer is set to consider today a request by a Silver Spring developer seeking more time from the county to pursue the state permits he needs to open a landfill and gravel pit near Wilson Town. Developer Warren Halle has been "diligently" pursuing permits through the Maryland Department of the Environment to open the Chesapeake Terrace landfill and gravel pit, according to his attorney, but the three-phase process could take another two years to complete.

Seeking approval to drill wells that could ease seasonal water shortages in South Carroll, the county commissioners will meet the state's demands for growth controls in environmentally sensitive areas within the Liberty Reservoir watershed, according to a letter delivered yesterday to the governor's office. In the letter, the commissioners say they expect to sign an agreement with neighboring jurisdictions on plans to protect the watershed - an action required by the state but opposed by the previous board of Carroll commissioners.