Wicomico Tier Map hearing provides guidance for County Council

On Wednesday night over 200 people jammed a converted gymnasium at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center to hear what interested observers had to say about the prospect of a Tier Map to place the county in compliance with last year’s Senate Bill 236, better known as the “Septic Bill.” Over two dozen members of the public, including this reporter, stood up to give testimony on the concept of adopting a map as prescribed by the state in the adopted law. For Wicomico County and other jurisdictions without an approved map, the clock is ticking: they’ve passed a December 31, 2012 deadline to adopt an acceptable map and cannot legally allow a new “major subdivision” of more than seven lots.

At the hearing Wicomico County Council president Matt Holloway made it clear that no decisions would be made at the meeting. Instead, it was an opportunity to solicit public comment on the zoning issue. “(We will) hear input and discuss the septic bill,” said Holloway.

Wicomico County’s planning director Jack Lenox gave a brief overview of the proposal, noting that while Senate Bill 236 was not a zoning or subdivision bill, it “has the same effect.” Two-thirds of the county was already zoned as agricultural-rural, he added.

(continued at the Watchdog Wire…)

As bonus monoblogue content, here is my testimony as prepared for delivery last night:

Ladies and gentlemen of Wicomico County Council,

My name is Michael Swartz and I live on Mount Hermon Road in Salisbury.

The Septic Bill passed last year has been of keen interest to me, not because I’m a farmer, but because when it comes to government I tend to believe the closer the government is to the people, the better it performs.

While I noticed the Septic Bill passed last spring, it really didn’t get onto my radar screen until I realized over the following months what the impact would be on the local agricultural industry as well as how our county operates its own affairs. To me, it was another strike by Annapolis in what’s been called the “War on Rural Maryland”, a case of once again governing in the pursuit of centralized power rather than the benefit of the people.

So I was pleased to see that Delegate McDermott introduced a Septic Bill repeal bill this year in the General Assembly. To be quite honest, I held little illusion it would pass because power gained by the bureaucrats and majority party in Annapolis is rarely given up easily. Still, I took the time to write testimony for House Bill 106, which I will quote from.

In my testimony I wrote the following paragraphs:

There is little doubt that Chesapeake Bay defines Maryland as a state, and, while there are differences in opinion as to the best course to take in preserving the quality of the estuary for future generations, the goal for all is a cleaner Bay. These concerns have already been addressed on many fronts, with assistance from both the state and federal governments.

That assistance is not at question here, because the law which this bill aims to repeal is not a bill to directly clean up Chesapeake Bay. Rather, HB106 corrects an ill-considered measure which, if not changed, will permanently and adversely affect the farmers who create much of the wealth in rural areas of the state like the local government as elected by the people of Wicomico County.

When the county places land in a tier where development is permanently limited by the newly-created law, I believe the landowner is harmed as the potential value of his property is decreased via the lack of development options. Though some landowners have already given up development rights, which was their decision, I do not believe this can be a one-size-fits-all approach as the state is dictating. Instead, I believe that farmers are the best stewards of their land and many have already taken common-sense measures to protect both their investment and the health of the Bay, with planting cover crops being one prime example.

Because they realized our job is to allow farmers and the agricultural industry to engage in the practices they find best, at the end of last year our County Council considered a provision which would allow an agricultural landowner to voluntarily opt into a Tier IV designation. But Maryland Department of Planning and Zoning Secretary Richard Hall made it plain that, “The law pretty much makes clear that agricultural zones are to be in Tier IV, and so to opt in or opt out is not what’s in the legislation.”

What an attitude exhibited by Secretary Hall! Annapolis knows best, and we should just sit down and shut up. That’s not going to happen.

Unfortunately, my testimony and that of others did little good as House Bill 106 was killed in committee. However, I would like to publicly thank Delegate McDermott for sponsoring the bill and Delegate Charles Otto for voting for it in the House Environmental Matters Committee. It should be noted, though, that Delegate Rudy Cane – who ironically enough chairs the Agriculture, Agriculture Preservation, and Open Space Subcommittee within the Environmental Matters Committee, voted to retain a bill which won’t do a thing to preserve agriculture – although it may increase the amount of “open space” as farms go bankrupt and become overgrown.

To me, given the small percentage of the Bay’s nitrogen problem traceable to rural septic systems, the bill passed last year is akin to using a sledgehammer to kill an ant. Out here, we know better than that.

So, as members of the Wicomico County Council, the ball is now in your court. In my opinion, if we have to have a tier map, let it place the absolute minimum amount of land off-limits to future development. To those of you here from the state or from environmental organizations recommending a more restrictive map, such as what happened in Cecil County last night after their original tier map was rejected, let me just say you may as well prepare for a fight.

I’d like to commend this Council for placing the needs of the people first and holding this hearing. Now let’s do the right thing and adopt true Smart Growth, allowing prudent development where land can be improved to its highest and best use.

Here’s the PAC-14 video.

I come on at about the 20 minute mark.

Expected: McDermott Tier Map repeal dies in committee vote

Update 2-21-13: Surprisingly, the Senate companion bill (SB391) received a vote in their Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee. It failed 7-4, with the committee’s three Republican Senators (Jennings, Reilly, Simonaire) being joined by Democrat Roy Dyson – that part was no shocker.

I knew this would primarily be a symbolic bill because Democrats in Annapolis weren’t going to cede back any sort of planning control to the counties upon gaining it in 2012. But I was disappointed in the vote on Delegate Mike McDermott’s House Bill 106 for two reasons: the lopsided 19-5 margin and the abandonment of common sense by two Republicans: Delegates Cathy Vitale and Herb McMillan, both of Anne Arundel County.

It’s also worth pointing out on a local level that Delegate Rudy Cane, who is the Chair of the Agriculture, Agriculture Preservation, and Open Space Subcommittee within the Environmental Matters Committee, voted to retain a bill which won’t do a thing to preserve agriculture – although it may increase the amount of “open space” as farms go bankrupt and become overgrown.

While there is a companion Senate bill, Senate Bill 391, the common procedure once a crossfiled bill is killed in one chamber is for the measure to either be withdrawn or simply not get a committee vote since the other chamber rejected it. We’ll see if Senator E.J. Pipkin, who sponsored the bill, presses for a vote anyway to put people on the record.

Since the repeal bill was defeated in committee, it will be up to counties to now either defy the state’s edict or go along with it. There is another bill pending – House Bill 1385, also sponsored by Delegate McDermott – to extend the deadline to July 1, but any artificial deadline defeats the purpose of localizing zoning decisions. Wicomico County residents will have their say on the issue Wednesday evening at 6 at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center; also worth mentioning for my Cecil County audience is they’ll have a similar hearing on the Tier Map they already passed tomorrow night at 7:00 at the Cecil County Administrative Building, apparently because the state overlords don’t care for it.

Finally, it’s very likely that this HB106 vote will be one of the three Environmental Matters Committee votes I use for the 2013 monoblogue Accountability Project. So it looks like Delegates Hogan, Jacobs, Norman, O’Donnell, and Otto have an early lead on getting Legislator of the Year honors. I’d like to publicly thank them for voting for the people (and agricultural industry) of Maryland, even if it was in vain.

Testimony supporting HB106

I submitted the following for consideration before the House Environmental Matters Committee.

**********
Testimony in favor of HB106:
Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 – Repeal

Ladies and Gentlemen of the House:

In the interest of restoring the primacy of local government, I stand as a common citizen in supporting this bill.

There is little doubt that Chesapeake Bay defines Maryland as a state, and, while there are differences in opinion as to the best course to take in preserving the quality of the estuary for future generations, the goal for all is a cleaner Bay. These concerns have already been addressed on many fronts, with assistance from both the state and federal governments.

That assistance is not at question here, because the law which this bill aims to repeal is not a bill to directly clean up Chesapeake Bay. Rather, HB106 corrects an ill-considered measure which, if not changed, will permanently and adversely affect the farmers who create much of the wealth in rural areas of the state like the local government as elected by the people of Wicomico County.

When the county places land in a tier where development is permanently limited by the newly-created law, I believe the landowner is harmed as the potential value of his property is decreased via the lack of development options. Though some landowners have already given up development rights, which was their decision, I do not believe this can be a one-size-fits-all approach as the state is dictating. Instead, I believe that farmers are the best stewards of their land and many have already taken common-sense measures to protect both their investment and the health of the Bay, with planting cover crops being one prime example.

Because they realized our job is to allow farmers and the agricultural industry to engage in the practices they find best, at the end of last year our County Council considered a provision which would allow an agricultural landowner to voluntarily opt into a Tier IV designation. But Maryland Department of Planning and Zoning Secretary Richard Hall made it plain that, “The law pretty much makes clear that agricultural zones are to be in Tier IV, and so to opt in or opt out is not what’s in the legislation.”

This attitude exhibited by Secretary Hall brings us to the second part of my objection, the idea of local control.

As I stated above, all of us agree Chesapeake Bay is worth preserving. Local governments are just as steadfast toward that goal as those who would dictate to us in Annapolis, and what the Wicomico County Council was proposing was simply another form of public input. It seems to me that’s the goal of good government, but this law as interpreted by Secretary Hall seems to reveal the true intentions of the state as sole arbiter of all issues regardless of the local situation.

As county residents we trust our local Planning and Zoning Department would come up with a sound comprehensive plan which addresses Wicomico County’s current and future needs. All the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 has accomplished is to place another state mandate on what should properly be a local issue. Certainly we know what works in Wicomico County may not necessarily be the best approach for Montgomery County, and vice versa.

To that end, I ask that HB106 be adopted and local counties be allowed to resume the procedures they have found to work best for their local needs.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Swartz

**********

Later this evening I’ll publish the testimony I wrote on SB281. It’s more biting than this one.

Working on a better Maryland

After the weekend many had, it’s probably good that we are back to work – more of a rest there than in overdoing the Ravens celebration. Maybe Joe Flacco is on his way to Disneyland as we speak.

There are a number of interesting bills being heard this week in the General Assembly. Of course, we all know about the setup for the eventual gun grab better known as Senate Bill 281, which will be heard Wednesday afternoon along with House Bill 106, a bill I’ve been following to repeal last year’s Septic Bill (which created the Tier maps we all know and despise.) As promised, I spent part of my weekend and today working on testimony since I can’t be in Annapolis Wednesday. (Alas, the days which work best for me aren’t days testimony is normally heard, Monday and Friday.) I’ll post my thoughts at an appropriate time.

But it’s worth noting that SB281 isn’t the only thing on the Senate Judicial Proceedings agenda – Senator Brian Frosh has three other bills being heard that afternoon, with all three having him as a lead sponsor. They’re all gun-related as well, but in hearing that testimony you may get a sense of where SB281 is going and where Frosh stands on the issue. (The other three bills are Senate Bills 228. 266. and 420.)

The same is true on the House side Wednesday, as seven other bills share the docket with the HB106 repeal bill.

It’s getting to the time of year where most of the bills which won’t end up locked in a Committee Chair’s drawer have their hearings, although the schedule has been known to run into March. It seems to me, though, that bills which Committee chairs want buried (in instances where a hearing is granted) have them as late as possible – so it’s a little surprising HB106 got its hearing early. Yet there are a number of other bills being heard on the same day, with the biggest being the Senate gun measure.

Now that the House and Senate have eclipsed the 1,400 bill mark as an aggregate, the rules will change a little bit as bills now have to go to the Rules Committee first (because a certain number of session days have passed.)

Yet if you’re not good at writing testimony, there is something else you can do. I’m part of a worthwhile effort of volunteers called the Maryland Legislative Watch, where dozens of volunteers are assigned legislation to read and assess on the simple basis of whether it conforms with the Maryland Declaration of Rights. So far I think I’ve provided input on 8 or 10 bills, and have five more on my plate once the opportunity presents itself. So it’s not a huge time commitment; certainly Elizabeth Myers, the leader of the project, puts in her share of time but most of the rest of us can have it comfortably done in an hour or two a week. (Most bills are under 10 pages; once you figure out the legalese and method of writing it’s easy.)

If I get another 50 people to sign up, not only would Elizabeth likely love me forever, but we would only have perhaps a dozen apiece to deal with because many have already committed. There are people who say they want to get more involved and educated; well, here’s a great opportunity.

The campaign to change Maryland may not bear fruit until 2014, but the work is already underway. More help is always welcome.