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June 2008 - Upper Chesapeake Update |
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- Temporary Sign Violations Cited in Harford – In a recent letter to the Harford County Chapter and other businesses operating in the county, State’s Attorney Joseph Cassilly, dated April 4, 2008 reminding the chapter that illegal signs in the state and county right’s of way is still against the law. Cassilly in his letter not only cited MD Criminal Law Code regarding malicious destruction which he cites as the placement of non permitted signs on public or private property. However, he encourages private citizens and private property owners to remove and destroy these signs despite them being the personal property of others. The campaign season has brought on a proliferation of these signs as well as the usual school fundraising endeavors for seniors. Please be cognizant that there is no provision for the placement of temporary directional signs in state or county right’s of way in any category of activity.
· Harford County Zoning Code Revision Update – Harford County government recently announced a series of workshops for the public to review the proposed changes to the county’s zoning code. The update of the zoning code is the first revision since 1982. The workshops facilitated by the county Department of Planning and Zoning are designed to obtain citizen input on the proposed changes.Scheduled for June and July, the first of the series will be held on June 25th in the North Harford High School cafeteria; June 26 in the Harford Community College Chesapeake Center and on July 10th in the Joppatowne High School cafeteria. All meetings will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The workshops will have a series of stations populated by P&Z staff who will be available to answer questions. There will also be a summary of the proposed changes available at all the workshops. Attendees will be given comment forms to fill out, which will be due back to the county at the close of business on July 14th. County staffers recommend that citizens review the zoning code prior to attending the meetings. The code along with the comment form is obtainable on the county’s website. In addition the special advisory committee’s proceedings and minutes and the comprehensive rezoning time schedule are also available at http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/ZCUpdate/indes.cfm· Aberdeen Attempts to Alter Townhouse Specs Again - As promised by Council members Kupferman and Young a new townhouse bill has been introduced and scheduled for a public hearing on July 14th at 7:00 p.m. at the Aberdeen town hall. Townhouses would be limited to parcels of one acre or more with width requirements of 24’ for interior units and 28’ for ends units and 20% of the parcel must be set aside for recreation uses. The size of garages specified in a previous bill has been reduced by half to 240 square feet, but exterior finishes have become more specific and would be required on 85% of the building excluding window and door openings. Landscaping requirements rival that of single family homes in the county with a 10% minimum per unit. Specifications for open space and other recreational amenities include walking and biking trials to adjacent communities. No less than four units and no more than 8 units can be included in any one grouping. The bill now also includes an additional requirement for lots of 3,000 square feet or more. This move on the part of the city council seems counter intuitive in a down market, but they are convinced that every BRAC employee will want to live in the city of Aberdeen and by practicing exclusionary zoning they will prop up their tax base and deter the development of workforce and affordable housing. · County to Begin Elementary School Redistricting – The Harford County Board of Education will begin the development of a comprehensive redistricting plan to accommodate the construction of two new elementary schools. The two schools will come on line within the next 4 years and give potential relief to Youth’s Benefit in Fallston, Forest Lakes in Forest Hill as well as Prospect Mill and Fountain Green. The two proposed schools are to be built at Vale/Red Pump Road (2010-11) and Schucks Road (2011-12). The two schools will add another 1,400 elementary school seat to the schools system. Planning officials cite a 1,139 seat deficit in the systems 2008 Educational Facilities Master Plan. According to the county board of education the goal of the attendance area realignment will be insure that no individual school will exceed 105% of state rated capacity by the 2011-12 school year; which is part of their 5-year strategic plan. It is the goal of both the board and county executive David Craig to eliminate all portable classrooms in use for capacity purposes. 2008 Harford County Building Permit Numbers
| Building Type |
May/2006YTD |
May/2007 YTD |
May/2008YTD |
| SFH/Dup |
21/157 |
28/115 |
13/61 |
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| TH/Multi |
0/53 |
52/164 |
21/110 |
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| Condos |
0/48 |
0/45 |
0/30 |
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· DPW W&S Rules and Regs Revised – Part 22 and 26 of the DPW rules and regulations which cover the “Developers Project Procedures” and “Standard Specifications and Details for Water Mains and Sewer Mains” had a public hearing on May 1, 2008 at which time comments were taken on the regulations and the hearing closed. A copy of the changes is available on the HBAM/Harford County page at www.homebuilders.org.
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Contact |
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Susan A. M. Stroud
Director of Operations for Government Affairs
410-265-7400, ext. 101
susan@homebuilders.org
Service Area:
Upper Chesapeake, Anne Arundel Counties and Baltimore City
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