County officials discuss land use By Beth Ward, Times Staff Writer Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Legislators and county officials said they plan to work together more to address problems with increased state environmental and planning regulations. The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission, Carroll County Board of Commissioners, four members of the state delegation and county staff sat down Monday morning to discuss how the decisions made in Annapolis and new regulations by state agencies were putting a substantial burden on the county to meet the environmental requirements. “No one is going to argue with the goal. It’s the method by which we have to achieve it that’s the problem for us,” said Planning Director Steve Horn. County staff highlighted some of the issues they are dealing with, including conflicts between state agencies and policies they are expected to enforce. Although the county is expected to target development to its priority funding areas, many of these areas are restricted because of limits on water, Horn said. Regulations for preserving high quality water sources and meeting pollution levels for other water sources also complicates matters. Tom Devilbiss, deputy director of planning, gave the example of the Double Pipe Creek watershed, where the county has been told it could not meet a pollution limit for bacteria proposed by the Maryland Department of the Environment with current technology. In other cases, the county can’t find out the consequences for not meeting the requirements, Devilbiss said. Del. Susan Krebs, R-District 9, said the delegation can also help the county get the information it needs. “If you are hitting a brick wall, we need to help you get through that. ... Keep us in the loop,” she said. “That’s a small way we can help.” The commissioners said the state also has to take into account that regulations are going to affect different counties differently. “A lot of these jurisdictions are intensely developed so they put these kind of rules on us where we’re not that intensely developed and we’d really like to catch up with our commercial/industrial tax base,” said Commissioner Michael Zimmer. “They’re not paying the price, we are.” One example is restrictions on impervious surfaces, which tend to impact rural counties more than urban areas that are already built out. Del. Tanya Shewell, R-District 5, said it goes a long way when local representatives show up to testify on a bill to say how it will impact that jurisdiction. Shewell gave the example of Zimmer coming to Annapolis to testify against a bill that would have required a statewide database of impervious surfaces and increased the workload for county staff without increased funding. The delegation also encouraged county staff to let them know what bills they had concerns about and why so they can at least voice those concerns when legislation is considered. County staff is following numerous bills, including the administration’s legislative package addressing consistency with local comprehensive plans, the state’s planning visions and encouraging development around established transit. Although the delegation was aware of some of the issues, Krebs said after the meeting that the discussion helped her understand the complexity and seriousness of what’s happening at the county level. David Brauning, planning commission chairman, said the meeting was helpful for the commission. “It’s nice to be able to discuss things not only with the people that have to make decisions at the county level, but also make the delegation aware of the total situation,” he said. Reach staff writer Beth Ward at 410-751-5908 or beth.ward@carrollcountytimes.com.