MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS MEETING
April 11, 2006
The Board of County Commissioners for Cecil County met for a special session at the County Administrative Building, 107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland to entertain a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) amendment to the Cecil County Zoning Ordinance. The following members of the Board were present:
Nelson K. Bolender, President
Harry A. Hepbron, Vice President
Phyllis Kilby, Commissioner
William C. Manlove, Commissioner
Mark H. Guns, Commissioner
Constituting a full Board.
The meeting was called to order by President Bolender at 7:00 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING – TEXT AMENDMENT TO THE CECIL COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH A TRANSER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS PROGRAM
President Bolender informed the public of the order in which this public hearing would be conducted. He stated that everyone who signed in to speak will be given five minutes. Written testimony will be accepted, and a copy should be forwarded to Vicky Rinkerman, Assistant to the Commissioners.
Planning and Zoning Director, Eric Sennstrom, outlined the proposed TDR amendments. He stated that the Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend disapproval of the TDR proposal as written at their March 20, 2006 meeting. He submitted two exhibits in favor and three exhibits in opposition of the proposal that were received by the Office of Planning and Zoning.
Commissioner Mark Guns presented a Power Point presentation of the TDR proposal.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following individuals spoke in opposition to the TDR proposal: Joan Byerly, Paul Raech, Mary Scheeler, Wayne Stafford, Don Jackson, George Esry, John Lee, Harlan Williams, Clay McDowell, Carolyn McDowell, John Price, Randy Hutton, Vernon Tome, Henry Passi, Paula Gilley, Gene Cochrane, Liz Sibley, Bud Felty, Josh Brown, Harold Davis, Tari Moore, Elizabeth Moore, Robert Hodge, Natalie Ricci, Tim Smith, John Williams, Owen Thorn, Richard Boyce, Ed Cairns, Mike Leaf, Anne Lane, Susan Parker, Chuck Gregg, William Boinevych, Doug Willard, Frank Gray, and Ewing McDowell.
Summary of opposition: no infrastructure in place in the growth area, takes away property rights of farmers, no provision for farmers with less than 100 acres, downzoning decreases property value and changes land equity, unfair comparison to other counties in the state, removes incentive to farm, decreases affordable housing, wording is too general to be effective, other incentives and programs are available without using a TDR program, TDR program cannot be implemented effectively, program must be equitable for everyone involved, questioned legality of implementing the program, small farms do not support the proposal, Planning Commission, citizen review panel and farmer input was ignored in this proposal, should wait for the TDR Ag Ecology study to be completed, do not implement now and make changes later, impacts retirement plans for owners of small farms, needs farmer and public support to work, storm water management issues, no demand for TDR’s equals no value for TDR’s, approving a bad plan is not better than having no plan, not all SR zoning in located in the growth area, adopt Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance first, TDR changes definition of SR zoning, and consider “grandfathering in” current subdivision plans if this proposal is approved.
The following individuals spoke in support of the TDR proposal: Roger Singerly, Rob Etgen (Eastern Shore Land Conservancy), Steve Isaacson, Bob Porter, William Prickett, and Caroline Prickett.
Summary of support: County needs a plan to control residential growth, viable option for farmers to preserve land, good balance between supply and demand, preservation of farmland would be paid for by developers and not government, TDR is a useful tool for land preservation, County needs it for future generations, and approve TDR now before more farmland is lost and make changes at a later time.
ACTION: Motion made by Commissioner Guns, seconded by Commissioner Kilby, to table with the following timeline as an establishment for the consideration of TDR’s in the future:
1. Revised proposal will be sent to the Planning Commission by May 1 st for their review;
2. This agenda item will be placed on the Planning Commission agenda on May 15 th;
3. Public Hearing scheduled by the Board of County Commissioners for June 13th for another public hearing.
COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS:
Commissioners Guns stated that the County has been working on a TDR proposal for four years. He stated that tonight was the first time the Commissioners heard the recommendation from the Planning Commission. He feels this plan would work with revisions.
Commissioner Bolender stated that in his opinion it will take longer than one month to make the revisions to the proposal that would be meaningful. He feels this is a delay tactic that will accomplish nothing.
Commissioner Hepbron stated that there were five people who spoke in support of this proposal. All the other people who spoke tonight were opposed to this proposal. He questioned our legal counsel on the legality of the motion to table the decision.
Counsel Dwight Thomey stated that the Commissioners have the authority to decide not to make a decision. He continued stating that this TDR proposal changes the Comprehensive Plan and will change the allowable density in zones all over the County.
Commissioner Hepbron stated that he listened to all the comments this evening and is strongly opposed to this TDR proposal and downzoning. He is passionate about protecting individual property rights, and protecting the rights of farmers.
Commissioner Manlove stated that the feels the County needs something in place to protect our rural heritage. He is not going to run for office again, and has no political agenda for making his decision.
Commissioner Hepbron stated that he feels there is no market for TDR’s without the needed infrastructure in place. The Board voted against a similar proposal two years ago.
Counsel Thomey stated that in his opinion adopting a TDR proposal before amending the Comprehensive Plan is “putting the cart before the horse”. The TDR program changes the density in residential zones throughout the County. There is a definitive review process with public hearings, etc. for changing the Comprehensive Plan.
Planning and Zoning Director Eric Sennstrom concurred that the Comprehensive Plan must be revised in conjunction with a TDR program. The changes must be sent to the State, municipalities, surrounding counties, etc.
VOTE: Bolender – N, Hepbron – N, Kilby – Y, Manlove – Y, Guns – Y
The motion was approved, and t he meeting was adjourned.
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Alfred C. Wein, Jr.
County Administrator
Approved:
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Nelson K. Bolender, President