Council Considers Open Space Fees As Deadline Looms

The Baltimore County Council Thursday is scheduled to vote on a bill that would lower the rates charged to developers who would rather pay a fee in lieu of setting aside a portion of a proposed development as open space.

Michael Harrison, a lobbyist for the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said his group asked for the rates to be updated last November—the first such change in seven years.

"The fees were set at the peak of the market and developers could afford those prices," Harrison said, adding that later it became apparent that a number of developers were in danger of losing their ability to move forward because they had not yet paid the waiver fees.

If the council adopts the new fee schedule, developers would pay rates equivalent to $1,700 per housing unit on average—a decrease of about $2,000 from the average of the current fee, according to a review by the County Auditor.

The proposed fees would still be the highest in the region.

"In a lot of cases, it will make more sense to pay the fee rather than setting aside a parcel for open space," Harrision, adding that those parcels are often not accessible to the general public and become a burden on homeowners associations who must maintain the properties.

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz proposed the reductions earlier this year. That bill was withdrawn after members of the council said they had questions about how the new rates were set.

Olszewski: Rates Needed An Update

The County Council adopted the waiver fee process in order to give developers, especially those building projects with 20 or fewer residential units, the opportunity to pay a fee to the county instead of setting aside land as open space. The county would then use the money to purchase larger parcels that would be more accessible to the general public.

The rates were changed twice—first in 2004 and again in 2006.

"It's something that hasn't been done in seven years," Councilman John Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, said, speaking of the proposed rate revision. "I just thought it was time to do that."

Olszewski is the lead sponsor on the bill. Councilman Todd Huff, a Lutherville Republican and Democrats Cathy Bevins of Middle River and Kenneth Oliver of Randallstown are co-sponsors.

Looming Deadline

In 2009, as the economy faltered and developers struggled, the council passed a law designed to give developers four years time to break ground on their respective projects.

"The idea was that in four years the market would turn around," said Harrison.

At least 14 developments are in danger of losing their opportunity to move forward because a deadline that expires in mid-August. Those projects must pay the waiver fee at the time they go to recordation. If the council approves the lower fees, the developers would pay the lower fee rather than the rate in place when their projects were approved, Harrison said.

"For these projects, the deadline is important," Harrison said. "We're trying to move this before the date passes."

The bill being considered Thursday by the council lowers many of the rates by as much as 90 percent in each of the county's 15 zoning classifications.

Amy Grossi, a county attorney assigned to the Bureau of Land Acquisition, said the revised fees are based on current land values in each zoning classification.

If the council approves the bill, developers who have no yet recorded their properties will pay the new rate, Grossi said.

In some cases, the proposed changes would mean a savings of tens of thousands of dollars for developers whose projects face the August deadline, Harrison said.

Still there is a question of whether the new rates will cover the cost of land acquisition.

On Thursday, the council will consider an unrelated request by the county to purchase an acre of rurally zoned land on Back River Neck Road in Essex. The county has agreed to pay $75,000 for the property.

Under the proposed new open space waiver fee rates, a developer would only pay the county a waiver fee of $12,000.

A companion bill sponsored by Councilman David Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, increases the amount of funding to NeighborSpace of Baltimore County, a nonprofit that works to preserve small parcels of open space in the county's urban areas.

Currently, the program receives about 10 percent of the money paid into the open space waiver fund. The bill would increase that funding to 15 percent.

Marks and Council Chairman Tom Quirk are also sponsoring a resolution that would require the Planning Board to create a new formula for setting the open space waiver fees.

Quirk, a Catonsville Democrat, said the way the county currently uses to set its waiver fees is not easy for the public to understand.

"I think we need a system that is clear and transparent and easy to understand," Quirk said.