Chairman Watson and members of the County Council:

The Howard County League of Women Voters thanks the County Council for tabling Council Bill 39 and providing an opportunity for the public to provide additional comments on the proposed amendments and legislation. The League has not changed its position since it provided testimony to the County Council on May 19,2008. The League opposes the concept of allocation advancements.

The League does not support Amendments 1, 2,3 and 4. The Route 1 revitalization was envisioned by the 2000 General Plan to be a corridor improvement that went from Howard County's Baltimore to Prince George's county lines. The focus was revitalization adjacent to the road. The Route 1 Task Force made commitments to the totality of the corridor. Certainly the Federal Government allocated funding to the totality of the corridor. The State Highway administration is looking at the length of the whole segment of Rt. 1 in Howard County. County policy should not be to accommodate individual specific parcel development at the expense of others along the roadway. In addition, how do we identify an unnamed tributary of Deep Run to be a line of demarcation when we can count at least 3 unnamed tributaries off of just one Deep Run branch south of Dorsey Run Road. How do we justify setting up a voluntary system to achieve advanced allocations? If you can afford to pay some not yet determined fee and or if you can give property or some other not named capital improvement in lieu of the payment to the County you can get in line to voluntary ask for advanced allocations. The Council Bill is silent regarding the location of the donated property or who determines if the donation serves the public interest of the County.

The League suggests the following. A clear need statement for additional Rt.1 revitalization allocations. A specific quantification of the housing allocation numbers needed for the next 5-7 years by Rt.1 planning areas. The County Council proposes and adopts an annual increase to the Rt. 1 housing allocation chart with a stated stipulation that the increased allocations will end after 7 years.

The County Council amends Council Bill 39 restricting the annual increase in Route 1 Revitalization housing allocations to projects that front Route 1 and to Transit Oriented Development zoned projects. An additional restriction should be that in any given year a project couldn't hold more than 200 residential allocations. Allocations not used by a project would be returned for redistribution in the next year. Consideration should also be given to an annual 50% limit of residential allocations to a given planning area.

The League suggests that the Transit Oriented Development District Zoning Regulation bulk regulations be amended (Section 127.4 F) to require Transit Oriented Developments of greater than 20 acres commit to the dedication of at least one 40,000 square feet community amenity. This amenity should be selected with input from the surrounding communities, the developer and County Government. In addition the County and the Rt.1 communities should determine and prioritize the amenities needed in the Rt.1 revitalization area and fund those priorities in the County Capital Budgets for the next five years.

The reason the League selected a 5 to 7 year time frame is our expectation that the County will adopt a new General Plan and complete a comprehensive rezoning with in that time frame.

The League asks the County Council to amend Bill 39 to reflect an increase in allocations, to impose restrictions, limit the allocation increase to a specific time frame and determine and fund amenities for the Rt.1 communities.
Thank you.

Grace Kubofcik
Co-president

CC:County Executive Ulman