Chairman Sigaty and members of the County Council:

The Howard County League of Women Voters supports Council Resolution 52-2009, approving revision to the Route 1 Manual to incorporate changes in Zoning Regulation Amendments, recommendations from the State Highway Administration, and Design Advisory Panel requirements.

The League has a legislative process recommendation. Council Resolution 52-2009 as proposed presents the final proposed document. The public cannot compare the new language with the existing adopted Route 1 Manual. The Department of Planning and Zoning did provide a 2 page Summary of the Proposed Route 1 Manual Changes on its web site. However, the County Council Legislative Agenda makes no reference to that summary and the general public would not automatically go to the Department of Planning and Zoning web site to find the summary.

To help the public, the League suggests that future changes to documents such as the Route 1 Manual be appropriately differentiated from the existing text and a summary of changes be included.

The League urges the County Council to support Council Resolution 52-2009

Alice Giles
Board member: Co-Chair, Action Committee