CUMBERLAND — Allegany County has little land with development potential and county officials say regulations designed to save the Chesapeake Bay will make it more difficult and costly to build homes and businesses in the county.
Commissioners heard the latest on the state’s proposed growth offset policy from Angie Patterson, county land use and planning engineer.
Patterson gave commissioners a presentation at their work session last week.
“This has nothing to do with the conditions of the bay ... this is growth control,” said County Administrator David Eberly. Only 2.4 percent of the county’s remaining open land is suitable for development, Patterson said.
The state’s policy is designed to make sure progress in cleaning up the bay isn’t undone by future development, Patterson said.
Simply put, the offsets are actions, like planting trees, which will be required to counter an increase in nitrogen and other nutrients flowing into the bay.
Nutrients are, in this case, a bad thing — nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment hurt the water quality of the bay. And planting trees, of course, costs money.
Under the current state proposal, a 15,000 square foot industrial building on two acres would require 3.5 acres of tree plantings, costing about $7,000, to counterbalance increased storm water runoff from the developed land. The trigger for the offsets is disturbance of one acre or more of land. Another offset could be connecting septics to a sewer system, she said.
Lots already approved but not developed, of which there are many in the county, would not trigger the offsets, Patterson said.
To build a seven lot subdivision, 18 acres of trees would need to be planted, costing about $36,000, Patterson said. Should water quality in the bay not be improved by the end of 2025, the offset requirements would be quadrupled.
Patterson said the science behind the state’s offset policy was questionable and that the offset credit policy was inequitable. Among other things, it takes no account of the county’s distance from the bay, said Patterson.
Furthermore, since the policy aims at increased nutrient pollution caused by population growth and economic development, they shouldn’t apply to all counties alike. Economic growth has been slow and the population has dropped 16 percent since 1950, Patterson said.
Commissioner Creade Brodie Jr. asked Patterson why the state was not crediting Allegany County for the high percentage of forested land in the county.
Commissioners gave the go-ahead to Patterson to prepare comments on the state proposal, aimed at pointing out what commissioners believe are problems with the policy.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com.
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