Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski took it on the chin twice at Monday night’s County Council meeting, in the ongoing political tug of war over zoning.
Council members overrode an Olszewski veto involving a proposed development in Hunt Valley.
The 5-1 override vote came moments after legislation Olszewski had proposed to create mixed use zoning was withdrawn because council members overwhelmingly opposed it.
The legislation which Olszewski vetoed last week and the council overrode will allow a developer to build nearly 300 apartments to replace a former hotel in a business park in Hunt Valley.
Olszewski said the legislation may illegally benefit a specific development.
In a statement following the override vote Olszewski said, “(Monday night’s) vote by the Council is disappointing and sets a concerning precedent for circumventing established processes and standards by giving special treatment to a specific project.”
County attorney James Benjamin had advised Olszewski that the legislation may constitute a ‘special law’, which is illegal under the state constitution.
Benjamin said special laws are prohibited because they give special treatment to a privileged few.
Olszewski said the legislation also gives the developer the right to ignore building regulations.
“That’s problematic to us,” Olszewski said.
Republican Councilman Wade Kach, who proposed the legislation, disagreed with Olszewski’s view of the project.
“We work together,” Kach said. “We just weren’t able to come to an agreement.”
Kach said the development will increase the county’s tax base and increase home ownership. He also said that the administration was incorrect when it said the legislation only applied to one property.
“There are actually seven other properties that would qualify,” Kach said.
Meanwhile, legislation Olszewski had proposed to create a mixed use zoning designation was withdrawn Monday night after it was met with scorn by council members. Mixed use projects could be built in certain areas without the county council’s approval.
The goal was to keep council members from killing projects because of opposition in their districts, and to take a more county-wide approach to development.
Council members opposed being cut out of zoning decisions and warned it would lead to urbanization, concentrations of low income housing and overcrowded schools.
Once it was clear Olszewski’s original bill was dead on arrival, replacement legislation was agreed to by the county executive and Council Chairman Izzy Patoka, and was introduced Monday night.
It also would create a mixed use process but give the county council control over how it is used.
Nick Stewart with the advocacy group We The People-Baltimore County said the new legislation would not change in any way how the county develops.
“We think this bill looks a lot like window dressing to try to show progress through basically busyness and reduce attention on the council and on this crisis that we’re facing,” Stewart said. “We’re leaving intact the status quo, business as usual, where each council person controls with exacting authority everything that happens within their councilmanic district,” Stewart said.
Olszewski is optimistic the county council would use the new legislation.
Olszewski said, “I’m hopeful that the interest they’ve expressed about having a tool to create more mixed use and to have revitalization is real and authentic.”
Councilman Julian Jones, a Democrat said, “Clearly the county code puts land use squarely, 100% in the hands of the county council. We’re willing to work and try to come up with some compromises.”
The Olszewski administration is warning that the county is quickly running out of developable space. It’s estimated the county will run out of open, developable land within 20 years. It believes that target mixed use development can be used to replace old buildings like run down shopping centers and help some economically-depressed areas make a comeback.
