COUNTY COUNCIL UPDATE By Adam M. Phillips Greetings! The members of the Baltimore County Council are grateful for the opportunity to update the County Bar on the activities of our County’s legislative body. Your seven member County Council serves as the independent Legislative Branch of County government. The Council meets year-round, generally in bi-monthly Legislative Sessions (held at night) and bi-monthly Work Sessions (held during the day). All proceedings are open to the public, and the Legislative Session is broadcast on BCTV (Comcast & Verizon channel 25). The Council’s Website at www.baltimorecountycouncil.org provides helpful information as well.
Election of Chairman Tom Quirk – At its first Legislative Session of the New Year on January 7, 2019, the Baltimore County Council held its annual election to select a Chairperson for the calendar year. The Council unanimously elected Councilman Tom Quirk from the First District as Chairman for 2019. This will be Chairman Quirk’s third tenure as Chairman since his election to the Council in 2010. The entire County Council congratulates Chairman Quirk on this deserving and wonderful achievement, and looks forward to continue serving the citizens of Baltimore County in the coming year!
Bill 100-18: Zoning Regulation Amendments for Bed-and-Breakfast Inns – At its January 22, 2019 Legislative Session, the Council approved zoning regulation amendments creating a new process for approving bed-and-breakfast inns in certain zones of the County. The amendments remove the requirement that an inn be located on a minimum 5acre tract with frontage on an arterial or collector street, and also removes the minimum of 4 rooms to THE ADVOCATE
simply a maximum of 20 rooms. The bill also requires that an application be made to the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections for a use permit for a bed-and-breakfast inn. Upon consideration of the application, the Director may issue a use permit for a bed-and-breakfast inn under the permit procedure set forth in Section 408B.1 of the Zoning Regulations.
Bill 101-18: Amendments to the Social Host – Unruly Social Gatherings Program – In 2016, the Council established a pilot program in the Greater Towson and Arbutus areas to address resident complaints of unruly parties. Bill 101-18 amends the program to require any community service ordered and assigned for a violation of the Social Host – Unruly Social Gatherings law be performed within two miles of the location of the unruly social gathering. On February 18, 2019, the Newark Post ran a story remarking on the success of the Program and reporting that the Newark City Police Department will be implementing a modified version.
Approval of Contracts – At its February 19, 2019 Legislative Session, the Council approved a multiyear, multi-case retainer agreement with the law firm Whiteford, Taylor, & Preston LLP to represent the County in several cases related to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The Council also approved a contract with Harris, Jones & Malone, LLC to advise and represent the County in upcoming labor negotiations. Last, the Council approved a contract for the Baltimore County Circuit Court to continue retaining Jeffrey C. Dobson, Esq. for foreclosure case review services.
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March 2019