From: the Sierra Club Howard County
Date: February 15, 2017
To: the Howard County Council
Re: Opposition to Bill 16-2017; public hearing February 21, 2017
The intent of Bill 16-2017 is to change the zoning of thousands of acres of farmland in western Howard County, from Tier IV (farming and conservation) to Tier III (housing development). This proposed revision was already rejected by the County Council. The Howard County Sierra Club urges the County Council to reject it again.
The proposed amendment to PlanHoward 2030 would affect property in the Upper Patuxent Rural Legacy area, subverting the intent of the designation. This much construction in this setting would also violate the Resource Protection Initiative and the Environmental Protection Initiative adopted in the Plan.
This area is the only part of Howard County that retains any streams that are clean and healthy enough to be classified as Tier II -- the highest quality -- by the Maryland Department of the Environment. Building more housing developments will worsen stormwater runoff by adding more impervious surfaces (driveways, roofs, streets). Homeowners’ lawns are not held to the same high environmental standards that farmland is. Farmers in the Agricultural land Preservation Program are not only compensated for keeping farms in agriculture, but have plans for nutrient management, soil conservation, and water conservation.
Building hundreds of new homes will have a severe impact on the rural environment, starting with the deforestation and loss of ground cover. Creating yards out of farmland will worsen water pollution. In addition, this housing would require use of septic systems, further increasing the deleterious environmental impact.
The County government is entrusted with protecting the rural character of western Howard County, both as a resource for the entire county and as an environmental necessity. Please vote no on Bill 16 – 2017.