Woodframe Construction

The Senate Education, Health, & Environmental Affairs Committee is holding a briefing on Fire Safety and Light Frame Combustible Construction at 10am on October 10, 2017. MBIA will be submitting written testimony.

2017 Senate bill >>>

2017 House bill >>>

Memo regarding the Amicus Brief >>>

Mandatory  Mediation before Eviction

Council Bill 17-0113, which applies to any property owner that owns five or more aggregate rental housing units within the City of Baltimore, was introduced in August, but quick action by the MBIA advocacy team put the bill on hold. The bill requires any of these property owners to submit to mandatory mediation, paid for by the owner, before eviction proceedings may begin. The bill also requires certain identifying information of the property owner to be displayed at the property. Read the bill >>>  MBIA is opposed to this bill and will continue monitoring it.

20 Acre Grading Limit

At the request of MBIA, Harford County Executive Barry Glassman introduced legislation to:
1) remove the 20 acre grading unit limit
2) extend erosion and sediment control plan approvals from 2 to 3 years and
3) remove the requirement for erosion and sediment control inspection to occur on average every 2 weeks;

The bill will was heard on Tuesday September 19th at 645pm in the Harford County Council and will be voted on October 3rd. MBIA supports this bill. Read the MBIA testimony in support >>>

APFO

Council Bill 61, a bill regarding the County's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) was heard on July 17th but had its public hearing continued until September 11th and then again until September 18th to allow for additional public input. Many MBIA members testified over the three public sessions. At this time, many in the County are calling for amendments to the bill lowering the school capacity threshold to 110% (down from 115%), effectively creating a development moratorium. The MBIA is opposed to this change and is meeting with each councilmember to advocate for the passage of CB61 as drafted. This legislation arises out of recommendations from the APFO task force which met for nearly one year after County Executive Kittleman was elected. The task force included MBIA members and created a reasonable set of recommendations, most of which MBIA supports. Read MBIA's testimony in support >>>

Green Neighborhoods

Council Resolution 112, to make the Green Neighborhoods program more flexible so that developers can take advantage of the green allocations that exist has been tabled for further consideration by the County Council in September. The County Council heard this resolution, which the MBIA supports on July 17th.

Forest Conservation Bill Before County Council

The County's Forest Conservation bill that was transmitted to the County Council included all MBIA's comments to the Planning Board. However, at the County Council public hearing  DEP's Director,  Lisa Feldt,  testified that the county arborist should be added back to the review process for tree variances. MBIA has submitted letters to the committee in support of the bill as introduced.

 

White Flint 2 Sector Plan

This month the County Council began work on the White Flint 2 Sector Plan. The White Flint 2 Sector Plan recommends opportunities for transitional development in key areas where the White Flint Sector Plan is adjacent to the Twinbrook Sector Plan and the pending City of Rockville plan for Rockville Pike. The 460-acre sector plan would transform commercial properties along Rockville Pike into mixed-use urban spaces. The plan would link MD 355 with a proposed network of bike lanes and public open spaces, and would also take advantage of future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on MD 355. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is currently planning its BRT system routes, with the first such route expected to become operational in 2020. The PHED Committee is tentatively scheduled to review the plan on October 9th.