July 2023 Newsletter

Greetings!

Welcome to our July 2023 Newsletter!

July 17th kicks off Restaurant Weeks & Craft Beverages in Howard County. I encourage everyone to participate and visit as many of our local restaurants as possible. This year also marks 15 years of Howard County Restaurant Weeks.

Each of the 37 participating restaurants will have specially curated menus for the duration of the event.

In District 3, the following restaurants are participating:

Dive Bar & Grille
Frisco and the Reckless Shepherd
Madrid Spanish Taverna
Neo Pizza &Taphouse

Visit visithowardcounty.com/howard-county-restaurant-weeks/ for a full list of participating restaurants and menus.

As always, please don't hesitate to contact my office if you are experiencing any issues in your community or would just like to get in touch. We are here to help with your concerns and listen to your feedback.

Wishing you a safe, happy, and healthy July!

Yours in service,

Christiana Rigby (she/her)

Councilwoman, District 3

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July 17, 2023

June Legislation Wrap-Up

On July 5th, the County Council convened for our Legislative Session. The County Council took action on several pieces of legislation, including the following:

CB28-2023: An act adopting HoCo By Design as the general plan for Howard County, Maryland which includes a Plan for the Route 1 Corridor, for the purpose of planning for land use and land conservation and multiyear development planning for transportation, public facilities, water, sewerage, parkland, housing, human services, and environmental protection; and generally relating to planning, zoning, and land use in Howard County, Maryland. This bill was tabled in a 5-0 vote. Introduced by the Chairperson at the request of the County Executive.

CB30-2023: An act amending the purpose of the Forest Conservation Act of Howard County; altering the definition of a forest; increasing certain reforestation calculations; amending qualification for the use of certain forest mitigation banks; and generally related to the Forest Conservation Act of Howard County. This bill failed in a 2-3 vote. Introduced by Councilmember Liz Walsh.

CB31-2023: An act designating September 19 as Howard County Flag Day; and generally relating to the Howard County Flag. This bill failed in a 4-1 vote. Introduced by Councilmember David Yungmann.

CB32-2023: An act creating an Adult-Use Cannabis Advisory Panel; specificizing the duties and responsibilities of the Advisory Panel; providing for the membership and staffing of the Advisory Panel; establishing requirements for meetings and reports; and generally related to the Adult-Use Cannabis Advisory Panel. This bill passed in a 5-0 vote. Introduced by Councilmember Opel Jones.

CR104-2023: A resolution creating a Cannabis Workgroup to study the effects of adult-use cannabis legalization in Howard County and recommend legislative actions to promote health, public safety, and equity in the local adult-use cannabis market; and generally relating to adult-use cannabis. This bill passed with amendments in a 5-0 vote. Introduced by Councilmember Opel Jones.

July Legislation

New legislation was introduced at the July 5th Legislative Session, including:

CB33-2023: An act for purposes of the property tax credit for real property owned by certain disabled law enforcement officers or rescue workers, amending the definition of disabled law enforcement officer or rescue worker; and generally relating to the property tax credit for real property owned by certain law enforcement officers or rescue workers. Introduced by the Chairperson at the request of the County Executive.

CB34-2023: An act altering a certain provision of law when the County Purchasing Agent may award a contract for supplies and services without competition; requiring the County Purchasing Agent to forward a proposed contract to the County Council for review and comment; requiring the County Purchasing Agent to review certain comments by the County Council under certain circumstances; and generally relating to purchasing. Introduced by Councilmember Deb Jung.

CR128-2023: A resolution adopting the School Capacity Chart, pursuant to the Adequate Public Facilities Act of Howard County, to designate the elementary school regions, and the elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools constrained for new residential development during each of the following ten years as based on the definition of program capacity as defined by Howard County Public School System policy and requiring a certain joint special work meeting in accordance with Section 16.1103(d) of the Howard County Code. Introduced by the Chairperson at the request of the County Executive.

CR129-2023: A resolution adopting the Housing Unit Allocation Chart pursuant to the Adequate Public Facilities Act of Howard County. Introduced by the Chairperson at the request of the County Executive.

At the upcoming Public Hearing, on July 17th at 7:00 PM, residents can offer testimony on this legislation. The legislation will be up for a vote at the Council's Legislative Session on July 31st at 10:00 AM.

VIEW COUNCIL LEGISLATION

TESTIFY AT A PUBLIC HEARING

VIEW COUNCIL CALENDAR

Community News, Events, and Updates

BWI Roundtable Representative

Is your community impacted by airplane noise? Represent Maryland State District 13 on the BWI Roundtable.

To apply, email your resume to guy.guzzone@senate.state.md.us.

The BWI Roundtable meets monthly to monitor air traffic procedures implemented under the NextGen program, evaluate noise and environmental impacts, and make recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Learn more at bit.ly/BWIRoundtable.

Summer Leadership Foundation

All middle and high school students in Howard County are encouraged to join student leaders over the summer for the second annual Summer Leadership Foundation with Oakland Mills United!

This year, Summer Leadership Foundation will take place online on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM starting on July 25th and ending on August 3rd.

Columbia Community Care’s Essential Resources Day & Free Expungement Clinic

Columbia Community Care is hosting an Essential Resources Day & Free Expungement Clinic with the Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity and Ohana of Howard County!

The event includes free resources and services, workshops, resource fair, and expungement clinic.

Stop by Hammond High School between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM on July 29th to participate. Before attending, register at bit.ly/4421ZZx?r=lp.

Racial Equity Conversation

On July 27th at the Central Branch Library from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, the Howard County Library System and Office of Human Rights and Equity are hosting a conversation on the Racial Equity Framework for Howard County.

Participate to learn about our Racial Equity Framework and how our County can grow and move forward.

Library Carnival

Visit the Miller Branch Library on August 5th between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM for the annual H3 Carnival!

The event features carnival games set up by HiTech students, hands-on activities and crafts, watch demonstrations, listen to music, enjoy foods from various venders, and more.

Learn more and register at hclibrary.org/h3/.

Christiana's Climate Corner

Welcome to Christiana's Climate Corner, where I will be sharing updates on environmental and sustainability efforts in Howard County, including information on legislation, events, and opportunities for you to support sustainability efforts in our community!

Climate Action Plans, Reports, and More!

Over the last few years, Howard County, Maryland, and the United States have taken a strong position to combat climate change. Last year, the State of Maryland set ambitious but critical goals of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions from 2006 levels by 60% by 2031 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2045. Howard County set additional goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030 and created a Climate Action Subcabinet, in addition to recently finalizing HoCo Climate Forward, the county’s climate plan. I feel inspired that, at the County and State levels, we are creating plans for how we can achieve these goals. We can be a model for other jurisdictions around the globe looking to do their part.

As part of this effort, the Maryland Department of the Environment recently published Maryland’s Climate Pathway, a report I have been awaiting as part of my effort to electrify new buildings in Howard County in the next year. I encourage you to look at the report and some of the actions it includes to help us achieve our climate goals and I am motivated that many of the issues I have been pushing as Council member are included in this report: promoting and supporting solar and EV technology, investing in public transit and transitioning to electric buses, expanding our bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and incentivizing composting.

As a former environmental educator, I supported individuals in making changes to their life and their surrounding environment like planting trees and reducing their carbon footprint. know the importance of preserving and protecting our environment and natural resources. As a climate advocate, I am able to address the necessary systems changes to reduce and eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels, decrease urban sprawl, and increase multimodal transportation are equally important. We need efforts on both levels!

I will continue to follow efforts happening and I encourage you to learn more about our climate goals and actions by reviewing the following recent reports:

If you are interested in reducing your carbon footprint, the following tax credits and rebate programs are available: