Council kills bill to bolster building freeze :
Would have halted infill development

By NICOLE YOUNG Staff Writer

To the relief of small developers and many city residents, the City Council last night voted down a measure to strengthen the citywide building freeze.

The council appeared to have listened to the overwhelming testimony against the bill, voting it down 8-1. Only Alderwoman Julie Stankivic, the sponsor, voted for it.

"I really appreciate all the aldermen coming together for the people of Annapolis," said Scott Bowling of Annapolis, a mortgage broker and one of about 10 people who attended last night's meeting. "This proves that Annapolis is builder-friendly and this was a very good vote."

Introduced Sept. 11, the bill would have prohibited property owners from demolishing a house on more than one lot to build two or more houses. It was originally adopted in July as a last-minute amendment to the temporary freeze on large development.

Several property owners complained that it was adopted without proper public notice, and the council voted to reconsider the measure as separate legislation.

Ms. Stankivic said that if the council intended to pass a building freeze, all building should be stopped, including small residential projects. The moratorium halted building permits until the city adopts an adequate public facilities ordinance. A proposed ordinance was submitted last month.

Perhaps in anticipation of the bill's demise, Ms. Stankivic, I-Ward 6, and Alderman Josh Cohen, D-Ward 8, introduced a measure to fill its void - establishing a new zoning classification that allows only one single-family home per acre.

Although it's not yet clear where and how the new zoning would be established, the addition of the RLD-1 zone, or residential low-density, would create the 25th zoning class in the 7-square-mile city.

Mr. Cohen, who's running for the County Council, said he tried unsuccessfully to pass such a zoning classification a couple of years ago. He said one of the complaints he often hears when land is annexed into the city is that it's usually at a higher density rate, citing the land behind the Safeway on Forest Drive as an example of a good location for the low-density residential zone.

The new low-density residential city zone also would match the county zoning of one home per acre outside the city on the Annapolis Neck Peninsula.

"This is simply another tool in the city's toolbox," he said.

Alderman Sam Shropshire, D-Ward 7, said he's keeping an open mind about the bill but fears that it would draw even more expensive homes into the already high-priced housing market.

Food safety

A bill to ensure that restaurant patrons get properly prepared food passed unanimously last night despite the possibility of an added cost to the city.

Introduced in June by Alderwoman Classie G. Hoyle, D-Ward 3, the food safety bill will require on-site managers at commercial food service operations to watch over meal preparation from start to finish and will create a food service certification program, to be handled by the Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Programs.

The department will keep a registry of certified managers and develop a test for food handling, storage, preparation, facility maintenance, food allergens, illness prevention and supervising and promoting good hygiene and hand-washing among employees.

Ms. Hoyle said she crafted the bill after listening to horror stories from constituents about food handling at city restaurants.

City officials determined that the bill would require additional staffing for either the city or county, which currently performs all city restaurant inspections. Additional inspectors could cost as much as $225,000.

"This is a very unfriendly fiscal impact note," said Ms. Hoyle, whose ward includes a significant portion of the city's growing Hispanic immigrant community. "We have thousands of illegal immigrants coming to our country without shots, and a lot of communicable diseases are spread from those without shots. One life lost is not worth $225,000."

Ms. Hoyle said she didn't intend to directly target the immigrant community, an important labor pool for the hospitality industry, but is addressing concerns expressed to her by constituents.

"I am not a supporter of illegal immigrants, but a staunch supporter of the Hispanic community," she said. "I was just doing my duty as a representative of the whole community and not just one group of individuals."

The bill requires certified food managers to be available during business hours starting July 1. After July 1, 2009, the manager must be on-site during business hours.

County health inspectors will continue surveying the city's restaurants and ask if a trained food service facility manager is on-site. If none is, the city will issue a citation.

The county is working on a similar requirement, but it won't be submitted until after the November elections, Ms. Hoyle said.

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Published October 10, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

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