“Good Problems” Are Still Tough to Have

Development is desirable for many Maryland counties, but the challenges of maintaining adequate public facilities in the face of growth can be real.

growth
Counties seeks to provide the building blocks needed for growth – including seats for students in area schools, roadways, and robust water and sewer systems. Sometimes the system can seem out of balance.

An adequate public facilities ordinance (often called APF or APFO) ties residential or commercial development to the amount of public infrastructure available to support the growth.

APFO are challenging to construct because growth can be uncertain and take years to occur, depending on final construction approvals, financial backing, and other factors. At the same time, estimating the amount of increased public facility use, such as how many children from a new residential subdivision will attend area schools, can be tricky.

In Anne Arundel County, a bill to use projected enrollment from proposed development to determine adequate school facilities will be up for a vote on May 7, 2018. For more information, see the full text of the bill before the Anne Arundel County Council.

Harford County has imposed moratoriums on development in two elementary school districts, and a parent is advocating that a third elementary is added to the list. For more information, see Two Harford schools in moratorium status from the Baltimore Sun.

Stay tuned to Conduit Street for more news around the State on this issue.