Chairman Ball and members of the County Council:

The League of Women Voters of Howard County Supports CB30 amending the Howard County Zoning Regulations to require a presubmission community meeting for Conditional Use petitions and CB31 amending the Howard County Code to require pre-submission community meetings for Zoning Board petitions. Both of these bills require similar provisions of three week notice or posting, that the meetings be held within the community in a public or institutional building within 5 miles of the subject property and that citizens can request a meeting with Department of Planning and Zoning after the development proposal has been formally submitted to the Department.

These bills are similar to CB4 and CB5- 2007 passed by the County Council in February 2007. The League supported those Bills with amendments. The League supports CB30 and CB31 based on our League principles of informed active participation of citizens and that government bodies protect the citizen’s right to know.

The League thanks the sponsor of these Bills and asks the Council for favorable adoption.

Barbara Russell
Co-president