Chairman Pendergrass and members of the Howard County Delegation:

The League of Women Voters of Howard County supports Ho.Co. 5-07. This enabling legislation amends State Article 66B to allow the Howard County Council to enact legislation which would impose civil fines and penalties, create liens and assess costs for zoning violations in the County. Ho.Co.5-07 would also enable the County Council to establish a Zoning Enforcement Hearing Examiner.

The League supports a strong proactive County system of zoning enforcement. The County currently has two zoning enforcement inspectors located in the Department of Planning and Zoning. The policy is to respond to complaints and given the workload provides no opportunity for proactive enforcement and community education.

The League's current Land Use, Planning and Zoning position calls for zoning controls and strong controls on pollution, signs and clutter. During the course of League 2006 candidate forums, we received questions from the public on many land use issues including the lack of zoning enforcement.

We urge favorable consideration of this necessary enabling legislation.

Sincerely,

Grace Kubofcik,
Co-President
Howard County League of Women Voters