The hot item on the County Council's voting agenda Thursday was legislation to update the county's General Plan. But in addition to approving the plan, the council unanimously passed several other pieces of legislation. The legislation included resolutions to:
• update the licensing requirements for farmers markets to comply with changes in state law;
• approve a fee schedule for the different categories of farmers market licenses;
• endorse the county's application to have Ellicott City (the historic district, government campus and properties up Rogers Avenue) designated as a Sustainable Community, which provides the community with more state grant funding opportunities;
• authorize the county to sell the 13.5 acre Dobbin property, which is a part of the Belmont estate in Elkridge; he funds from the sale are to be used for maintenance of the remaining 68 acres of the estate, which the county plans to operate as a history and nature park;
• adopt the Housing Unit Allocation Chart for fiscal year 2013, which sets limits on the number of residential units that can be built in various parts of the county; and,
• adopt the Open/Closed Chart that is used during the site development plan review process to determine if the schools in the area can accommodate a proposed development.
