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Anne Arundel County has cited the owner of a property on Bestgate Road with grading without a permit after 14 trees were cut down without a permit but has yet to pursue the incident under its new, tougher forest conservation law.
The County Council had, despite argument over other aspects of bill 68-19, agreed that the cost for clearing in violation of the forest conservation law should increase from 80 cents per square foot to $4.50 per square foot to deter cutting. County Council President Alison Pickard said the intent was for that figure to be applied as a fine or penalty.
If that $4.50 was assessed for the 16,351 square feet developers have been cited with clearing off Bestgate Road, it would amount to a fine of $73,579.50, Environmental Policy Director Matt Johnston said.
But Johnston said the county are still awaiting guidance from the Office of Law on how the Department of Inspections and Permits, Office of Planning and Zoning, and the Office of Law can enforce violations.
As the coronavirus pandemic has worsened, and more cases have been announced in the state and county, non-essential matters have been put aside. The guidance is still being drafted and reviewed, Johnston said, as the office of law is focusing on “confronting and stopping the spread of the virus.”
While they haven’t applied the new conservation law, county officials have used other enforcement tools.
The county’s Department of Inspections and Permit placed a stop-work order on the site in February and issued a citation for grading without a permit against Southstar Limited Partnership, the listed owners of the property. Southstar and Monticello Property Group, which is partially owned by The Hogan Cos., have proposed building an assisted living facility with 76-attached homes on the property.
The Morning Sun
David Katz, an attorney for Southstar, said his client was unaware of the tree cutting. Inspections and Permits spokeswoman Tracie Reynolds said Southstar has asked to challenge the citation to court. Otherwise, it would have been required to pay $500 and abate the loss of trees on the property.
“The Office of Law will not be filing anything with the court until the court is able to begin trials of this nature,” Johnston said in an email. “That exact date is unknown.”
The Maryland Judiciary has canceled most court proceedings to help slow the spread of the coronavirus until at least May.
An inspection report from Feb. 19 states that 13 living trees and one dead tree were cut down. They found eight poplar trees which measured 8, 14, 25, 32.5, 31.75, 38.75, 16 and 21.5 inches in diameter. A 39-inch White Oak, 20-inch and 24-inch Chestnut Oaks and a fourth 25-inch oak that was dead were cut.
Two twin poplars — single trees with two trunks — were also cut, with trunks that were 26.5 and 25 inches, and 26 and 27 inches, respectively.
On Feb. 27, county hearing officer Doug Hollmann denied an application for a special exception for the assisted living facility and 76 homes. That decision can be appealed to the county’s Board of Appeals or Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, but it is not clear when that would be possible due to the coronavirus.
The Board of Appeals has canceled all hearings through April 10 because of the virus.
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