Standing next door to a construction site for a multi-story building and in a city envisioned as a vibrant economic hub for the county, residents pushed Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman to curb development at his second town hall in Columbia.
The meeting, a staple of Kittleman's term, highlighted lingering concerns as the county gears up to propose a 40-year binding agreement with Howard Hughes Corp. for nearly 1,000 affordable units in addition to 5,500 housing units in Columbia next month. The housing density increase is tied to a decrease in parking. The administration also plans to propose a multi-million dollar TIF – delayed by a month pending negotiations between the government and Howard Hughes, Columbia's master developer.
Residents pressed Kittleman to ensure public facilities – particularly Columbia's schools – keep up to pace with expected growth. For example, Running Brook Elementary School, which will likely be at 131 percent capacity in 2019, could be closed to development, according to a 2016 schools allocation chart the council will consider in July.
Kittleman said the county "will have time to prepare" to ensure public facilities keep up to pace with the 5,500 units proposed for downtown Columbia, adding the density "is not going to happen overnight."
The meeting resembled the environment of pre-submission community meetings, where developers provide information about proposed developments prior to submitting plans to the county. Tuesday's town hall drew concerns about development as far as Ellicott City, where a 241-unit plan for housing by Elm Street Development drew more than 600 people at a community meeting in late May.
Carl DeLorenzo, the administration's director of policy and programs, said all affordable housing projects proposed in the draft 40-year agreement with Howard Hughes would still need to move through the zoning and planning approval process.
DeLorenzo said it was "premature" to say the proposed affordable housing on top of the Banneker Fire Station was moving forward.
Kittleman said the Department of Planning and Zoning is working on developing a "more friendly" zoning process.
The county's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance – a set of rules that dictate how public facilities meet the needs of the county's growing population – require an immediate update to reflect the county's current conditions, residents said at the meeting. This would push Kittleman to make changes to the ordinance before green-lighting additional development. The administration received recommendations about changes to the ordinance in April from a task force that had been created by executive order.
Kittleman said there's "no way in heavens and earth" his administration could propose changes to APFO earlier than this fall because the county government was in the thick of the budget season for fiscal year 2017.
A resident pressed Merriweather Post Pavilion's vice president of operations, Brad Canfield, about "loud pounding bass notes" and increased "noise" from the center.
"It's no louder than it's ever been," said Canfield. "I've been there for 30 years and I'm telling you the volume hasn't changed."
The County Council and the state delegation plan to organize a public meeting to discuss concerns related to sound levels from Merriweather soon, according to County Council Chairman Calvin Ball.
Kittleman plans to hold two other town halls this year, continuing a campaign pledge to regularly engage residents in what he said are open and inclusive public discussions.