Two of the three Carroll commissioners say they want to expand the county Planning Commission to make the five-member panel more representative.
Commissioner W. Benjamin Brown said increasing the board to seven members would "guard against overloading [the commission] with one mind-set."
Commissioner Donald I. Dell voted against the expansion, saying the change was premature. The commissioners, who took office Dec. 5, should wait a few months before considering a change, he said.
Mr. Brown said the expansion was his idea and that Commissioner Richard T. Yates was "very receptive" to the change. Mr. Yates could
not be reached for comment.
The state code for Carroll County says the Planning Commission, which considers zoning changes and reviews new development, may have five or seven members.
To expand the group, the commissioners must amend a 1974 county ordinance that established the Planning Commission. Before they do that, they must sponsor a hearing to take public comments. No date has been set for such a hearing.
The commissioners voted last last week to advertise for a public hearing. Meeting minutes show the 2-1 vote was taken in a session open to the public, but the topic was not listed on the day's agenda. Mr. Brown said the vote came during a busy day.
Mr. Brown said he supports a larger Planning Commission so that the group could include members from all parts of the county and from a greater variety of backgrounds.
Planning Commission Chairman Dennis P. Bowman, a Union Bridge dairy farmer, said he doesn't oppose expanding the panel but that he thinks it works well as it is.
"Personally, I don't see the need" to expand, he said. "It seems pretty balanced to me. You're not going to get every last corner of the county represented."
Only one member is a Democrat, "but I always felt we've been pretty objective," Mr. Bowman said. The Democrat is Zeno M. Fisher Jr. of Deer Park, who said he favors the expansion.
All three county commissioners are Republicans.
Mr. Yates of Eldersburg is the commissioners' representative on the Planning Commission, a position all three commissioners said they wanted. Mr. Yates replaced Mr. Dell, who held the position during the previous term. The commissioners would not explain how they chose Mr. Yates for the position.
In October, the previous board of commissioners said Mr. Dell had taken control of the Planning Commission after he voted to appoint his campaign treasurer to the panel.
He and Elmer C. Lippy, then a commissioner, voted to name Robin B. Frazier of Manchester, a former bank loan officer, to the board.
Last year, Mr. Dell successfully nominated Westminster attorney Robert H. Lennon to the board, drawing criticism because Mr. Lennon had handled a legal matter for Mr. Dell about 15 years before.
Mr. Lippy and Julia W. Gouge, then a commissioner, said the Planning Commission was sympathetic to Mr. Dell's positions on issues and that he was in a position to push projects through, a charge Mr. Dell denied.
Mr. Brown said the planning panel needs a citizen member from South Carroll and a member with an occupation different from those of current members. It does not need another farmer or lawyer, he said.
The Planning Commission's alternate member, David T. Duree of New Windsor, said he would like to be named a full member.