County Executive John G. Gary is considering a bill that would give the Redskins another chance to make their case for a $160 million stadium in Laurel if the team does not get "a fair playing field" in the appeals process.
Mr. Gary said that he would ask the County Council to change the zoning laws if a recent Circuit Court decision prevents the Redskins from amending their proposal, for instance, to purchase property to provide the required amount of parking.
"My intention is that they must go through the process, which is to apply to the appeals board as they have," Mr. Gary said. "If, however, we find they were not able to be given a fair playing field and were not able to offer remedies to what the hearing officer says was deficient in their proposal . . . I would consider asking the County Council to hear their case."
Mr. Gary said he is not interested in getting into a bidding war with another county. But he will be upset, he said, if Gov. Parris N. Glendening approves state money for road improvements at the 75-acre Konterra site in northern Prince George's County after having rejected road aid for the Laurel site. The road and traffic problems are nearly identical at the two sites, Mr. Gary said.
"I'd certainly challenge that," he said. "If it's bad enough that we shouldn't use state money to upgrade roads for the Laurel site, then we shouldn't use state money to upgrade the roads on the [Konterra] site."
The County Council would not hear the zoning case, but would consider a bill to change the zoning status of stadiums, for example, from a special exception to a permitted use with specific conditions. The county's planning officials then could approve the stadium administratively without a public hearing. The county's administrative decision can be appealed, however.
Stadium opponents vowed to legally challenge any attempt to pass a bill that would directly benefit the Redskins.
"We would consider this special legislation for a specific person and we would go to court," said Jeanne Mignon, vice president of Citizens Against the Stadium II, which opposed the stadium during last summer's zoning hearings. "There is a limit to what these people are allowed to do."
Administrative Hearing Officer Robert C. Wilcox rejected the stadium proposal in October, ruling that the site was too small, did not allow for enough parking and would cause massive traffic problems.
Redskins officials immediately appealed the decision and said they would use Mr. Wilcox's opinion as a guide for fixing their proposal.
But in an August ruling, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Martin A. Wolff overturned an appeals board approval of a landfill plan, saying that the substance of the proposal had changed radically between the initial hearing and the appeal.
Judge Wolff's decision is being appealed to the Court of Appeals, where a ruling could establish a legal precedent.
His decision has made developers and county officials uncertain as to just what modifications are permitted.
"Up until that case, we always believed anyone taking a case before the appeals board had the right to present a new case," Mr. Gary said.
Mr. Gary said he has met with Redskins officials twice, and at the second meeting last month, the team's attorneys expressed concern about the fairness of the appeals procedure if they were not allowed to make changes to their plan. It was then that Mr. Gary told them he would consider drafting the legislation.
Mr. Gary acknowledged that he would love to have the nearly $5 million the stadium would generate in tax revenue for the county, even after a $2 million property tax break is subtracted.
"Obviously, I'm an Anne Arundel County executive and I'd like to have the revenue for my county," Mr. Gary said. "You don't get a $160 million investment in a county every day. Because of that it is an extraordinary circumstance. It's not the same as having another manufacturing plant locating here."
County Council chairwoman Diane R. Evans said she has been briefed by Redskins officials but has not been asked for her support. She said that she, too, is "looking at it very seriously from an economic development potential."
Ms. Mignon said she believes talk that Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke is looking at other potential stadium sites is pressuring Anne Arundel officials to cater to the football team.
"I've been waiting for this announcement ever since the Konterra talks began," Ms. Mignon said.
"This is the arm twisting and it's working."