Overwhelmed by letters, telephone calls and e-mail from angry residents, Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens has quietly withdrawn a bill that would have let certain homeowners rent out their properties for wedding receptions and graduation parties.

"There were a lot of individuals and community groups that came forward with concerns about the potential effects on their residential communities," said Kevin O'Keeffe, Owens' legislative liaison. "After listening to those concerns, we decided it was better to withdraw the bill now and take a closer look at another date."

A large number of residents, including members of the Generals Highway Council of Civic Associations and the Greater Severna Park Council, planned to attend the council meeting tomorrow to testify against the legislation. In the end, they didn't have to.

Still, many said they would watch for similar bills.

"If I ever see another bill like this one, I will be on it," said Robert Dale Klein, an Annapolis attorney who lives in Arnold, next door to a mansion that he feared might be rented out for loud, late-night galas if the proposed legislation was adopted.

In a letter last week to Owens and Council Chairman Bill D. Burlison, he wrote, "This is one idea that should never have seen the light of day."

As soon as the bill was introduced last month, it began to elicit negative reaction from county residents such as Kathleen D. Winter of Crownsville, who lives near a former wedding party venue on St. Helena Island.

When a Circuit Court judge put a stop to the parties in 1999, ruling that the businessman who was host to the parties had violated county zoning laws, Winter and other neighbors were overjoyed. Winter and others who lived through the St. Helena Island episode said they recalled the experience when they learned of the Owens bill.

Many opponents said they feared the bill would expose residential areas to intense commercial activity. The legislation would have applied only to homes at least 40 years old, on a state or county road, with a minimum of 5,000 square feet of floor space on a 5-acre lot. The change would not have applied to houses in Annapolis, which has its own zoning code.

"You just don't do commercial in a residential zone," said Severna Park resident Al Johnston, who is chairman of the Planning and Zoning Legislation Committee of the Greater Severna Park Council. Johnston said members of his group also worried about the logistics of doing business in residential areas - including traffic and septic tanks.

Council member Pamela G. Beidle, a Linthicum Democrat, said she was focused on keeping the peace among neighbors.

"You hear about some homes that are already used for weddings and you hear a lot of complaints about noise," she said. "You don't want to hear that noise every single weekend."

Owens said she introduced the legislation in hopes of opening up some of the county's older homes to the public, and in an effort to help homeowners earn extra money to defray renovation costs for historic mansions.

Despite those good intentions, Klein, the attorney, called the Owens bill "ill-considered."

"If someone is going to buy a historic home, they better be prepared to pay for it," he said. "Don't make a bad investment and then expect to recoup your loss on the backs of your neighbors."

In other council news, several council members have said they plan to introduce legislation at tomorrow's meeting to alter the county charter.

Beidle said late last week that she has prepared a bill to eliminate the second council meetings in August and December. Council member Daniel E. Klosterman Jr., a Democrat from Millersville, has drafted a bill that would make technical changes to the county's bidding process. Council member Barbara D. Samorajczyk, a Democrat from Annapolis, has written legislation to allow the council to hire its own attorney.

All charter amendments must be presented for referendum.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Arundel Center, 44 Calvert St., Annapolis.