Pittman Proposes Plan To Save Anne Arundel County's Trees

EDGEWATER, MD — An estimated 150 people showed up at a town hall meeting Aug. 20 at South River High School in Edgewater to learn more about Anne Arundel County's forest conservation law and how to strengthen it. Steuart Pittman, county executive, said he intends to introduce legislation at the next county council meeting to "better protect our remaining forest lands."

"Forests are tremendously important to our county. Trees reduce air pollution, soak up stormwater runoff, provide wildlife habitat and help fight climate change," Pittman said at the meeting.

Matt Johnston, the county’s environmental policy director, shared data from the federal Chesapeake Bay Program showing how Anne Arundel County has lost 2,775 acres of forest since 2010 – the most of any county in Maryland.

“We’ve lost more forest than all of our neighboring counties combined,” Johnston said. “In fact, Anne Arundel County accounts for 40 percent of all the forest lost in Maryland counties in this decade. We continue to lose about 300 acres of forest a year to development. We have to do better – our future depends on it.”

Under current law, on a 100-acre parcel, up to 68 acres of forest can be cleared with no requirement to replant trees. When developers clear more than that, they also have an option to pay a “fee-in-lieu” instead of replanting. Anne Arundel County’s fee-in-lieu is $0.40 per square foot, among the lowest in the state.

Pittman’s draft legislation has five key components. The bill:

• increases the “conservation thresholds” that determine how much of a site developers may clear without having to replant or pay a fee;
• adds protections for the largest and most ecologically important forests;
• increases the fee-in-lieu amount from $0.40 to $2.50 per square foot;
• increases tree replanting requirements; and
• brings county code into compliance with the most recent state forest conservation code.

“This bill will transform our county from the clear cutting capital of Maryland to a leader in forest conservation,” Pittman said. “We believe we've found the formula that will become a model for other counties and potentially for future state legislation.”

Pittman intends to introduce the legislation at the next county council meeting Sept. 3, which would lead to a public hearing on the bill Oct. 7.