Code Enforcement Law Going to County Council, Citizens Advisory Board Will Send Letter in Support

Yesterday evening, the mid-county citizens advisory board met for its monthly. In addition to a familiar presentation from Robert Wulff of the B.F. Saul team, the board discussed and decided to take action on several items:

Demographics of Mid-County

Pamela Zorich from the research department of the Planning board gave a presentation on the demographics of the county and the mid-county region. Mid- county has about 21 percent of the total county's population – just under a one million according to one 2011 projection – and can expect to add 26,000 people in the next 15 years, about 15 percent of the counties' overall growth in that time period.

From 2008 census update data, mid-county is slightly more diverse than the rest of the county, especially in terms of the Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic population. However, it is the third-highest percentage of minorities total, behind Eastern county and Silver Spring. Housing is most affordable in mid-county for both renters and home-owners, but 50 percent of renters in mid-county have a high burden of housing expenses as percentage of household income. A high burden is defined as more than 30 percent of monthly household income.

ZTA 09-03 Supported by Board

Zoning Text Amendment 09-03 will be brought to a vote before the entire county council on Oct. 26, a representative of  Councilmember Elrich's office reported.

This amendment focuses on strengthening enforcement of code violations in residential areas, specifically businesses operating out of homes and the paving of lawns to add parking. Functionally, the amendment strengthens the language and enforcement policies for existing code violations. [See the full text of ZTA 09-03 to the right under PDFs].

"This board has championed the idea that these neighborhoods should be for families and not for businesses," Board Chair L. Blaine Charak said, "It cannot wait until next time. "

"It has teeth," Mary Scholl remarked to a new board member about the provisions in the amendment.

The board will draft letters in support of the passage of ZTA 09-03, as well as a call to the Planning Board to expedite the process of renovating Kemp Mill Urban Park.