Council Bill 44-09

On Monday, July 20th, the Anne Arundel County Council will meet once again about Bill 44-09, which will require anyone who wishes to file a complaint about a zoning violation to put on record their name and address along with it. We are asking our members to write their county council representative to ask them to oppose this bill. By stripping the ability of an individual to anonymously file a complaint, the concern is that it will discourage most of the public from filing out of fear of retaliation. In all practicality, this will probably decrease the level of vigilance for zoning enforcement in the county. While this bill does not affect the zoning laws themselves, compliance with these laws are the most direct and effective ways that communities on a local level are able to manage growth in order to ensure that it minimizes its impact on the environment and does not change the character of the towns that they live in. The majority of counties in Maryland have an anonymous filing system in place precisely because they have found it to be effective in consistently managing zoning compliance.

As the current law stands now, in order to address concerns that complaints could be used as a "means of harassment," the county reviews the merits of each before proceeding further with any action. Also, if a citation is still issued, a resident has several opportunities by which to appeal the decision if they feel it is without justification.

If you agree that this bill will have a negative impact on our ability to fight against irresponsible development, please write your county council representative. Ed Reilly is the main sponsor of this bill, so he needs to hear that this bill does not reflect the desire of the community that he serves. Jamie Benoit also might be the critical vote that determines the bill's passage or not.

Please participate in a letter writing campaign at http://demo.getactivehub.com//campaign/Bill_44_09

or contact your councilmen directly at:

G. James ("Jamie") Benoit - District 4
44 Calvert Street, 1st Floor
Annapolis, MD 21401

Email: james.benoit@aacounty.org

Annapolis Office: (410) 222-1401

Edward R. Reilly - District 7
44 Calvert Street, 1st Floor
Annapolis, MD 21401

Email: ereilly@aacounty.org

Annapolis Office: (410) 222-1401

General Development Plan

The County's FINAL draft general development plan is

now available at:
http://www.aacounty.org/ PlanZone/LongRange/GDP.cfm

Crofton First's GDP Slides

Please support an Overlay District for Route 3!!

What is an overlay district?--click here to find out.

Friends of Route 3 (aka: FOR3)

FOR3 is a group of Crofton residents who live directly across from the land a wetlands permit was approved by MDE for, making it possible to build a big box store on that site. These residents are plaintiffs in an appeal to that permit. Crofton First has been mentoring this group, as we did with the fly ash lawsuit residents. Crofton First as an organization does not have legal standing to appeal the permit, so the residents have had to take this head on. FOR3 is working closely with both Crofton First and the Paxtuxent Riverkeeper. To find out more, or to donate to their cause, please visit www.friendsofroute3.org

Thanks to all who attended the meeting at the library:

And thank you to both our speakers, attorney Macy Nelson and Jennifer Bevan-Dangel. Jennifer was representing the 1000
Friends of Maryland (http://www.friendsofmd.org/), and presented a detailed presentation on various House and State bills which you can view here: March 26th presentation

Fly Ash Legislation

Read The Capital's February 11th article, featuring Tim Berkoff of Crofton First, on fly ash legislation: click here

Deal reached in fly ash lawsuit!

The Capital article

Video from News Channel 13

The Crofton First Fall Yard Sale was fun and successful! Thank you to those who rented space, volunteered, and shopped at the event. We may do another in the Spring if we have enough help. If you would like to join the Yard Sale Planning Team, please send an email to croftonfirst@gmail.com

Waugh Chapel Expansion/Renewal Paperwork

2008 General Membership Meeting Presentation Now Available

Get a copy of the Presentation from the May 20th CF General Membership Meeting in PDF form.

WBAL Interviews Crofton First's own Tim Berkoff

Crofton First member Tim Berkoff was recently interviewed by WBAL regarding Fly Ash in Gambrills. Click here for the interview.

Crofton First T-shirts Available!

Residents can show their pride in being part of the organization that stopped Wal-Mart in their tracks! T-Shirts are available at cost, $10 while supplies last, by contacting Rob Smith at croftonfirst@gmail.com

Back to Basics in Transportation Planning

Rediscovering our Roots can Solve 21st Century Traffic Woes

Class Action Lawsuit Filed on behalf of Gambrills residents

(Gambrills, MD Nov. 29) Murphy & Falcon, P.A. of Baltimore has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Gambrills, Maryland residents whose wells have been contaminated by nearby fly ash dump sites operated by Constellation Power Source Generation, Inc. Read the release here, in PDF format.

Council bans fly ash for one year

New fly-ash dump sites have been outlawed in Anne Arundel County for one year

Originally published in the Capital, PDF version here.

Recent Fly Ash Updates

Cleanup of Fly Ash Dumpsite Ordered - from the Washington Post

Airborne fly ash concerns residents - The Capital Online Sept. 27 in PDF format

Gambrills Well Water Investigation

From the Anne Arundel County Department of Health

Get Educated on Fly Ash in Maryland

Originally printed in the Baltimore Sun, you can download the PDF version here.

Letter to the Editor

Read Dick Lahn's recent letter to the Capital Gazette regarding the former Wal-Mart site.

The site as it looked 3 decades ago.

Crofton First: Next Steps

Even though Wal-Mart is not coming to Rt. 3, Crofton First is still committed to Smart Growth along the Rt. 3 Corridor.

Wal-Mart will NOT be coming to Crofton

It's official: Wal-Mart will not be building a store on Rt. 3 in Crofton. This week Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold announced that "the planned Wal-Mart store will not be coming to Crofton."

It goes without saying that this could not have been achieved without a dedicated community making their voices heard. Thanks to everyone who supported this effort.

Crofton First

Promote Smart Growth