Annapolis OKs tree-replacement law
When developers are required to replace cut down trees in Annapolis they must replace those trees acre for acre.
That’s the new law the Annapolis City Council approved this past week with its “No Net Loss” provision. Previously a developer only had to replace a minimum of aquarter of each acre that was cut down.
The replanting requirements can increase if developers cut down larger groups of trees.
Supporters of the bill said the legislation’s purpose is to protect more trees and maintain the city’s tree canopy. Annapolis has atree canopy goalof 50 percent by 2036.
The most recent report from 2007 calculated the city’s canopy coverage at about 45 percent.
Environmental advocates spoke in favor of the bill at the Monday meeting. But opponents have said the legislation put onerous restrictions on developers. Finding room to build new developments is already challenging, and requiring those developers to replant trees within city boundaries would deter growth, they say.
Annapolis lawyer Alan Hyatt, who represents developers in the city, sent a letter to city council urging them to delay Monday’s vote.
“It is proving extremely difficult to find land that is both available for tree planting and that meets departmental preferences,”
Hyatt wrote in his letter.
With the law passed, the focus turns to the state Department of Natural Resources.
That department, which signs off on local forest conservation ordinances, could challenge the bill. The DNR has taken the position that municipalities can’t enact laws that have stricter reforestation and conservation thresholds than the state’s law.
Supporters of the bill are hopeful an attorney general opinion will bolster the city’s decision. That opinion states cities can enact the stronger legislation as long as it still conforms to the “intent, requirements, and standards” of the state forest conservation law.
Eastport water main replacement planned After a gas-line replacement last fall, construction is planned to replace the water main along Chesapeake Avenue from First to Sixth streets in Annapolis. The $1 million project is slated to begin in April and end in October.
Parking and traffic issues will likely arise, but officials say the work is important to replace the old water main. Water also will be shut off for some houses in Eastport, but the dates and times of those cut-offs have not been announced. Homeowners will be notified ahead of time.
“This is the first of a series,” said David Jarrell, Department of Public Works director.
“They are going to see a lot more in the future because they need to be done.”
In October, the city plans to repave Chesapeake Avenue after the water main is replaced. The repaving was in the works, so replacement of the gas lines and water lines along with an inspection of the sewer lines was pushed forward before the repaving work, Jarrell said.
Traffic will still flow through Chesapeake Avenue, but the road may be pared to one way, said project manager Thora Burkhardt. There are no plans to close Chesapeake Avenue. Signs will be placed for parking changes as well. Parking restrictions will move based on the location of the construction crews.
Annapolis Transit isn’t expected to have any major delays. Buses might be delayed when the construction gets closer to Fourth Street, where a bus has to make a sharp turn, Burkhardt said.
— Chase Cook, Baltimore Sun Media Group Glen Burnie High senior wins Coca-Cola scholarship The Coca-Cola Scholars Program is awarding Glen Burnie High School senior Zainab Badejo $20,000 for college expenses.
The program recognizes students who show leadership and service to the community. Badejo is from Lagos, Nigeria.
She moved to the United States at age 8.
“Zainab is an exceptional young lady who is not only a hard worker, but possesses great character and poise,” Glen Burnie Principal Vickie Plitt said in a statement.
Badejo is involved in after-school activities and clubs such as student government, National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society and varsity track and field. She also founded the school’s Afro-Caribbean Club so that students of African and Caribbean descent can preserve their cultural identity.
— Cindy Huang, Baltimore Sun Media Group
That’s the new law the Annapolis City Council approved this past week with its “No Net Loss” provision. Previously a developer only had to replace a minimum of aquarter of each acre that was cut down.
The replanting requirements can increase if developers cut down larger groups of trees.
Supporters of the bill said the legislation’s purpose is to protect more trees and maintain the city’s tree canopy. Annapolis has atree canopy goalof 50 percent by 2036.
The most recent report from 2007 calculated the city’s canopy coverage at about 45 percent.
Environmental advocates spoke in favor of the bill at the Monday meeting. But opponents have said the legislation put onerous restrictions on developers. Finding room to build new developments is already challenging, and requiring those developers to replant trees within city boundaries would deter growth, they say.
Annapolis lawyer Alan Hyatt, who represents developers in the city, sent a letter to city council urging them to delay Monday’s vote.
“It is proving extremely difficult to find land that is both available for tree planting and that meets departmental preferences,”
Hyatt wrote in his letter.
With the law passed, the focus turns to the state Department of Natural Resources.
That department, which signs off on local forest conservation ordinances, could challenge the bill. The DNR has taken the position that municipalities can’t enact laws that have stricter reforestation and conservation thresholds than the state’s law.
Supporters of the bill are hopeful an attorney general opinion will bolster the city’s decision. That opinion states cities can enact the stronger legislation as long as it still conforms to the “intent, requirements, and standards” of the state forest conservation law.
Eastport water main replacement planned After a gas-line replacement last fall, construction is planned to replace the water main along Chesapeake Avenue from First to Sixth streets in Annapolis. The $1 million project is slated to begin in April and end in October.
Parking and traffic issues will likely arise, but officials say the work is important to replace the old water main. Water also will be shut off for some houses in Eastport, but the dates and times of those cut-offs have not been announced. Homeowners will be notified ahead of time.
“This is the first of a series,” said David Jarrell, Department of Public Works director.
“They are going to see a lot more in the future because they need to be done.”
In October, the city plans to repave Chesapeake Avenue after the water main is replaced. The repaving was in the works, so replacement of the gas lines and water lines along with an inspection of the sewer lines was pushed forward before the repaving work, Jarrell said.
Traffic will still flow through Chesapeake Avenue, but the road may be pared to one way, said project manager Thora Burkhardt. There are no plans to close Chesapeake Avenue. Signs will be placed for parking changes as well. Parking restrictions will move based on the location of the construction crews.
Annapolis Transit isn’t expected to have any major delays. Buses might be delayed when the construction gets closer to Fourth Street, where a bus has to make a sharp turn, Burkhardt said.
— Chase Cook, Baltimore Sun Media Group Glen Burnie High senior wins Coca-Cola scholarship The Coca-Cola Scholars Program is awarding Glen Burnie High School senior Zainab Badejo $20,000 for college expenses.
The program recognizes students who show leadership and service to the community. Badejo is from Lagos, Nigeria.
She moved to the United States at age 8.
“Zainab is an exceptional young lady who is not only a hard worker, but possesses great character and poise,” Glen Burnie Principal Vickie Plitt said in a statement.
Badejo is involved in after-school activities and clubs such as student government, National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society and varsity track and field. She also founded the school’s Afro-Caribbean Club so that students of African and Caribbean descent can preserve their cultural identity.
— Cindy Huang, Baltimore Sun Media Group
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