Paid for by Citizens for Colburn Committee. Authority John W. Phillips, Jr., Treasurer

Sen. Colburn honored by Maryland Municipal League
July 19, 2006

CAMBRIDGE — The Maryland Municipal League recently honored Sen. Richard F. Colburn, R-37th District, during their annual conference in Ocean City.

Colburn was praised for his many contributions on behalf of Maryland’s municipalities and towns during the 2006 Legislative Session. Colburn worked with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and the Maryland Municipal League toward a compromise regarding MACo’s annexation bill. He is a candidate for re-election in the Republican Party’s September primary election.

Colburn co-sponsored SB 536/HB 1141 to better manage county and municipal growth through the comprehensive plan process. HB 1141 passed and makes several changes in local government planning in Maryland, including comprehensive plans and municipal annexation.

The bill requires counties and municipals to include a water resources element in their comprehensive plans and expands the sensitive areas element in the comprehensive plans by modifying the definition of “sensitive areas” to include wetlands and certain agricultural and forest lands.

The Department of the Environment and the Department of Natural Resources are required to review the sensitive areas element, and the Department of the Environment must provide technical assistance in the development of a water resources element on request of a county or municipality.

In addition, municipalities that exercise zoning powers must include a municipal growth element in their comprehensive plans. A municipality must consult with the county in which the municipality lies when developing the municipal growth element and may request technical assistance from the Department of Planning in developing the municipal growth element. The county and the municipality also may enter into a Joint Planning Agreement to implement the municipal growth element. The new plan elements required under this bill must be adopted by the counties and municipalities on or before Oct. 1, 2009.

Changes to the municipal annexation process under HB 1141 include: modifying a provision governing the development of annexed land during the five-year time period following an annexation by incorporating a density measure and linking it to the zoning ordinance; requiring a municipality to provide an annexation plan for each annexation and requiring that the annexation plan be consistent with the adopted municipal growth element; and adding a provision that requires areas annexed by a municipality after September 30, 2006, to satisfy requirements under the priority funding areas law.

HB 1141 also includes municipalities in the provisions regarding priority funding area and establishes a task force, to be staffed by the Department of Planning, on the future for growth and development in Maryland.

The task force must report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor by Dec. 1, 2007.