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DENTON – The Caroline County Commissioners passed two bills and introduced two new pieces of legislation at their April 8 meeting in Denton.
Two bills introduced March 11 passed unanimously. Both had second readings and public hearings March 18.
The first, Bill 2005-001, concerned the location of cannabis facilities, which prompted the need to amend the county code. Planning and Codes Director Crystal Dadds explained that C2 zoning areas having to do with the location of cannabis dispensaries were all outside the 500-foot setback from schools. That setback also governs the location of liquor stores in proximity to schools.
Bill 2025-002 creates a new section 194 in the county code. The legislation codifies what had “long been a policy of the director of planning and codes in this county to deny an application for a permit if the same property already had an existing violation that had not been remedied,” County Attorney Stewart Barroll said.
Barroll explained that the policy had been designed “to encourage people who had either let the property go into disrepair or had constructed something without a permit to bring their properties into compliance,” he said. “It was a very good way to coerce people into doing the right thing, and we, after discussion months ago, decided this should be actually codified and placed in code so that there's no question as to the enforceability of this policy.”
Two bills introduced March 25 were read a second time, accompanied by public hearings.
Legislation that would eliminate term limits for members of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), Bill 2025-003, prompted the objection of Federalsburg resident Sabrina Barger-Turner, president and CEO of the local nonprofit Homeless & Human.
Barger-Turner said she believed “the potential drawbacks of removing term limits include stagnation of ideas, reduced community engagement, concentration of power, decreased accountability and the potential for corruption.”
“We need people on (the zoning commission) who are willing to get our constituents housed.” Turner said.
County Administrator Katheleen Freeman clarified that the BZA “does not deal with any housing issues or anything that you mentioned” and only relates to the county, she told Turner.
Because the members of the BZA are volunteers and difficult to recruit, and acquire the specialized knowledge that takes time to master, the bill is designed to provide knowledgeable members an opportunity to continue serving on the board.
“It's difficult for us to find people,” Freeman said. “We have an open position now to appoint someone, but your points are taken.”
Gerald Franz of Greensboro agreed with Barger-Turner. “If you eliminate term limits, it's possible you’re gonna have the same person for 20 years, (and) … that could involve a little bit of corruption or loss of control, power.”
The bill moves to a third reading with possible amendments or enactment April 15 at the County Commissioners meeting.
During the public hearing for Bill 2025-004, no residents testified. The bill defines a wastewater treatment facility and amends Chapter 175 of the county code, specifying that “the purpose of the facility must be for the treatment, storage and disposal of certain waste,” among other provisions.
“Currently, the way the definition is written is it’s an ‘or’ instead of an ‘and,’ so that meant you could do any of the three items without all three,” Planning and Codes Director Crystal Dadds explained at the March 25 Commissioners’ meeting. “One of the concerns is that you could do storage only without treating it, without disposing of it, or store it and dispose of it without any treatment of it. So that's what we wanted to clean up to say that the intention of the wastewater treatment facility is for all three components.”
The Commissioners will meet 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 15, in Room 106 of the Caroline County Courthouse, 109 Market St., Denton.
