Environmental Stewardship

General Comments:

• Address relationship with surrounding Counties and explain the collective/regional approach to environmental protection and conservation efforts.
• Include an implementation plan with cost projections.
• Consider implementing a wildlife management plan.
• Create a shoreline overlay protection zone.
• Address inconsistencies between priority watershed protection goals and latest data/information.
• Strengthen language on stream buffer requirements.
• Increase education to public about Greenways Program and subsequent opportunities for volunteering.
• Protect Old Colony Cove Farm through conservation.
• Implementation of plans so far have not produced results, we need a different approach for effectively protecting and restoring the environment.
• Strengthen enforcement of regulations, educate public better, and increase penalties for violations. The County enforcement lacks credibility due to Dobbins Island incident.
• Clarify action that would require a fee for modifications to disturb sensitive areas by explaining how the money would be used.

Waste Management

• Coal tar should not be allowed to pave roads because it is toxic.
• Need practical solution for septic system upgrades including incentives to make upgrades affordable.
• Landfills, rubblefills, fly ash dumps, etc. should not be located in areas where people use private wells.
• A proactive approach is needed in addition to reactive methods addressing capping of landfills.
• Address landfills and fly ash issues in GDP.
• Include specific recommendations for improving septic systems.

LEED/Sustainability

• Explore existence of grant programs available to incentivize LEED construction.
• Provide incentives to modify old or create new buildings with alternative energy methods like solar energy.

Forest Preservation

• Forest preservation should focus on greenways and include fees.
• Create an Urban Forest Canopy program like Baltimore City.
• Strict adherence to regulations should take precedence over maximizing development, particularly in sensitive areas and forest preservation.
• Southern tips of County need more Greenways.
• Establish goals within the GDP to accomplish the Greenways Master Plan.

Stormwater Management

• Outline retrofitting mitigation options for existing properties that are contributing to the TMDL problem.
• Add build out projections for phosphorus loads relating to TMDLs.
• Address protection of Bay from agricultural runoff, such as through easements and riparian buffers that could be used for protection.
• Require engineering with new development to contain runoff so that No Net Loss of precipitation will occur by new development.

Community Preservation

Commercial Revitalization

• Implement the recommendations in the Small Area Plans.
• Keep businesses informed about the revitalization programs.
• Encourage small businesses to stay.
• Cluster community services and amenities such as a pool and community center.
• Consider including services such as business or telecommuting satellite center.
• Use zoning enforcement to speed up change.
• Develop ideas for redevelopment of the Smith Lumber Company site that are compatible with the community.
• Provide information/assistance to small businesses on how to start up and encourage them to move to places that would be appropriate to scale of or meet the needs of the community.
• South County communities would like to see child care, child development, and family friendly businesses.
• A small business "incubator" would provide opportunities for family friendly business.
• Direct community resources to existing infrastructure (adaptive reuse of existing buildings).
• Government should have an "implementation team such as a community field worker who could go out and assist communities in developing revitalization Plans.

Neighborhood Conservation

• Pursue National Register designation for Cumberstone.
• Look at options for incorporating design guidelines for protecting Cumberstone at the local level.
• Maintain the scale of existing buildings through design guidelines or overlay district.
• Suggestion that overarching enabling legislation would help organize and motivate communities to form community preservation zones and committees.

General Comments

• Offer intellectual opportunities, community amenities in satellite spaces so that existing institutions such as AACC can offer programs in South County.
• There should be a concerted effort to preserve agriculture by encouraging farming as an economic development tool.

Quality Public Services

Recreation and Parks

• Deale/ Shadyside area could be a good location for a new community center.
• New community center site could be expanded to have a senior center, homeless shelter and a nutrition site.
• More passive recreation fields are required in South County.
• Old Colony Cove Farm property should be developed into passive recreation nature park; property has conservation easement that should be modified to give more public access to the property.
• An active park should be established in Galesville.
• Dog parks should be planned in the region.
• The scenic character of Greenock Road and Route 408 should be preserved. The routes should be made safer for bicyclists and not be used as an alternate route for trucks.
• County should draft policies and recommendations with definite timelines to increase public access to County waterways. The goal should be to have public beach and boat launching facility on all County major waterways.
• Beverly Beach is a good site that should be developed as passive park with water access for all boats and beaches for the public to use as well as trails throughout.

Library Services

• Satisfied with the current level of library services in the County.
• Library hours should be expanded to include more weekend hours.
• Deale/ Edgewater library is important for the South County community.
• Libraries should have more IT support.
• Library services in the County should have more funding for different resources.

Health Care Services

• County residents should be educated about the services offered by County health care centers.
• All County residents need family planning services; the County Health Department should not limit family planning services to the residents less than 25 years of age.
• More public supported dental care facilities are needed.

Senior Services

• County does a good job of taking care of its senior citizens.
• Services of paratransit could be expanded to transport low income residents.
• Daycare centers should be located in close proximity to the senior centers or combined within the same building.

Public Safety

• Office of Emergency Management needs more leadership for community outreach.
• Fire/ EMS services have inadequate response times in the many South County Communities.
• Emergency evacuation education is important.
• Very few County residents are aware that Southern High School is a receiving station at the time of emergency evacuation from nuclear fallout at Calvert Cliffs. Anne Arundel should study the impact of emergency evacuation of Calvert County residents on South County infrastructure, especially, given the fact that Calvert Cliffs is being scheduled for expansion. Policy needs to be established to address how Anne Arundel County is to address and care for those involved in a nuclear accident at Calvert Cliffs since Southern High School is a receiving shelter for those working in and around the plant.

Recycling Services

• The new County recycling bins are 'big and bulky'. Senior citizens are not able to carry these bins to the curbs after they are filled with recyclables.

Other Issues

• For providing quality public services, County should be financially strong.
• County should explore ways of increasing its revenue sources to provide quality public services.
• County should study the impact of increased use by the immigrant population on public services and address accordingly regardless of legal or non-legal immigrant standing.
• South County needs a homeless shelter; shower and laundry facilities should be a part of homeless shelters; also consider designating buildings such as health clubs, schools etc that have shower facilities within as places for the homeless to go on a designated day and time per week to get a shower and clean up; an arrangement with some laundry facilities should also be made whereby the homeless can go free of charge to do laundry.
• County Food Banks should expand their services to provide health care and personal hygiene products.
• Rt. 255 and Governor's Bridge Road should be improved to better accommodate bikes and pedestrians.

Balanced Growth

• Do not support comprehensive zoning changes that would allow 'Big Box' retail in South County.
• Citizens support actions that will keep South County Rural.
• Existing, neighborhood scale commercial development needs revitalization in order to provide additional service needs (e.g. pharmacy, grocery store).
• Defunct commercial districts should have the supporting residential density nearby so that those areas can sustain themselves over the long term.
• The negative impacts of high intensity traffic on State maintained roads needs to be better managed; many rural roads in South County are not designed for heavy trucks and other commercial vehicles.
• Locations for a new community center in South County should include languishing marinas.
• More pedestrian and bicycle connections are needed between residential areas and recreational amenities.
• Additional access to water based recreation should become a key component of the recreation plans for South County.
• Efforts should be made to enhance land preservation in areas that are not necessarily forested, such as open meadow and soybean fields.
• Targeted growth areas should be held to strict environmental protection standards, just as the rural areas do.
• Revise regulations to encourage clustering of development over large-lot subdivision.
• Environmental Site Design methods should be incorporated into subdivision regulations.
• Environmental conditions such as salt water intrusion and decreasing aquifer levels need to be used to assess whether additional growth can be supported by the surrounding land.
• RA zoning allows special exception uses that are inappropriate for the 'rural' land uses shown on the 2008 Land Use Plan.
• Establish a policy of 'infill / subdivision prioritization' as a way to determine if growth and / or development should be allowed.
• South County needs to have more affordable housing for keep young families from moving away.
• Clustering should be encouraged as a method of providing more affordable housing.

Water Resources

• The water resource plan or the natural resource plan needs to depict / predict the forest cover loss and show ultimate impervious cover that will result from adoption of GDP land use decisions.
• The document needs to reference the fact that the Severn River is the only River within Anne Arundel County identified as a scenic river by the State.
• Current policies identified in the plan to deal with the water resource impacts need to be more specific and strengthened to allow for implementation.