Regular Monthly Meeting - September 6, 2007

Members Present:

Lina Vlavianos, Chair
Sally Hornor, Vice Chair
Carrie Capuco 
Dave Hanson
Scott Hymes
Charlotte Lubbert
Joe Rubino
Michael Shultz

Guests and Staff:

Albert Johnston, Greater Severna Park Council
Brenda Reiber, AACo. County Executive’s Office
Brenda Weeks, AACo. DPW

Absent:

Jeff Schomig
Debra Smith, SRC member awaiting confirmation
Virginia P. Clagett, MD House Delegates (Ex officio)
Ron Dillon, County Council (Ex officio)
Sam Shropshire, City Council (Ex officio)           

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Lina Vlavianos called the regular monthly meeting of the Severn River Commission to order at 4:10 p.m. A quorum was declared present. 

The Commission extended congratulations to Scott Hymes for his appointment to the State Judicial Nominating Commission.

MINUTES

The Minutes for the August 2, 2007, regular monthly SRC meeting was presented for approval. No corrections or additions were made so the Minutes were approved as written.

MOTION: A MOTION, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE AUGUST 2, 2007, REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING OF THE SEVERN RIVER COMMISSION AS WRITTEN, WAS MADE AND SECONDED. THE MOTION WAS PASSED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE AND THE MINUTES WERE APPROVED.

ANNOUNCEMENTS / CORRESPONDENCE

1. Chair Vlavianos will be out of town for two weeks starting September 7, 2007. Vice Chair Hornor may be contacted if the need arises.
2. The Commission will hold an executive closed session at 5:00 p.m. at the October 4, 2007, SRC meeting. Only voting and ex-officio members may be present. The County Law Office has been invited to give legal advice on the Critical Area and “takings” issues.
3. Debra Smith, the SRC nominee from the City of Annapolis who will replace Capuco, is awaiting a September confirmation by City Council.
4. The Jan Hollmann Environmental Education Award presentation is scheduled for Sunday, September 23, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville.  Ms. Hollmann (deceased) was a former SRC member. St. Mary’s High School teacher Paul O’Hearn is this year’s recipient.
5. Vlavianos sent a letter on behalf of the Commission to Robert Miller, District Manager of the Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District, thanking him for his presentation at the August SRC meeting and offering support for the new policy established by the AASCD regarding stabilization of soils on development sites.
6. Schomig drafted/sent a letter on behalf of the Commission to Jonathan Hodgson, Anne Arundel County Attorney, confirming Mr. Hodgson’s acceptance to attend SRC’s October 4, 2007, meeting to discuss, in executive session, the Office of Law’s role in Critical Area enforcement decisions and the ongoing Critical Area legislation revision process. Copies of the “Maryland Open Meetings Act” information will be sent to SRC members with the Minutes.
7. Received a letter from Larry Tom, AACo. Planning & Zoning Officer, in response to SRC’s August 10, 2007, letter requesting that P&Z give “extra attention” to the environmental review of the KCC property project due to its close proximity to the Jabez Branch. Also in their letter, the Commission urged the utilization of the watershed modeling tool (WMT) and the expertise and experience of the Watershed & Ecosystem Services (WES) staff in evaluating the project.  Mr. Tom indicated in his response that since the proposed overlay for Jabez has not been created or codified, his office is only able to enforce the current environmental and zoning regulations. He also stated, if there is accurate, pertinent information available from WES that the applicant’s consultant wishes to use in designing the subdivision, WES can certainly provide that information as part of general public comments during the review process. Responding to a number of questions, it was noted that in an advisory capacity the Commission could suggest that the County use the WMT to evaluate possible scenarios for this particular project as part of the decision-making process.  This would not be going beyond the law but is discretionary authority within the law.  Hymes will talk with the developer of KCC property and keep SRC updated.

OLD BUSINESS

Critical Area Legislation

In Schomig’s absence, Hornor reported that she has been meeting with a few people to review the most recent Critical Area documents and make suggestions for improvement. Chris Soldano, AACo. P&Z, told her that he is willing to listen to SRC’s suggestions. A new committee will be reviewing the 2001 Critical Area legislation because the 2005-2006 review/with amendments was never approved.  At the September SRC meeting, Vlavianos suggested that Schomig write a letter to Larry Tom, AACo. P&Z Officer, requesting that SRC be represented on the review committee in an advisory and/or ex-officio capacity.  It was suggested that Hornor speak with Schomig about this issue since he is chairman of the SRC Critical Area Legislation special committee. The Committee could review and prioritize the most important issues that need to be addressed and then report back to the Commission. Vlavianos reminded the members that Joe Sachs (ex-officio) represented SRC on the 2001 review.

Education/Communication

Hanson pointed out that the SRC website is a source of communication for the Commission. He feels that there may be a more professional way to contact SRC other than through Lubbert’s personal email. He was told by the County Executive’s office that the SRC Chair needs to contact OIT staff to look into this possibility. Vlavianos reported that she was notified by Brenda Reiber, County Executive’s office, that a designated contact can be set up through the County email network Groupwise over the internet. Chair Vlavianos authorized Lubbert and Hanson to work together to research/resolve this matter. The SRC county email contact would be located on the SRC webpage instead of Lubbert’s personal email.

Hanson reported that he has contacted the Annapolis-Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce to see what kind of input SRC can get as far as public participation from the business community to expand the SRC special committee beyond just the nine Commission members. He is awaiting a response. Hanson also noted that this was part of the report from the Special Committee that was accepted by SRC members earlier. 

Environmental Overlay Zone: Vlavianos reported that she concurred with the AACo. Watershed & Ecosystem Services (WES) staff’s suggestion to postpone the Jabez walk until October or November.  This walk would be an educational discussion/viewing of the Jabez. She will follow-up on her return with WES and get back to Commission members with more information.

At the Overlay Zone Committee meeting on August 15, 2007, County staff advised the group about pitfalls in using certain legal language in the legislative review of the overlay zone.  One of the suggestions is that the language needs to be very strong and specific. SRC needs to prioritize the six areas of concern that the overlay zone will address. Two of those concerns are:  the 300-foot buffers and no direct runoff into the stream. Vlavianos noted that this was a very good meeting with people who usually write the language and then pass it along to the Law Office. Hornor said the staff emphasized that the language should say “what can be done” rather than “what can not be done.”

Naval Academy Dairy Farm: Vlavianos reported that a public forum was held on August 28, 2007, with five Commission members present. A County vision for the dairy farm was presented and a concept map, which contains 140 acres of public access area out of the 854 acres total. The remainder of the acreage would be active farming. A fence will separate the public access area and the farming area.  The lease is still being negotiated with the Navy and will probable be signed by the end of November.  The concept plan has been presented to the Navy, and they will determine what may/may not be acceptable on that concept plan. Vlavianos will serve on the Dairy Farm Advisory Committee who will advise the County on how to implement the lease once it is signed. The plan includes a 300-foot buffer proposed for the sensitive areas, stream restoration, community gardens and an ampithreater.  Vlavianos will keep SRC updated.

Hornor reported that in MDE’s letter of response to SRC’s letter regarding TMDLs in the Severn River Watershed, MDE thanked the Commission for their letter, and will review all comments that they get and let SRC know the outcome. She noted that both the County and the Severn River Association submitted letters of comment. Hornor will keep SRC informed.

Lubbert reported that the number of hits for the month of August on the SRC website was not available due to some issues at OIT. She will have a report for the next meeting. 

Lubbert announced that the Riverkeepers are having their annual Celebrate the Severn fundraiser at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation on September 20, 2007. She also noted that she will be attending an Maryland Department of the Environmental meeting, September 27, 2007, about the water and the watershed.

NEW BUSINESS

Hymes pointed out that the bog legislation does not include undiscovered bogs. He feels the legislation should include any future bogs that are discovered and delineated. Following a brief discussion, members decided that as new bogs are discovered they should be protected in the same way as previously designated bogs.  Hornor will invite Ms. Vitale to speak to the Commission.

MOTION:  A MOTION, THAT SRC REQUEST THAT KATHY VITALE SUBMITT AN AMENDMENT TO THE BOG BILL THAT ANY NEWLY DISCOVERED AND DELINEATED BOGS BE INCLUDED IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CURRENT BOG BILL, WAS MADE AND SECONDED.  THE MOTION WAS PASSED BY UNANAMOUS VOTE.

PUBLIC INPUT

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m.  The next regular monthly SRC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 4, 2007, 4:00 p.m., in the Chesapeake Room, 2664 Riva Road. The Commission will hold an executive closed session beginning at 5:00 p.m. the same day.