UPDATE 2: The Baltimore County Republican Party has issued the following statement:

The Baltimore County Republican Party strongly supports the ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITY ORDINANCE (AFPO) . This AFPO Bill was passed last week by the Baltimore County Council to help ensure that Baltimore County communities will have the necessary infrastructure requirements reviewed prior to the support of any development project.

This is a necessary process that needs to take place in order to ensure our infrastructure can handle new development and expansion. It will help ensure that our schools are not more overcrowded and that necessary infrastructure such as water, sewer, roads, transportation, fire, police etc, can handle any new development in Baltimore County.

County Executive Olszewski said he will veto the AFPO Bill. Olszewski is putting developers, Wes Moore, and advocates of unregulated development of high-density housing and other development projects ahead of the welfare of the citizens of the County.

The General Assembly recently passed bills granting the State and Federal government the right the fund high density housing in the County without County oversight and was egregious to the citizens of Baltimore County. Now Olszewski and the State want to make sure that the County has no input even to the infrastructure required.

This veto by Olszewski is to support the State’s agenda for unregulated high density developments in the Counties and to eliminate any County oversight that could stand in their way. Johnny Olszewski needs to put the citizens of his County FIRST!!

We urge all County residents to call the County offices and VOICE their support for the APFO Bill and to help save the County from the unregulated onslaught of development and high-density housing.

Authority, Baltimore County Republican Party, Kevin Olkowski Treasurer

UPDATE: County Executive Johnny Olszewski has issued the following statement regarding the veto:

Chairman Patoka and Councilmembers,

Those of us honored to serve in elected office are tasked with considering and addressing any number of complex, systemic, and historic challenges. Too often, these issues are perceived to be in direct conflict with one another and are sought to be swiftly addressed with imprecise panaceas. In reality, the challenges we face require thoughtful, pragmatic policy solutions.

My administration shares residents’ concerns regarding school overcrowding — and supports efforts to responsibly address it. At the same time, we recognize and affirm Baltimore County’s moral and legal obligations to expand access to attainable housing. These are not mutually exclusive priorities.

Baltimore County Council Bill 31-24 – Adequate Public Facilities – Overcrowded School District is well-intentioned, but is also legislation unlikely to meaningfully impact school overcrowding. Instead, it will instead drastically reduce opportunities for attainable housing — limiting our long-term economic vitality while also exposing the County to significant litigation risk and potentially violating the County Charter. Included alongside this letter is analysis from the Office of Law outlining those legal concerns in further depth.

As Baltimore County’s Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development testified, and numerous other community stakeholders consistently shared during public testimony, Bill 31-24 jeopardizes Baltimore County’s ability to meet our goals under the County’s Conciliation and Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notably and regrettably, the County Council voted down a proposed amendment that would have explicitly allowed for projects to move forward if necessary to meet the terms of the VCA.

In addition, there is little evidence to indicate that Bill 31-24 will solve for school overcrowding. While Bill 31-24 focuses regulatory oversight over new or proposed residential development, student enrollment growth is often driven by families with school aged children moving into existing housing. This bill makes no effort to address enrollment growth driven by relocation into existing housing stock, and does not quantify the extent to which new development is contributing to growth in school capacity rates.

At a minimum, legislation intended to address school overcrowding should be reflective of the expertise of the leaders who serve in our school system. It is our understanding that the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) administration was not engaged or consulted on this legislation until after its formal introduction by the County Council. Moreover, proposed amendments supported by BCPS were uniformly rejected. It is our hope that the Council will engage with educational professionals, including Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers and the Baltimore County Board of Education, to address concerns found in this legislation and encourage long-term efforts to address overcrowding in a manner that’s informed by student enrollment and school capacity data trends, and the root causes of growth in those data points.

Finally, we believe that the County and School System have already charted a bold and equitable course to improve capacity and condition in every school across Baltimore County. My administration has put forward historic funding for school construction and, through the Multi-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools, is actively addressing capacity, condition, and quality of education systemwide. As a result, under our administration alone, Baltimore County has already opened seven new schools and created over 3,000 new school seats — with two more new schools on the way later this year. As we continue working to expand capacity and improve conditions, we must do so in a way that prioritizes productive collaboration and holistic thinking.

Therefore, in accordance with Article IV, § 402 of the Charter of Baltimore County, Maryland, I am vetoing Baltimore County Council Bill 31-24 – Adequate Public Facilities – Overcrowded School Districts. Moving forward, we encourage Councilmembers to allow this veto to stand, continue collaborative discussion, and support future targeted efforts to effectively address school overcrowding — while rejecting the false choice that Bill 31-24 presents. I applaud the members of the Council who shared their concerns and have already embraced the complexity of this challenge.

Before the vote on Bill 31-24, Councilmembers noted that it is important to have dialogue, trust, and cooperation between units of government. We agree. I hope that all stakeholders will have an opportunity to help shape legislative efforts impacting our communities so that we can responsibly and effectively overcome this challenge together.

Sincerely,
John A. Olszewski, Jr.
Baltimore County Executive

Original story below…

NOTTINGHAM, MD—Councilman David Marks on Thursday morning issued the following statement regarding County Executive Johnny Olszewski’s veto of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, a bill to help prevent school overcrowding which was passed by the County Council earlier this month.

“By vetoing the County Council’s reform of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, the County Executive is ignoring bipartisan, widespread support from educators, community leaders, and parents who want classrooms free from overcrowding,” said Councilman Marks.

“Shame on Governor (Wes) Moore and his administration for inappropriately inserting their pro-development positions on local land use decisions,” Marks added.

The County Council could override the veto with five votes.  Councilman Marks says he will vote to override.