Update: The legislation passed. Read the story here.
The bill, sponsored by Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, would increase the fees developers must pay to offset the loss of open space. The fees are used by the county to buy other land to keep as parks, etc.
“My constituents universally agree that if developers in Downtown Towson cannot meet the county’s open space requirements, they should pay some amount to provide open space or other amenities near their projects,” Marks said in a statement on his website. “Monday night’s resolution boosts the open space funding from pending projects in the Towson area, from $145,000 to more than $2 million, depending on the amount of open space internalized in projects.”
Read the proposed legislation here.
Kudos to all who pressed the council (and the community) to examine this more closely.
The council should approve this bill. I’m not saying it goes far enough, but it’s better than nothing.