Anne Arundel council overrides Pittman zoning vetoes that some members called ‘political’

The Anne Arundel County Council easily overrode seven zoning-related vetoes by the county executive Monday night, which could result in increased development on the affected parcels in the western part of the county.

County Executive Steuart Pittman had vetoed seven amendments passed by the council to the county’s zoning plan for its Region 5, which includes Crofton, Gambrills, Two Rivers and Odenton.

Pittman elaborated on his reasons for the vetoes in a June 5 letter to the County Council, writing that the zoning amendments “increased the allowed intensity of development.”

Council Chair Julie Hummer said the council does not take zoning changes lightly, adding that she thought the vetoes might be politically motivated.

“It seemed designed to help one candidate make a campaign point,” she said.

Hummer was referring to James Kitchin, a special assistant to Pittman who is running in the Democratic primary next week to succeed him as county executive. Pittman, who is term-limited, has endorsed Kitchin.

On June 13, Kitchin posted a campaign video discussing the vetoes and urging people to contact their County Council members and ask them to not overturn them.

Hummer said the council had not received complaints about the amendments.

Councilman Nathan Volke, a Republican, agreed that the vetoes appeared political. Volke said he thought they were intended to draw attention and force council members Allison Pickard and Pete Smith, who are also running in the Democratic primary, to vote to override them.

“These vetoes appear hand selected to benefit County Executive Pittman‘s preferred choice in the Democratic primary,” Volke wrote.

During Monday night’s meeting, Volke also said that he thought Pittman’s vetoes were an example of his “sour grapes when he doesn’t like what we do.”

Pittman’s office did not provide an immediate response to the council members’ comments.

Pittman, who is also chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, highlighted two amendments that upzoned land near the Two Rivers community in Odenton in his weekly newsletter.

“The applicants for these upzonings were pretty sophisticated. All hired agents who engage in campaign funding, and most are contributors themselves,” wrote Pittman, adding that none of the amendments had the support of the county’s Office of Planning and Zoning.

One of those amendments converted 27 acres of land zoned “Rural Agricultural” to “R1 Residential,” while the other changed 137 acres of land from “Open Space” to “R2 Residential.”

Hummer said neither of those zoning changes represents imminent development projects. The amendment that converts 27 acres was written to include land-use rules that would allow “at most” nine houses to be built in a neighborhood cluster on the land, leaving the rest for conservation.

The other, Hummer said Tuesday, was a zoning change to undo a downzoning of the property done by the administration against the owner’s wishes.

Speaking during Monday night’s council meeting, Hummer said she was flummoxed by many of the other Pittman vetoes. Some of the changes, she said, came at the request of property owners trying to plan for their future or after compromise to match the zoning density and character of surrounding neighborhoods.