Past NCP Issues› Creameries Mike Pierce spoke before the Planning Board on behalf of NCP and, while voicing support for such agricultural value-added processes as a way to ensure the survival of farms in the North County, stressed the need for the legislation to be completely reviewed and modified to ensure that unintended consequences and further ambiguities are not created. Comments were provided to the board regarding the lack of specificity in the proposed bill for definitions, restrictions, and protection for both existing farms and other suitable uses of rural land. Following some changes, an acceptable bill was passed. The creamery is being built, with financial assistance from the county, and is expected to begin selling ice cream in June. Meanwhile, the legal battle continues. On May 25 the Board of Appeals turned down another challenge and a Court of Special Appeals case was heard on June 2. NCP will be following up on this complex issue. DOWNLOAD NCP'S LETTER TO THE PLANNING BOARD (PDF) >> › Agricultural Estate Taxes Three bills were considered by the Maryland House that were intended to address this problem.
NCP supported the third, as being an essential component of the preservation of Northern Baltimore County. In the end, none of these passed, but a compromise bill, SB296/HB1571, passed which provides a 3-year deferral on the payment of estate taxes and then provides for another 3-year, interest-free payment period, thus allowing the heirs to make better decisions about the future of their farm without the pressure of immediately paying the taxes. The state will monitor the use of this deferral process to assess the importance of further changes. › Master Plan DOWNLOAD RURAL PORTION OF MASTER PLAN (PDF) >> Hearings were held throughout March for the urban area portion, which includes the water resources element. |