Wednesday, February 5, 2014

We Need Your Stories of Encounters with Hunters,and We Need YOU Friday at 8:30 am!

3:30pm Wednesday Update: Delegate Schuh has agreed to start the Anne Arundel County Delegation meeting at 8:30 am this Friday to allow for a 30 minute hearing on Sunday hunting. All of our delegates will be notified. Please join us! They serve coffee and donuts, and last week we were out by 9:30.

Anne Arundel County Special Delegation Meeting on Sunday Hunting
Friday, February 7, 8:30 am

Park in the Gott Parking Garage and walk northeast across Bladen Street to the House Building.

Last Friday DNR argued vehemently in support of Sunday hunting. Its representative said it is safe for hunters and outdoor recreation to share Sundays in the countryside because they have had NO REPORTS OF INJURIES from Sunday hunting.

Many of us recall encounters with hunters on private land during deer season. Whether they resulted in injury, near-injury, threats, or death to farm animals or pets our delegates need to hear our stories today or tomorrow.

The delegation is scheduled again to vote on Sunday hunting this Friday morning at 9am. They may offer a compromise that adds fewer Sundays than originally proposed. Let them know that Safe Sundays work because hunters and the community know it is a longstanding tradition. The confusion and conflict created by quietly slipping in Sundays here and there is bad policy for everyone.

We will compile your stories and present them at the hearing in writing.

For Emails and Calls to County Delegation click on

To share a story, simply scroll down to the Post a Comment section below and describe your encounter. If you don't see that button click on the title of the article above and scroll again to the bottom. If technology isn't working for you, email your story to Steuart Pittman at dodonfarm@verizon.net. 

Please include your name and any details that you wish to share. Our delegates are being told that deer hunting is compatible with outdoor recreational activities. Your stories can change their minds.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Speaker Busch Slows the Sunday Hunting Assault

Did you ever wonder how a delegate from Anne Arundel County who makes his living working for Parks and Recreation got to be Maryland's Speaker of the House? Those of us who attended the Friday morning county delegation debate over whether to open Sundays in our county to deer hunting now understand. Mike Busch knows how to influence his peers.

The hearing began as badly for our side as the one last week in which the sponsor, Delegate Costa, was allowed as much time as he needed to explain why he supports the bill and answer questions. Delegation chair and candidate for county executive Steve Schuh refused to allow opponents of the bill to speak last week and he stuck to that position this week. He did, however, allow a representative of DNR to speak in support of the bill for quite some time. The cards seemed stacked against us. We were itching to respond to what we viewed as a biased and unrealistic portrayal of life in rural Anne Arundel County. Past county delegation chairs allowed citizen input and other county delegations welcome it.

Delegates Frush, McMillan, and Vitale all had heard our testimony the day before in the Environmental Matters Committee and all asked questions or made points demonstrating that they understood our position. When Speaker Busch spoke up we had no idea what he would say. We knew he had received scores of calls and emails but we had not actually spoken to him.

Mike Busch remembered every point made by the sponsor of the bill the previous week and was particularly disturbed by the fact that the original presentation suggested that the bill simply allowed DNR to  add a couple of Sundays for deer-hunting, when in fact the bill allows DNR to open all Sundays from early October into January. 

Busch is a Democrat and the majority of the county delegation is Republican. Republicans do not generally support bills that allow the O'Malley administration (which includes DNR) broad authority to make decisions. Busch shared that concern with respect to allowing DNR to decide if we should have fifteen Sundays of hunting in our county. He proposed that the sponsor come back with the bill that he first described, which is to allow only two additional Sundays. "No" would have been a difficult response for anybody in the room at that point. Busch's proposal quickly became the will of the delegation. Well played. Who saw that coming?

The Anne Arundel Horse Council will stick to its position that any and all Sunday hunting is a problem. Safe Sundays are simple to remember and they split the weekend between hunters and outdoor recreation. Whether a fight for just two Sundays of hunting is worth the cost is a question that Delegate Costa will have to answer. He has been a very reasonable and fair-minded advocate for his position and we hope that he withdraws the bill for this year to allow landowners and farmers time to follow through on a commitment to developing alternative means to reduce the deer population.

If the bill resurfaces, we will let you know. In the meantime, please put your email address in the box in the right column so that you get these notices! And feel free to comment below. This is an open forum!

Here is the article on our efforts that ran on the front page of the Annapolis Capital Friday afternoon.


Thursday, January 30, 2014

Sunday Hunting Wounded: Final Shot Tomorrow at 9am

Why Tomorrow?

Tomorrow morning the Anne Arundel County Delegation meets at 9am in Room 124 of the Lowe House Office Building. They are scheduled to vote on whether to support HB 0197, the bill that authorizes DNR to allow hunting on private lands every Sunday from early October into January.

Delegation Chairman Schuh, a candidate for county executive, did not allow opponents of the bill to speak when the bill's sponsor, Delegate Costa, presented the merits last Friday. We and some members of the delegation are frustrated that a vote will be taken based on testimony from only one side. Delegate Schuh rightly points out that we had an opportunity to speak at the committee hearing yesterday, and speak we did (see below), but only a handful of the fifteen delegates from our county sit on that committee. This is considered a "county bill" and its future depends on the vote of the county delegation tomorrow.

So feed your horses early, drive to Annapolis, park in the Gott Parking Garage, and walk across the street to the Lowe House Office Buillding and head to the Anne Arundel Delegation Room 124. We will be present when OUR delegates vote on this bill, whether they let us speak or not. The delegation meeting is quick. They serve coffee and donuts. Let's get this done.

For Emails and Calls to County Delegation click on


For the Delegation Meeting Friday at 9am in Room 124


How The Bill Got Wounded

You called, you wrote, and you showed up. Our shots echoed through the halls of the House and Senate offices. Ears are still ringing. Is our bill dead? No, it is wounded. Like a responsible hunter our job is now urgent. We must deliver that final bullet.

Maryland Horse Council's decision to hire Frank Boston as a lobbyist for all of our issues was a wise one. He has ushered Christy Clagett, JoAnne Stone, Wanda Melton, and myself in and out of the offices of the key players like a field master on a great day of fox chasing. The mix of Boston's knowledge of the inside game and our ability to mobilize as a community has amazed the legislators who assumed a week ago that this was a bill that had legs.

We are told that it is bad form to broadcast the comments our legislators make to us in private meetings. All I can say is that the signs are good. Sometimes legislators make promises to colleagues that they must keep, and sometimes they do things behind the scenes to help their constituents.

The big news is that the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee removed the Sunday Hunting bill from the schedule Tuesday. It was a decision made by members of the Anne Arundel County delegation who had heard from constituents. In the words of one senator, "we wanted to avoid the nuclear blow-up that was coming." In other words the senate is waiting to see what the House does.

The other big news is that the hearing yesterday in the House Environmental Matters hearing couldn't have gone much better. We had three panels of three speakers organized by Christy Clagett in consultation with Frank Boston. It included farm owners, a boy scout leader, a pony clobber, a hiker, a retired DNR employee who represents outdoor recreation interests, and fox hunters. We had been warned that the committee might not show much interest because it is a county rather than statewide bill. That was not the case, and it might have had something to do with the fact that we started by having twenty-five people (more than for any other bill that day) stand in opposition. Lots of questions were asked of our panels by delegates who were very engaged and clearly fascinated to learn just how important it is to the community to preserve Safe Sundays.

On Friday morning at 9am the Anne Arundel County Delegation to the House will vote on whether they support this bill. Most of the members of the delegation were NOT present for the committee hearing yesterday and therefore have heard ONLY from the bill's sponsor on its merits. Delegate Schuh, the chair of the delegation and a candidate for county executive, has repeatedly denied our request to speak briefly in opposition to the bill at the delegation meeting. He says that our opportunity to speak is at the committee hearing, which is true, but the county's position on a county bill is what usually determines whether the committee supports it. The people making the decision are the county delegation, and the only way to address them is at the delegation meeting.

Be sure to buy a copy of the Capital newspaper on Friday, or look for it online. Reporter Pat Fergurson is working on a story.

If you want to be notified of updates on Anne Arundel County horse issues, put your email address into the Follow By Email box in the right column! We only post important stuff.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Sunday Hunting On Fast Track: Contact Anne Arundel County delegation NOW!

The letter below explains what happened when the county delegation met last Friday. We were not allowed to testify. They will vote this coming Friday at their 9am meeting and a yes will make it nearly impossible for us to block passage in committee or on the floor.  Please make these calls. You will most likely get an answering machine. Leaving a message is adequate. They keep track.

We would like to thank MHC lobbyist Frank Boston and his staff for going above and beyond the call of duty in working with us on this issue.

CALLS AND EMAILS


This web page has all of the fifteen county delegates listed with phone and email: 
Call and ask them to oppose the bill and hear our case at this Friday's meeting. 

This web page has all of our county's five state senators with phone and email: 
Call and ask them why they voted to support this bill with no notice to the public and no testimony. Ask them to reconsider at their next meeting.

SHOWING UP IN ANNAPOLIS

There are three important meetings on this bill in Annapolis this week: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Join us at any or all. Contact Christy Claggett at larkinghill@aol.com if you would like to testify.

Senate Hearing on SB 0191
Tuesday, January 28, 1:45pm
Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee

House Hearing on HB 0197
Wednesday, January 29, 2pm
Environmental Matters

Anne Arundel County Delegation Meeting
Friday, January 31, 9am

MOST RECENT COMMUNICATIONS 
BY ANNE ARUNDEL HORSE COUNCIL

January 27, 2014

Delegate Schuh and Members of the Anne Arundel County Delegation to the MD General Assembly,

During the four years that I was President of the Maryland Horse Council I spoke to a number of county delegations at their meetings. It was a disappointment to find out last Friday in the hearing on the Sunday hunting bill that county residents were not allowed to address the delegation. 

We have great respect for Delegate Costa, but his presentation in support of his bill seemed to be colored by his personal enthusiasm for deer hunting. Here are a few of the responses to his testimony that we would have presented had we been allowed to speak.

1. The argument that the bill affects only a few Sundays is not true. The bill allows Sunday hunting during archery, muzzle loader, and firearm season from October into January.

2. Delegate Costa argued that landowners can choose whether to allow hunters and whether to allow hikers and riders, and that they don't allow both at the same time. In fact, we do allow both. A tradition exists in rural parts of the county where networks of trails run across property lines to allow equestrians and neighbors to ride, walk, and visit. We all suffer from crop damage by deer so most of us give permission to hunters to hunt our properties during the deer season. Recreational users of the land, hunters, and landowners know when it is deer season. We know that Saturdays are heavy with hunters, weekdays are lighter, and Sundays are safe for other activities. Allowing Sunday hunting on private land makes it a heavy day for hunting and makes the trails unsafe.

3. Delegate Costa suggested that property lines divide areas where hunting is taking place from those where recreational activities are going on. The reality on the trails is that neither the hunters nor the recreational users know where the lines are. Most are unmarked. Delegate Costa alluded to a distance from the property line that hunters must stand to shoot legally, but we were unable to find anywhere in the DNR's Guide to Hunting and Trapping a reference to such a restriction, which would explain why none of the hunters we have asked are aware of such a restriction.

4. Delegate Costa said that shotguns with slugs used for deer are lethal only to 50 yards. While it is true that most hunters prefer to shoot deer at close range, the slugs are lethal to 200 yards or more according to this article in American Hunter and many other online sources. 

5. I am a member of the board of directors of Anne Arundel County Farm Bureau. Reducing the deer population is a priority for the organization, but the board is divided on the issue of Sunday hunting. In response to news that Delegate Costa had introduced this bill I have asked our president to form a committee to work with DNR on a plan to create a county clearinghouse to connect hunters with landowners and organize managed hunts where landowners desire them. If that committee determines that there is a need for state or local legislation to further its mission our county Farm Bureau will contact its representatives and pursue a legislative agenda.

I am sure that you are aware that county bills such as HB 0197 and the senate version, SB 0191, are virtually assured of passage when the county delegations support them. We will testify at the committee hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, but committee members from other counties have already been clear with us that they are unlikely to take a stand on a county issue in opposition to our elected representatives, regardless of whether we were given an opportunity to present our views.

We are also aware that the county delegation on the Senate side took a position in support of SB 0197. That meeting took place without public notice and without a written agenda before most of us knew that Senator Reilly had introduced the bill. Our chances of being heard were nonexistent. The record as it stands heading to the Senate Committee on Tuesday is that the delegation supports the bill.

Our only chance of being heard on this bill is the house delegation. We understand that you will meet this coming Friday and vote on whether to support it. If your delegation votes yes the bill will be on a fast track to passage without the citizens having ever had an opportunity to speak. We understand that we are free to meet individually with each of the fifteen members but the reality of life is that we have jobs that are difficult to leave and that the legislators are busy. Your delegation meetings are an efficient way for county bills like this one to be considered.

Please consider this request on behalf of the members of the Anne Arundel Horse Council to be allowed to address the delegation at its Friday meeting before a vote is taken on HB 0197. We are being represented in this matter through our affiliation with the Maryland Horse Council by Frank Boston. To the extent that individual meetings are our only means of communication, please respond to his lobbyists as they attempt to arrange those meetings.

I have attached a copy of the testimony that we brought to last Friday's meeting.

Steuart Pittman
Anne Arundel Horse Council

_________________________________________________________________________________
Anne Arundel County Horse Council
A member of Maryland Horse Council

Steuart Pittman 410-507-3351 dodonfarm@verizon.net
Christy Claggett 410-703-7998 larkinghill@aol.com





To: Anne Arundel County Delegation to MD General Assembly
From: Steuart Pittman and Christy Claggett, Anne Arundel Horse Council
Date: January 24, 2014
Re: Opposition to HB0197, Sunday Deer Hunting

According to the 2010 Maryland Equine Census, Anne Arundel County has 4,500 horses residing on 10,000 acres of farmland with 2,050 people involved in the industry as owners or employees.

Trail riding is the number one activity pursued by horse owners, and virtually all trail riding in our county is done on private farms.

Most of the farm owners who allow equestrian access also allow deer hunting because all farms suffer from crop damage by deer, whether it is to corn and beans or hay and pasture.

A longstanding compromise is in place in our county’s rural areas with respect to deer hunting on weekends. Horseback riders and others who use the trails on private farms stay home until Sundays. The 364-year-old tradition of fox chasing in our county is practiced by the Marlborough Hunt Club on Sundays, and all organized trail rides are scheduled on Sundays to avoid deer hunters.

Maryland Horse Council has made it a priority to oppose Sunday hunting bills in counties where it is introduced. Members of that organization in counties where Sunday hunting was passed are the most vocal opponents and are seeking to have the bills overturned.

As an alternative to the Sunday hunting bill we will propose an innovative program with Anne Arundel County Farm Bureau to institute managed hunts on private farms by qualified hunters with oversight by DNR. We are also open to lengthening the firearm season for deer while preserving safe Sundays.

A vote by the Anne Arundel County delegation to support this bill will make blocking it in committee very difficult. We hope to put our energy into creating an innovative program to reduce the herd rather than a major legislative battle between outdoor sport organizations and hunters.

Please make a commitment to withdrawing or opposing this bill for the 2014 session and join us in our effort to create an alternative plan to reduce crop damage from deer in our county.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Trail Riders Alert: Contact Anne Arundel County Delegation to Preserve Safe Sundays

It is a tired battle that has been fought in county after county and also at the state level. Should there remain a weekend day during deer season in which the woods and trails are free of hunters?

If you trail ride, fox hunt, or even walk the trails to get some exercise, you know that it's not safe in the woods when hunters are out, even when they are just across the property line from where you happen to be. The deer season runs from the first Sunday in October to the second Sunday in January and many of the farms where we have permission to ride also have given permission to hunters to help reduce the deer population.

Anne Arundel County's Senator Ed Reilly and Delegate Bob Costa have introduced a bill that would end the compromise reached many years ago between hunters and outdoor recreation interests. It would make our county an exception to the state law and allow Sunday hunting during deer season.

Maryland Horse Council and Anne Arundel Horse Council have proposed to Delegate Costa and Senator Reilly that they withdraw the bill and convene a group to propose alternative methods to effectively reduce the deer population in our county.  Matching qualified hunters with landowners and extending the season are two proposals on the table.

It is time to let our delegates and senators know that this is a bill that affects their constituents.

We need you to make phone calls and send emails. They keep a tally of supporters and opponents of their bills. Let them know where you stand immediately.

Senator Ed Reilly (410) 841-3568 edward.reilly@senate.state.md.us

Delegate Bob Costa 410-841-3551 bob.costa@house.state.md.us

This web page has all of the county delegates listed with phone and email: 

This web page has all of our county's state senators with phone and email: 

The Anne Arundel County Delegation meets this Friday 1/24 to consider the bill and will vote on whether to support it next Friday 1/31. We requested an opportunity to speak at the county delegation meeting but have so far been denied. It is essential, however, that you contact the members of the county delegation at the two links above for delegates and senators, preferably today and tomorrow.

THE HEARINGS

If we fail to convince Delegate Costa and Senator Reilly to withdraw the bill we will need to show the strength of our numbers at the hearings. Put these on your calendar and keep checking this County Forum for updates.

Senate Hearing on SB 0191
January 28, 1:45pm
Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee

House Hearing on HB 0197
January 29, 2pm
Environmental Matters


Monday, October 14, 2013

Anne Arundel Recreation & Parks Phil and Alice Dibben Equestrian Trail Sign



Anne Arundel Recreation & Parks Phil and Alice Dibben Equestrian Trail Sign

When
Monday October 14, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Add to Calendar

Where
Lake Shore Athletic Complex Equestrian Trail
863 Woods Road
Pasadena, MD 21122
Driving Directions

Good afternoon!
Join us as we unveil the new sign for the Phil and Alice Dibben Equestrian Trail at Lake Shore Athletic Complex!

If you have any questions about the event or how to register please contact us at rpevents@aacounty.org.

We look forward to seeing you on October 14th!

Sincerely,

Anne Arundel Department of Recreation and Parks
rpevents@aacounty.org
410-222-7300

Thursday, February 28, 2013

08/11/2011: Update on Anne Arundel County Grading and Building Permit Requirements on Horse Farms

(archived from August 11, 2011) ...

Update on Anne Arundel County Grading and Building Permit Requirements on Horse Farms

Much activity has taken place among the movers and shakers of our county in response to our June 15 meeting, some of it promising and some worrisome. The Annapolis Capital ran a good story about our efforts on July 4. See link here. The Davidsonville Area Civic Association, whose members work hard to keep their community rural, also have a good write-up in their most recent newsletter.

For a report on why we met June 15 and what was said, scroll down. 

SOIL CONSERVATION BOARD 

The proposed onerous permitting requirements put together by Soil Conservation District Manager Jim Stein and staff from Permits and Inspections were tabled at the Soil Conservation District's June meeting as promised. Steuart Pittman, Heather Beygo, and Christy Clagget attended the meeting and presented specific requests to the Board. One of those requests was that the Board rescind its written policy stating that indoor and outdoor riding "rinks" are non-agricultural buildings. Despite our assurances that we see Soil Conservation as our ally in this campaign, none of our proposals were accepted. It was a very divided board.  

AAEDC AG ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

The Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation's Agricultural Advisory Committee met on June 30 to address the same issues with respect to all farms. That committee approved supporting definitions and ag exemptions to building and grading permits that would allow our horse farms to continue to operate and modernize.

COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S WORKING GROUP

County Executive Leopold asked his directors of Permits and Inspections and Zoning to meet with Soil Conservation's Jim Stein under the supervision of his Director of Government Relations, Alan Friedman. The purpose of the meeting was to revisit the work that Stein and Permits and Inspections had done already on farm permitting. Mr. Stein later reported to the Agricultural Advisory Committee that they were looking at a system where farms who have up-to-date Farm Plans with Soil Conservation would go through a less expensive process for permits that would reduce the involvement of engineers. When asked how Soil Conservation would handle the fact that there is a long waiting list to get a Farm Plan updated and that most of the horse farms do not now have current plans, Mr. Stein suggested that the staff from the urban side of soil conservation could be trained to do Farm Plans. The response to this suggestion was not warm from the Ag Advisory Committee. 

While Mr. Stein did say that part of the purpose of a new agricultural permitting track was to avoid engineering costs, the most recent permitting case that we know of is a warning to us. A woman who recently bought land in our county to create a horse farm was told by Mr. Stein that the permitting process on farms is being reworked, and that for her it would be different. He promptly referred her to an engineer to do survey work that added thousands of dollars to her project but contributed nothing to its quality.  

The County Executive's working group will be expanded in a positive direction, to include Lisa Barge, the staffer for the Agricultural Advisory Committee. Otherwise, however, it is still dominated by the people who wrote the guidelines that we are working so hard to have rejected. We will need to decide whether to support this group's work or to propose legislation of our own. The answer will depend on what they produce in the coming weeks. 

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY FARM BUREAU

At the request  of Anne Arundel Farm Bureau Vice President Milly Welsh, Steuart Pittman attended the August board meeting. Steuart asked the board to support efforts to write and pass legislation to create ag exemptions to building and grading permits. After an excellent discussion of the issues the board passed a motion by Milly  stating that President Jeff Griffith would write a letter in support of this effort. A number of board members encouraged more horse farm owners to join Farm Bureau and attend the October 3 Annual Meeting at the Edgewater Police Station. 

WE NEED YOUR STORIES TOLD 

The time to speak up is now. We have had too few specifics about what we have been told by county staff when we seek permits. We need your stories, and we need details!  Please fill out the survey linked here...now! 

Retribution for speaking up is a concern to all of us. There is probably not a single farm in the county that has obtained all the permits that they require for all of the building and grading that we have done, or that didn't have to lie to get the permits they have. The bureaucracy is making criminals of us, but our elected officials want to defend us. Please click on the attached survey and fill out as much of it as you can. It is this information that will convince the politicians that we have a problem!

GATHERING AT LARKING HILL FARM IN HARWOOD

We need every Anne Arundel County horse and farm person to attend the MD Horse Council Barbecue at Christy Clagget's Larking Hill Farm in Harwood on September 17. We have invited County Executive Leopold and will ask all of our county council members and state legislators to be there as well. Larking Hill is an equine paradise that has a history of doing great things for our county long before Permits and Inspections decided to interfere on farms. We will also take the elected officials on a tour of neighboring farms that preserve some of the best pasture in the state only because they built barns and arenas to house the horses that support the pastures. Click here to get your tickets to the Barbecue. It's a fun event with a good bluegrass band and really good company.

Report From June 15  
Anne Arundel Horse Council Meeting
at Pip Moyer Recreation Center

For additional information contact:
Steuart Pittman (dodonfarm@verizon.net)
Heather Beygo (hrb@cls-law.com)

On very short notice sixty-one people attended the June 15 meeting of the Anne Arundel Horse Council to express concerns about the application of building and grading permit requirements on farms. Pride was expressed by many that at a time when grain farmers are leaving the county for more welcoming areas (6,000 acres lost between 2002 and 2007 according to USDA Ag Census), horse people are continuing to work with soil conservation to install best management practices, improve their pastures, reduce erosion and nutrient runoff, and keep up with the marketplace by building barns and riding arenas to serve their clients. The county has 950 places where 4,500 horses reside on 10,200 acres (2010 Maryland Equine Census).

It was noted that County Executive Leopold has reviewed our group's emails and acknowledged that we have identified a problem that needs to be resolved. He was represented at the meeting by Bea Poulin. It was also noted that Councilman Jerry Walker, who was out of state and represented by staff, has offered to work with us to draft and present legislation to the County Council to better define agricultural exemptions. Councilman Benoit also was represented by staff at the meeting and has expressed interest in working with us on a solution.

What follows are highlights of the discussion that will guide our follow-up in the coming weeks.

1. William Bower of Drum, Loyka, and Associates,who has represented horse farms in the permitting process and serves as a technical advisor to our group, explained how one goes about obtaining a "Standard Grading Plan" and a "Grading Permit". When asked about the cost to hire his firm to obtain these, he estimated  $1000 for the"Plan" and $4000 to $6000 for the more onerous "Permit".

2. Jim Stein, District Manager of the AA Soil Conservation District, put forth details of a document that he and George Eberle of Permits and Inspections had drafted explaining when farms need building permits, grading permits, and standard grading plans. He said that the Board of the District would be deciding whether to approve the document at it's June 21 meeting. Mr. Stein described the document as a compromise between himself and Pemits and Inspections.

3) While the group thanked Mr. Stein for being the first county official to attempt to clarify when farmers need permits, the document was criticized on a number of points. The primary objections were that it states that farmers are required to have Building Permits for everything over 64 square feet, as well as expensive Grading Permits for most of the buildings that we construct , routine clearing of hedgerows and encroachment of woods on pastures, trail clearing and stream crossing maintenance, and many other situations that are commonplace on farms. People were unhappy about the prospect of hiring engineers and obtaining grading permits for these farm activities. We felt that Mr. Stein's definition of exempt Agricultural Land Management Practices was too restrictive. Mr. Stein offered to postpone action by the SCD Board and await suggestions from our group for new policy.

4) George Eberle, Acting Director of Permits and Inspections, acknowledged that Anne Arundel County is different from most Maryland counties in that there are fewer agricultural exemptions to permitting requirements. He also acknowledged that the staff uses the same formula for calculating building permit costs by square footage for a barn as for a house, and that there is a requirement for a grading plan whenever a tree stump is removed, whether the tree is dead or alive. Mr. Eberle did not offer opinions on whether existing law and practice is justified. He simply stated the requirements as he understood them.

5) Mr. Stein acknowledged that the County Soil Conservation District Board had passed a resolution in 2007 stating that wineries on farms where vineyards exist and indoor and outdoor riding arenas are non-agricultural buildings. He promised to ask the Board to reconsider that policy after reviewing HB955, the 2009 bill passed by the MD General Assembly specifically stating that equestrian activities taking place on farms are agricultural. When asked if he would also seek reconsideration of the policy with respect to wineries he made no commitment, but commented that making wine is processing the agricultural product, and that the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Farm owners reminded Mr. Stein that stripping tobacco, pasteurizing milk, canning vegetables and many other farm activities are similar in nature. Again, the sense of people in the room was that an effort was being made to restrict the definition of agriculture, thereby leaving farmers to deal directly with the staff at Permits and Inspections who have no training in agricultural issues and whose fees and fines are high enough to prevent farmers from improving their operations.

6) Harry Ketts, a Maryland Horse Council member from Prince George's County who serves on that county's Equine Industry Task Force, explained that in his county it is the Soil Conservation District staff that works with farmers to ensure that their construction and grading projects are done in an environmentally responsible way. Because the work on farms is reviewed by SCD staff, farm buildings are exempt from grading permits and building permits, thereby saving the county significant staff hours. They require only electrical and plumbing inspections.  

7) Many people in the group described experiences with Permits and Inspections staff whose knowledge of agricultural practices was nonexistent. The level of frustration among farm owners was high.

The meeting closed with a commitment by all parties to work together to establish new agricultural exemptions to existing county requirements that reflect the realities of farming in this county. Farm owners were encouraged to email additional comments and suggestions for new policy to the Heather Beygo at hrb@cls-law.com or Steuart Pittman at dodonfarm@verizon.net