[ed. note: the following appeared in the local paper, The Aegis, sometime in July 2022.]
Denied and rejected, Bel Air citizens have vowed to fight. Largely ignored, they have been unable to get Town Commissioners to meaningfully listen to registered voters. As a result, they were forced to obtain signatures on a petition for referendum. At stake are homes behind the Bel Air Shop Rite slated for demolition and unprecedented development. Small town charm might not be rejected if town residents could vote to decide.
The first petition, submitted May 23, 2022, was rejected by Town Counsel. The Town Commissioners cited the rejection for inadequate verbiage in the title of the petition. Basically, it did not say, ‘Petition for Referendum.’
On June 21, 2022, we learned that the Town Commissioners, for the second time, rejected the petition. This time, no policy difference or logical reason, but rather simple verbiage discrepancy.
In truth, the petition needs name, signature and address of town residents. Two thousand registered Town voters signed the petition.
Commissioner Etting pleaded with the other commissioners to allow the petition to proceed. “There is no clear guidance in the town charter to voters on how to conduct a petition for referendum,” Etting said. “No specific language or specific form required. I believe it’s clear from the petition what the [intent was].”
No matter, the petition, and, in effect, small town charm, was rejected. At this point, the Town Commissioners have taken on a wholly sophomoric approach to governing.
Commissioner Chance, in not understanding why the petition wasn’t corrected the second time around, is a ninth- or tenth-grade tactic that paints the commissioners as victims. They failed to follow rules. Poof, problem solved, she can say.
Commissioner Hughes equals that with her complaint from a previous Town Hall meeting about people coming out of the woodwork to complain. No termites here, with 2,000 signatures and at least 20% of registered Town voters signing that petition.
Commissioner Bianca apparently doesn’t grasp the real nature of being dubbed mayor. If so, he would ensure all sides are represented and that his own commissioners perform their jobs. Critically, with no agendas hanging around their necks or in their pockets. Sadly, Commissioner Kahoe, living in a Bel Air historic-designated house, follows along with her mentors on the team.
In a June 21, 2022, press release by the Town of Bel Air on a separate matter regarding a court ruling against the Board of Education in the Homestead/Wakefield/McPhail Road Debacle, the Town emphatically stated: “Making the wisest and most productive public uses of the campus requires County, Board of Education and Town Representatives to partner and collaborate to listen to the needs of each respective partner, and to work cooperatively to prioritize to fulfill as many public needs and objectives as possible.”
The Town of Bel Air quote stating partnering and collaboration, as well as the Klein family’s stated desire to work directly with the community are both claims that simply are not ringing true.
There have been no overtures from the Klein family toward the community. Further, the Town commissioners, with empty rhetoric of partnering, collaborating, and working cooperatively, are, doing exactly the opposite. We see that with the Board of Education and we see that now with the rejection of a bonafide petition.
At this point, the Town Commissioners have not explained or shown a cost benefit for the development project. They have not conducted any studies to show impacts to the community, not to mention impacts to Bel Air schools. Most importantly, they have determined residents are indeed second-class citizens.
Whether we have agenda-driven commissioners, lax planning commission operators, or simply underhanded tactics to achieve position, the Town is being done a great disservice by the actions of both our elected officials and government employees.
I find the lack of respect and lack of honoring the oath of office quite distasteful and publicly voice my objection. Please, I would direct registered Town voters to also voice their objections. Whether it is your three minutes of fame at a Town Hall meeting, in conversations with your friends and neighbors, and ultimately, at the voting booth. Let’s ensure the small town charm we so enjoy is not rejected.
This particular rezoning issue is but one of many anticipated for Bel Air. Attend the Town meeting. Listen for yourself. These commissioners are mindful, intelligent people, somehow misguided in their objectives and skewed in their perspectives.
Development and growth must happen, that is a given. However, allowing tax-paying town residents to have a say should also be a given. In discussing public participation regarding land development, the Town of Bel Air Comprehensive Plan states the need for a People’s Counsel or a public representative for complex or unique cases before the Town Board and Board of Appeals. We are most assuredly in a unique situation.
As reference for the disservice being done, search the Bel Air Town website and familiarize yourself with this Comprehensive Plan. Conflicts in verbiage about as the Town of Bel Air plentifully talks about Bel Air’s historic and small-town appeal while in fact they are fully planning to raze that appeal and preserve it only as a memory.
