Councilman Marks: New regulations strike balance along waterfront

We are blessed with a beautiful waterfront in eastern Baltimore County. There are more than 219 miles of tidal shoreline throughout Baltimore County, much of it in the Fifth District that I represent.

One of the most difficult “balancing acts” involves the need to protect this sensitive area, and how much development is allowed so that businesses and homeowners can access the waterfront. In 1984, the State of Maryland enacted legislation that provides for tough environmental protection standards in waterfront areas. The state created the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission to review county plans along this shoreline. I was honored to serve as Baltimore County’s representative to the Critical Area Commission from 2015 to 2022.

The marina owners and restaurants that populate our waterfront have sometimes criticized the Critical Area regulations as onerous and confusing. On November 3, 2022, Councilman Todd Crandell and I attended a meeting between these stakeholders and staff from the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability. Since that time, the Department has worked on improvements to the regulations that will allow for reasonable improvements without jeopardizing the health and beauty of our Chesapeake Bay.

The new regulations change Baltimore County’s Modify Buffer Area Plan to give marinas and waterfront restaurants the flexibility to mitigate new impacts within the Critical Area of up to 5,000 square feet in disturbance with specific stormwater management practices, found in the Maryland Stormwater Design Manual. The changes were approved by the Critical Area Commission and adopted by the County Council at its August meeting. I was a cosponsor of Resolution 36-24.

I would like to thank the Olszewski administration for its support of these changes, as well as Councilman Pat Young—my successor on the Critical Area Commission—for his support and that of his colleagues on that body. Baltimore County’s 47 marinas and waterfront restaurants deserve this flexibility, but as long as it does not compromise the integrity of the environment that makes eastern Baltimore County so special. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of the Marine Trades Association of Baltimore County and other stakeholders that support jobs throughout the Eastside.