Discussion Continues On A Bill Voted Down Tuesday By The Frederick County Council

The legislation would have let the county impose a moratorium on some residential construction.County Council President Brad YoungFrederick, Md (KM) The bill  which would have allowed Frederick County to put a temporary moratorium in place on residential development in areas where schools are overcrowded had too many exclusions, according to Council President Brad Young. “It included exclusions for affordable housing,”: he said. “It excluded all municipalities. So it would not have covered Frederick city. It would not have covered Brunswick, Middletown, Walkersville. They could have still built away,” he said.Young and Council members Kavonte Duckiett, Renee Knapp, Mason Carter and MC Keegan-Ayer voted against the legislation on Tuesday night. It was sponsored by Councilman Steve McKay who said development in the New Market and Lake Linganore area is straining   existing school capacity.”It did not do a single thing to address the issue which is that we have a school that is over 170 percent of capacity,” Young said. “That issue is being addressed by building school number 41, and addressing the kids that are already there in the school that needs to be built.”The school which is over 170 percent of capacity is Oakdale Elementary School.   School number 41 is a proposed elementary school which is expected to be located along Mussetter Road. “The County Executive asked the County Council earlier this year  to forward fund the planning stages. The hopes are that in the spring, the state will fund school 41 and we can get that school built and that will solve the problem<” says Young. The Council approved $3 million toward the design of school 41 which is expected to  open by 2027.It’s called  School 41 because it will be  the 41st elementary school in Frederick County when it opens.Young also said this bill had several other flaws. “It was very disjointed as for  what it would actually do,” he said.It would also not stop growth in Frederick County. “If you stop it in one place, it’s just going to pop up somewhere  else. So this was not by any means a moratorium saying ‘we’re stopping all building.’ It was a very isolated area of where it would have impact, and that impact would only end up causing more costs for the taxpayers in the long run,” says Young.He says it would be much better to work with residential developers to get them to  set aside land for such facilities as schools, parks, libraries, fire stations and other needs. “We want our developers to be a contributor to solving the problem, and not just adding residents that require more schools and more fire stations and more parks without contributing to it,” Young says. “That’s why generally, again, in the county, in any new development, we’re trying to get that developer to participate and proffer a site for one of those needs.”He says the county has purchased school sites, but getting developers to offer a site saves the taxpayers money.Young was a guest Wednesday on WFMD’s “Morning News Express.”By Kevin McManus