At the committee hearing for this ZTA on 7/22 (video here) there was very little discussion of the concerns about this ZTA expressed by farmers and Ag Reserve residents. 
Notably - the issue of how allowing portable generators to power these recreation structures goes against the county's emissions targets and actions to limit noise pollution. 

​The County banned gas powered blower use/sale. Research indicates that RV/portable generators emit roughly the same level of sound - Generators between 70-100 db. This ZTA permits both RVs and structures that could each operate generators without restriction other than being 100 from a property line. A maximum of 10 units potentially simultaneously operating generators? Legislators should account for these scenarios in determining how compatible the change in land use will be with rural communities.
Anything other than a generator hooked to the electrical system should not be allowed as part of this conditional use. 
The Council votes on this ZTA Tuesday the  30th- please take two minutes to write them on this topic.

Prior Updates: 

Background on the original ZTA:

We just got an update from the landowner at our very first Re-Leaf site, our pilot acre planted there in Dickerson beside the Little Monocacy river is doing great! 

Re-Leaf the Reserve is our partnership with the Department of Parks and Planning to plant native forests along stream buffers in the Ag Reserve. These forests are encumbered with easements to ensure they stand to benefit generations of MoCo residents. 

Our continued thanks to the Seelys at Gardens by Garth who install the trees with care and ensure they get the best start, Carole Bergmann who chairs the program and our partners at Parks and Planning that make the program possible.  
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As of today we have planted thousands of trees across many local sites. Can you host a forest? We are looking for stream buffers in the Ag Reserve  - learn more here. 
Down County folks can get free and reduced priced trees through  Tree Montgomery and Reforest Montgomery.​

​Have you ever wanted to grow mushrooms?   I’m a gardener wanna be.  I attempt fruit and vegetable plants like cucumbers, squash, and lettuce, but I seem to do a better job at growing weeds than these edible delights.  I keep trying tho!   Recently I decided to add mushrooms to my garden!  They have always intrigued me.   I signed up for a mushroom workshop with Michael Judd of Ecologia Design, author of “Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist” and “For the Love of PawPaws."

Michael's passion for mushrooms runs very deep…deep into the nutrient rich soil fungi help create for the whole ecosystem as they break down fallen trees, dead leaves, and plants.  Michael has worked side by side with mycelium to create his own sustainable haven in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains just outside of Frederick, Maryland. ​

An update in the White's Ferry saga - after 3 years of closure as the result of legal battles between the Ferry and the landowners on the Loudon county side, things may be moving toward a deal to re-open the ferry. 
The Kuhn family had bought the ferry from the long term owners in 2021 and is now seeking to donate the business to Montgomery County on the contingency that the County can resolve the issues with the landing on the other side.

After 230 years in operation, the ferry is part of the public transportation system. We are hopeful that the counties can work together toward a compromise to get the ferry back in service. 

Much more information from  My MC Media

Update: Great reporting from the Bay Journal on a proposed settlement with MDE to account for Quantum Loophole's fouling of Potomac tributaries. 

If you are just catching up - Quantum Loophole is constructing data centers in Frederick County and will be boring under the Potomac to connect these new centers to "Data Center Alley" in Northern Virginia across the river. In early April an MDE inspector discovered a second round of "frac-outs" - places where drilling by the company had released sediment and fracking solution into surface streams in the Monocacy Watershed, with dire consequence for aquatic life and water quality. To make matters worse, this round of drilling was done without a permit and the pollution events were not reported by the company. This is the second time environmental damage has resulted from Quantum's activities.

MCA has joined 34 other local and state environmental protection organizations on an open letter to Maryland's leaders in Annapolis and Frederick County along with the leadership at Quantum Loophole to call for more rigorous enforcement of existing environmental laws and more responsible actions from the company. 

Much more about Data Centers: 

•  Our partners at Sugarloaf Alliance have more background on Quantum Loophole
• Governor Moore's priority passes: loopholes for huge diesel generators and no oversight for data centers
• Multiple data centers proposed for Dickerson in the Ag Reserve

The bill will see a public hearing on April 18th (tentatively 1:30)

Here is the action alert  from the MC Civic Federation  and our note sent last year to ask for the Counsel's return:
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Fund the Office of the People's Counsel - FY 2023 Operating Budget
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Dear County Executive Elrich,
There are compelling reasons to include this in the FY 2023 budget as cited in a strong letter sent to your office yesterday from MCCF. Chief among the reasons listed:
“Furthermore, the County Code requires that prior to introduction, any proposed Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) be reviewed by a ZTA Advisory Group that includes the OPC. One of the reasons often cited by the Planning Department for the complete rewrite of the County's Zoning Ordinance (which was a seven year process) was to discourage the use of Zoning Text Amendments that bypass the master planning and land use public processes. However, since the Zoning Rewrite was adopted, there have been over 100 ZTAs proposed by a small number of Councilmembers. All of the ZTAs were proposed without the benefit of the OPC review.”
The call for return of the People’s Counsel is not new. I had, for example, included it in this 2019 piece in Maryland Matters

In truth, if looking at this from purely a dollars cost, the reestablishment of the position will save much in governmental time and money spent churning over poorly conceived ZTAs etc.
Above all… this is about just and equitable governance.
Respectfully,
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