Carroll countians want top ranked schools, low taxes and no industry nearby.

It is a case of pick two out of three. Half the County budget is for education, and our taxable base is 80 percent residential. The only way to lower taxes is to get some industrial development to increase the proportion of industry and hence decrease the proportion of residential tax base.

To put it another way, so long as most real estate taxes are paid by residences, the taxes on me and thee will be high compared to other counties.
 
This is not news, although the friends of the residential developers like to obscure that fact. Complaining about higher taxes won't help.  Industrial development will.

The county shows foresight in proposing to rezone land from agricultural to industrial in large chunks and in suitable locations. But after the rezoning county officials need to consider worst-case analysis.

The current Pathways Plan includes the concept of nearby workforce housing. It is a lovely idea, but if the zoning allows for high-density residential housing, that is all we will get. Developers can make a quicker buck by building townhouses instead of factory buildings or office complexes.

Town houses mean more kids in the schools and ultimately higher taxes.
 
Another damaging occurrence is the diversion of industrially-zoned acreage to big box stores and strip malls. The "industrial" block in Eldersbug has been diverted largely to commercial, not industrial, use.

Commercial property generates low wage jobs, not high. And the impact on traffic load is heavy.

As Randallstown’s retail stores close up the residents there have little choice but to travel to Eldersbug to buy groceries and shop at Wal-Mart. As more low wage jobs are created they will increasingly be filled by people who live in Randallstown. They simply can't afford to live in Carroll County.

That puts more traffic on Liberty Road. Grocery stores no longer exist in Randallstown. Neither do jobs.

A big chunk of industrial land diverted in part to retailing is no longer a big chunk of industrial land. Industries don't need little bits and pieces. They need large acreage near major highways not already overloaded.

Of course, that is the plan. But history shows that industrial zoning gets converted to commercial use rather quickly.  The commissioners lose control of the process once rezoning is completed.

The Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals are in charge at that point. And they deal with a particular case, not a long range county strategy.

Before embarking on a bold new plan for industrial growth, the county needs to look at prior history of development in Carroll and the zoning regulations themselves. If they allow for residential and/or retail use, then that is what is likely to occur.

They need to look at the personnel on the various boards involved to ensure that the long range view is their view, and that county goals are not destroyed by piecemeal rezoning.
Some incumbents may need to be replaced.

What can we do about it? Well, we need to get behind the two sensible commissioners, the ones that have vision beyond the immediate future and have the spine to stand up to the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) faction.

NIMBYs will always oppose any proposed plan for long range use other than more McMansions and more off-conveyances. They need to convince NIMBY forces that industrial neighbors can be good neighbors, less burdensome on their quality of life and their taxes than a YARD (Yet Another Residential Development.)

With the ill-considered expansion of the Board of Commissioners from three to five (more expense, no predictable benefit) we need to elect a third commissioner to stand with Julia Gouge and Dean Minnich, and take effective action to increase the industrial tax base.

If we don't, then we have no ground to protest higher taxes. We will have chosen that route at the ballot box.

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