OP EDS
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Op Ed: It should be easier to participate in council meetings
Matt Minahan, Annapolis Capitol, Dec 16, 2024.
For almost three years, the Growth Action Network of Anne Arundel County has been pestering the County Council and the county executive to hold meetings that allow citizens to participate without being in the room in person...
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Op Ed: Community engagement should shape Anne Arundel County’s zoning process
Matt Minahan, Annapolis Capitol, April 24, 2024.
At the County Council meeting on April 15, dozens of citizens testified for and against various rezoning proposals that have come out of comprehensive zoning. For most, our eyes glaze over just hearing the term. But for all of us, this process will determine the future of the county and possibly, your neighborhood, for the next decade...
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Op Ed: Don’t repeat the 20-year-old mistake on housing
Trudy McFall and Matt Minahan, Annapolis Capitol, Dec 16, 2023.
Twenty years ago, the Anne Arundel County Council defeated a moderately priced housing bill similar to what is before the current council. Had it passed the bill then, we would have about 4,000 additional affordable housing units in the county, including about 100 among the 750 now being constructed on Riva Road...
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Op Ed: Do we have the courage for affordable housing?
Matt Minahan, Annapolis Capitol, Nov 13, 2023.
You don’t often see 200 people at a rally, every seat occupied in the council chambers and dozens of people testifying powerfully and movingly about how their lives are challenged seeking housing they can afford in the county...
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Op Ed: It's never too late to make New Year's resolutions for transparency in government
Matt Minahan, Annapolis Capitol, Feb 8, 2023.
The new year is only a month old, so there is still plenty of time for County Executive Steuart Pittman and Anne Arundel County government to make some New Year’s resolutions for better government and citizen involvement in his second term. The Growth Action Network (GAN) has some suggestions....
Op Ed: Lack of growth control in Plan 2040 threatens Anne Arundel quality of life
Paul Christensen, Annapolis Capitol, Oct 27, 2020.
The draft Plan2040 is devoid of any mention of growth rates, other than to state that the county is projected to grow by about 50,000 citizens or 29,000 households by 2040. This is a rate about equal to that experienced over the past several years and is clearly unacceptable to residents in most areas....
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Op Ed: Speak up to keep South County Rural
Mike Lofton, Annapolis Capitol, Sep 16, 2020.
The continued downward performance documented in the U.S. Agricultural Census is alarming. Significant non agricultural commercial uses are being considered...
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Op Ed: Anne Arundel must finally survey sensitive habitat as part of GDP
Russell Stevenson, Annapolis Capitol, July 5, 2020.
Anne Arundel County is currently preparing its General Development Plan, which will guide development decisions in the county for the next 10 years. The new GDP gives us the opportunity to lay a strong foundation for further progress in making the county the kind of place we all want to live...
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Op Ed: Anne Arundel County - The Best Place or Just Another Place
Paul Christensen, Annapolis Capitol, Feb 20, 2020.
The paradox of growth is the better we try to make our community, the more people will want to move here, until it’s no better than any other community...
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