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Taneytown council gives consensus to explore county-led stormwater reviews as state rules change
Summary
Carroll County planning director briefed Taneytown council on forthcoming Maryland stormwater regulations and recommended moving stormwater review responsibility to the county; council asked the city attorney to review and agreed to return with more information in March.
Chris Hein, Carroll County director of planning and land management, told the Taneytown City Council on Feb. 10 that Maryland is preparing new stormwater-management regulations and that Carroll County is recommending municipalities adopt the county’s stormwater code and return stormwater review to county staff.
Hein said the proposed regulations stem from a legislative directive related to climate change and increased flooding and will require local code changes. He told the council the county currently performs stormwater reviews for every municipality in Carroll County except Taneytown and that bringing Taneytown into the county review program would produce consistency for developers, engineers and surveyors who work across the county.
The county official said there would be no direct cost to the city should Taneytown adopt the county code; review costs are recovered from developers through escrow and would instead be charged under the county’s fee schedule. Hein also said the county inspects just over 3,000 stormwater facilities and currently handles roughly 1,000 inspections per year; he estimated Taneytown has “about two dozen” stormwater facilities and that accommodating inspections and three‑year facility checks would not be a large lift for county staff.
City staff and council members asked clarifying questions about past local decisions, potential savings in staff time, and legal review. Council members noted a historical reason Taneytown handled stormwater locally and asked for the city attorney’s opinion. City staff confirmed developers now pay for review costs (the city currently pays CDM Smith and passes those charges to developers through escrow) and that moving review to the county would shift developers to the county fee structure.
Councilmembers indicated support for exploring the change. The council did not adopt an ordinance or change city code at the Feb. 10 meeting; members asked staff and the city attorney to draft code changes and return with legal guidance and more details at the March meeting.
Hein also said the county could assist with required stormwater‑facility inspections that occur every three years under state law, which the city currently contracts for separately.
The council’s next step is a legal review and follow-up discussion in March; no formal vote was taken on code adoption at the Feb. 10 meeting.
