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Havre de Grace council adopts new 'minor privileges' licensing ordinance with enforcement changes
Summary
The council adopted ordinance 12-14 on second reading (6–0), establishing a chapter on 'minor privileges' that clarifies treatment of existing curb cuts, requires registration and payment of administrative fees, authorizes planning inspections and stop-work orders, and places long-term maintenance responsibility on property owners.
The Havre de Grace City Council on April 20 adopted ordinance 12-14 on second reading, establishing a new chapter governing 'minor privileges'—licenses for certain encroachments and features in public rights-of-way—and approving a package of amendments that tighten registration, fee, inspection and maintenance obligations.
Council president Ringstock read the proposed amendments into the record, explaining they add differing treatment for existing curb cuts, clarify which temporary versus permanent encroachments qualify as minor privileges, require Department of Planning approval prior to the removal or replacement of existing permanent privileges, and authorize the director of planning to issue stop-work orders for noncompliant work. "Failure to register a new minor privilege with the Department of Planning is a violation of this chapter and deemed a municipal infraction," Ringstock read.
Council member Boyer thanked city counsel for working with him to resolve outstanding questions and said the amendments made implementation clearer and ensured property owners remain responsible for maintenance and fees in perpetuity.
After the amendments were approved, the council voted by roll call to adopt ordinance 12-14 on second reading; the vote was recorded as 6–0 in the affirmative.
The ordinance establishes registration and fee requirements, inspection authority for the planning department, enforcement through municipal infractions and stop-work orders, and explicit owner/tenant maintenance responsibilities for minor privileges.
Next steps: city staff to incorporate the adopted amendments into the code and implement administrative processes for registration, inspection, fee collection and enforcement.
