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Panel says PAI director's memo is advisory; county review needed to determine Public Utilities compliance
Summary
During deliberations on CBA 26-02 (BP Partners LLC), panelists said a PAI director's policy memo should not be treated as determinative and that compliance with the state Public Utilities article must be verified during county plan review.
Board members at a Baltimore County hearing on July 28, 2026, debated whether a PAI director's memo could substitute for statutory or county-code compliance determinations for a proposed community solar site. A committee member described the memo as "advisory at best," saying compliance with the Public Utilities article could not be determined until a development plan is submitted and evaluated by the Development Review Committee and county planners.
The panel's discussion repeatedly separated the procedural limited-exemption finding under BCC 32-4-106(b)(8) from the substantive compliance checks required by the Public Utilities article (PU sections cited in the transcript). The committee member said the memo is intended to help implement new state law but does not "supersede any state law," and the board concluded that plan review is the appropriate venue to test compliance with PU requirements. The hearing record shows the limited exemption was affirmed but that any rebuttal of a presumption under the PU article would require evidentiary review during the formal plan-review process.
