Olszewski Vetoes Controversial Bill to Limit Attainable Housing Opportunities, Calls for Renewed Compromise Legislation

 Bill as drafted without BCPS input would provide significant litigation risk, potentially violates the County Charter, and would drastically reduce opportunities to expand access to attainable housing

TOWSON, MD – In accordance with Article IV, § 402 of the Charter of Baltimore County, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced today he has issused a veto for Baltimore County Council Bill 31-24 – Adequate Public Facilities – Overcrowded School Districts. 

The full text of Olszewski’s veto letter is below:

Chairman Patoka and Councilmembers,

Those of us honored to serve in elected office are tasked with considering and addressing any number of complex, systemic, and historic challenges. Too often, these issues are perceived to be in direct conflict with one another and are sought to be swiftly addressed with imprecise panaceas. In reality, the challenges we face require thoughtful, pragmatic policy solutions.
           
My administration shares residents’ concerns regarding school overcrowding — and supports efforts to responsibly address it. At the same time, we recognize and affirm Baltimore County’s moral and legal obligations to expand access to attainable housing. These are not mutually exclusive priorities.

Baltimore County Council Bill 31-24 – Adequate Public Facilities – Overcrowded School District is well-intentioned, but is also legislation unlikely to meaningfully impact school overcrowding.  Instead, it will instead drastically reduce opportunities for attainable housing — limiting our long-term economic vitality while also exposing the County to significant litigation risk and potentially violating the County Charter. Included alongside this letter is analysis from the Office of Law outlining those legal concerns in further depth.

As Baltimore County’s Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development testified, and numerous other community stakeholders consistently shared during public testimony, Bill 31-24 jeopardizes Baltimore County’s ability to meet our goals under the County’s Conciliation and Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notably and regrettably, the County Council voted down a proposed amendment that would have explicitly allowed for projects to move forward if necessary to meet the terms of the VCA.

In addition, there is little evidence to indicate that Bill 31-24 will solve for school overcrowding. While Bill 31-24 focuses regulatory oversight over new or proposed residential development, student enrollment growth is often driven by families with school aged children moving into existing housing. This bill makes no effort to address enrollment growth driven by relocation into existing housing stock, and does not quantify the extent to which new development is contributing to growth in school capacity rates.

At a minimum, legislation intended to address school overcrowding should be reflective of the expertise of the leaders who serve in our school system. It is our understanding that the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) administration was not engaged or consulted on this legislation until after its formal introduction by the County Council. Moreover, proposed amendments supported by BCPS were uniformly rejected. It is our hope that the Council will engage with educational professionals, including Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers and the Baltimore County Board of Education, to address concerns found in this legislation and encourage long-term efforts to address overcrowding in a manner that’s informed by student enrollment and school capacity data trends, and the root causes of growth in those data points.

Finally, we believe that the County and School System have already charted a bold and equitable course to improve capacity and condition in every school across Baltimore County. My administration has put forward historic funding for school construction and, through the Multi-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools, is actively addressing capacity, condition, and quality of education systemwide. As a result, under our administration alone, Baltimore County has already opened seven new schools and created over 3,000 new school seats — with two more new schools on the way later this year. As we continue working to expand capacity and improve conditions, we must do so in a way that prioritizes productive collaboration and holistic thinking.

Therefore, in accordance with Article IV, § 402 of the Charter of Baltimore County, Maryland, I am vetoing Baltimore County Council Bill 31-24 – Adequate Public Facilities – Overcrowded School Districts. Moving forward, we encourage Councilmembers to allow this veto to stand, continue collaborative discussion, and support future targeted efforts to effectively address school overcrowding — while rejecting the false choice that Bill 31-24 presents. I applaud the members of the Council who shared their concerns and have already embraced the complexity of this challenge.

Before the vote on Bill 31-24, Councilmembers noted that it is important to have dialogue, trust, and cooperation between units of government. We agree. I hope that all stakeholders will have an opportunity to help shape legislative efforts impacting our communities so that we can responsibly and effectively overcome this challenge together.

Sincerely,
John A. Olszewski, Jr.
Baltimore County Executive

In response to Olszewski’s announcement, key stakeholders issued the following statements:

"Right now, 103,000 Baltimore County households are struggling with mortgage and rent costs. Without policy changes that incentivize and support the development of new housing, these burdens will only grow,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. "Policies that limit or otherwise reduce the building of housing should be considered more carefully now than ever, and we commend County Executive Johnny Olszewski on his veto this morning of Bill 31-24 that would effectively create housing development prohibitions in areas where housing otherwise would be allowed.”

“We are grateful for the county executive and county council’s unwavering support of Team BCPS and we share their commitment to reducing overcrowding in our schools,” said Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers. “Significant progress has already been made to address overutilization. BCPS stands ready and willing to come to the table with members of the council to create a stronger framework that will benefit all students across Team BCPS.”

“The County Executive's Veto of Council Bill 31-24 was the right decision,” said Baltimore County Councilman Pat Young. “The final version of this bill was an all too familiar example of having the best of intentions coupled with disorganized execution. From the beginning, legitimate concerns over functionality and implementation were raised and left unaddressed. This is a reset that I look forward to taking advantage of with my colleagues on the county council to propose solutions to school overcrowding with a collaborative approach.”