Candidates Cornered on Growth Strategies

Voters Asking How Quality of Life Will Be Maintained -- and Who Will Pay for It

G. Wayne Livesay, who is running for Howard County Council, says keeping the rural areas on well water and septic systems can help limit growth. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)

It took only a few minutes for the candidates' debate in Columbia to zero in on what has become a defining theme in Howard County politics this year: How should the county grow?

Should it have a height limit on new buildings? Should construction be slowed? Can the community pressure developers to pay more for roads and schools?

Residents at a meet-the-candidates night last week peppered the candidates for county executive and the council for almost two hours about growth and development and their impact on the quality of life in one of the nation's most affluent counties. Howard, which sits between Washington and Baltimore, is ripe for more development because of its location and its highly rated school system, residents say.

Managing growth is emerging as a signature issue in many Maryland suburbs as residents prepare to vote in the Sept. 12 primary.

Drop in on candidates' forums in Montgomery and Prince George's counties -- communities years ahead of Howard when it comes to burgeoning populations and new home construction -- and you'll hear a similar refrain: Growth needs to be more closely regulated, and developers should pay the costs of absorbing new residents.

"It is Topic A for a lot of us," said Phillip Wright, a middle school teacher in Columbia who moderated the candidates' forum, which attracted more than 300 residents.

In Howard, where four of the five County Council seats are being vacated by incumbents -- and two of those seats have crowded primary fields -- most candidates, regardless of political party, are talking about curbing development.

"We need to strengthen the process for redeveloping downtown Columbia," said Christopher J. Merdon (R-Northeast), chairman of the Howard County Council, who is running unopposed for the Republican nomination for county executive.

Former county police chief G. Wayne Livesay, in a three-way contest for the Republican nomination for a west Howard council seat, said he wants to carefully manage growth, including keeping the rural areas on well water and septic systems, which limits development. His primary opponents, Jim Adams and Greg Fox, sound similar themes.

On the Democratic side, Harry Dunbar, one of two people seeking his party's nomination for county executive, urged voters to examine his Web site for more details on his stand. That would be http://slowgrowthdunbar.com.

County Council member Ken Ulman (D-West Columbia), another candidate for county executive, proclaimed himself the rightful heir to the careful-growth mantle after his work leading the county's land-use committee. He told the audience that Merdon had only recently embraced the cause.

In Prince George's, where crime and lagging schools always top residents' concerns, candidates have also emphasized slowing development. More houses, they argue, mean building more schools and hiring more police officers in a county where such services already are stretched thin.