Developers to pay more to bypass open space requirements in Bel Air

Developers with projects in Bel Air will have to pay more to dodge open space requirements after the town’s mayor and commissioners passed a resolution increasing fees as a means to preserve open space in the town.

Developers are currently required to pay $50,000 per acre of waived open space. Under the new legislation that passed unanimously Monday night, waiver fees for open space in areas like downtown Bel Air will be set at 110% of the State Department of Assessment and Taxation’s value of the property.

Town code requires 15% of a development’s total area to be reserved for open space which can be satisfied through amenities like a basketball court, a playground or a grass field.

For developers building in heavily developed areas of town like West Bel Air and the area surrounding the Harford Mall, the passed legislation grants them the ability to have up to 5.25% of their 15% open space requirement waived.

Developers who pay to have the 5.25% waived will only need to dedicate 9.75% of their project area to open space. With the new provision added by the legislation, the fee in lieu of open space costs in these heavily developed areas is set at 150% of the property’s state assessment.

Fees collected from the town’s so-called “fee in lieu of open space” go into the town’s Open Space Recreational Fund and are used to maintain and preserve existing open space to compensate for any lost space due to development.

According to the new legislation, areas of Bel Air zoned low, medium and high-density residential and residential office districts, limited business districts and industrial districts are not eligible for a fee in lieu of open space.

Commissioner Jakob Taylor who created the new legislation said Bel Air values its open space and this legislation protects it.

“This legislation strikes a balance of preserving our open space and our values while investing in our future,” Taylor said.