(1/25) Last fall, City Manager Jim Wieprecht discussed "recharge acreage" with the City Council. These are potential properties that are undeveloped and allow water to naturally seep into the ground and fill the City’s aquifer. Frederick County recently secured "recharge easements" in agriculture preservation zones which legally protect water recharge areas from development. Some of these potential properties already sit within Taneytown’s Piney Creek and Town Creek aquifers.
Wieprecht asked the Council for consensus to proceed with making changes to the City’s Code that would impact the water and the building construction chapters. According to Wieprecht, the code is not current and does not reflect what is really happening in the City.
The new changes will require all major projects to procure their own recharge acreage and smaller projects will be required to pay a fee in lieu. The guidelines that will be written in the Code will be similar to the Program Open Space guidelines. The cost of buying recharge acreage is passed on to the builders and developers, including an increase in impact fees which cover the public services and infrastructure needs, such as new schools, parks, and roads.
The City has changed the requirements for developers many times over the years. At one time, the developer was required to cover 100% of the costs associated with finding, developing, and making the recharge land available. Later, the City changed the rule to make the City 100% responsible for the water sources, meaning that all costs were paid up front and once in demand, the cost was then sold to the developer.
Wieprecht said staff were looking to amend the fee schedule in the next fiscal year and update specifics then. "We have a lot of details to work out still," said Wieprecht. "We need to know if this is the direction we want to take."
The City will continue to look for its own recharge acreage as well as making the changes to the Code. The City will also need to finalize the "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) with the County, which will signal the intent to dedicate the recharge easement land to the City.
