(2/7) The Town Council will likely be asked this year, possibly in June, to consider annexing land owned by the Daughters of Charity, located adjacent to Route 15 immediately southwest of, and contiguous with, the wastewater treatment plant property.

In addition, the town council will be asked to consider annexation of the town-owned property on which the wastewater treatment plant is located.

Town Planner Zachary Gulden told the Town Council at their February 3 meeting that the proposed annexations serve a two-fold purpose.

Firstly, the annexation of the town's wastewater treatment plant property was proposed more recently in the municipality's 2015 Comprehensive Plan. While the town owns the property, it has never actually been incorporated within the town's boundaries. The property is approximately 85 acres in size.

Secondly, the proposition to annex the Daughters’ land is directly connected to the federally mandated and state adopted MS4 regulations. These regulations require municipalities to implement certain actions, intended to aid in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay through increased stormwater runoff management.

Gulden told the News-Journal, "In order to help meet the restoration requirements… the town is seeking to plant approximately 30 acres of trees. Tree plantings is a lower cost restoration option," but because there is not enough open land presently contained within the town borders to meet the MS4 mandates, the community must find additional land upon which to implement measures that will bring the town into compliance.

The Daughters of Charity's property being considered for annexation is 70.71 acres in size. The town will not be purchasing the land but acquiring a conservation easement to use the land. However, for the land to be used to satisfy the current MS4 mandate, it must be located within the town, regardless of who owns it. Gulden said, "We have been in discussions with the Daughters of Charity and they are willing to donate a 15 to 20-acre conservation easement to help (the town meet MS4 requirements)."

As per the MS4 mandate for the period of 2018-2023, the town must implement stormwater runoff control measures on 20 percent of the total of certain land within the town boundary (the 20 percent was based on a percentage of the total impervious surfaces contained within the town, which works out to approximately 20 acres).

The Daughters' easement will account for 11.4 acres of the 20-acre total the town must address as per MS4 and will be used solely for tree plantings. The remaining acreage which must be addressed will be covered by the Silo Hill basin retrofit, and street sweepings, Gulden stated.

Regarding the Daughters' property, the town planner said, "There may or may not be additional stipulations. A timeline for that easement has not yet been decided but will be a minimum of 25 years. The Daughters have not yet proposed a zoning district for the parcel."

The only costs the town will incur to annex the two properties will "be mandatory newspaper advertisement notices and town attorney plan review fees. Both will be minimal and typical of any annexation in Maryland," Gulden stated.

The annexation will not generate any taxable land for the town, since the treatment plant land is town-owned, and the Daughters are a non-profit. The use of the Daughters' property, however, could save the town from being charged with civil and/or criminal violations for failing to comply with the mandates, and fines which could be in excess of $1 million.