A public hearing on legislation to regulate vehicle noise and the introduction of a bill to streamline the approval of affordable housing projects are among the items on the Montgomery County Council’s agenda this week.
The council will meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Public hearing on vehicle ‘noise camera’ bill
The council will gather insight from community members during a 1:30 p.m. public hearing on a proposed bill that aims to reduce vehicular noise emissions by installing “noise camera” devices throughout the county.
The bill is based on state legislation passed earlier this year by the Maryland General Assembly that was sponsored by Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Dist. 17), who represents Rockville and Gaithersburg and chairs the Montgomery County House delegation. The state law gives local jurisdictions the authority to establish pilot programs to reduce excessive vehicular noise by implementing a noise abatement monitoring system, also known as noise cameras.
“These noise cameras will help to mitigate negative health and quality of life impacts experienced by residents from excessive noise from modified exhaust,” council Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), who is sponsoring the county bill alongside councilmember Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6), said when introducing the bill in July. “I think it’s important to note that modifying exhaust particularly to make louder noises is already unlawful. And it’s just been difficult for us to enforce that law.”
The noise cameras are equipped with microphones to detect and measure degrees of noise. If volume is detected at least five decibels above the standard set by the state, the camera would capture a video of the vehicle causing the noise.
An offense would be considered a civil violation and not a criminal charge. A first offense would result in a warning notice to the vehicle owner, according to the proposed legislation, and second and subsequent offenses each would carry a fine of no more than $75. Collected fines can only be used to pay for the pilot program or for public safety purposes including pedestrian safety programs, according to the state law.
Introduction of bill to streamline approval of affordable housing projects
Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) and Fani-González will introduce new legislation that aims to streamline the process of approval for some affordable housing projects.
The bill would eliminate a requirement in county law that the Housing Opportunities Commission must issue a public notice and hold public hearings before beginning work on new affordable housing developments. The bill memorandum argues the commission already goes through a process to get projects approved by Montgomery Planning, in which there are multiple opportunities for public review. The legislation aims to mirror a state bill that became law this year.
The goal of the bill is to prevent delays in construction of new affordable housing developments, according to the memorandum.
Proposed campaign finance law changes
Councilmembers will introduce a bill that would change county campaign finance law. The bill would allow candidates to retain more money following an election to pay post-election expenses. It would require limits on permissible campaign contributions to be adjusted periodically in accordance with the Consumer Price Index.
Currently, candidates can only retain $5,000 for post-election expenses. This bill would increase that limit to $10,000, citing inflation. The bill would also change the law to increase that amount every four years in accordance with the current rate of inflation.
The legislation is sponsored by Stewart and councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large) and co-sponsored by Fani-González, Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large), Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5), Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large).