The Baltimore County Planning Board voted Feb. 20 to recommend that the County Council adopt the 2025 basic services maps for public water, public sewage and transportation.

The vote puts the board on record supporting the maps submitted by the director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation, as summarized in a memorandum provided to the Planning Board on Jan. 16. Planning Board Chair Scott Olupka presided over the roll call and the motion passed with all members voting in favor.

Board members said they wanted clarifications about specific projects before the vote. A representative of the Department of Public Works and Transportation told the board that the Richland Wastewater Treatment Plant project had been advertised, then pulled to coordinate a second related project; the plan is to re-advertise in summer. The representative said the work on the Richland site is a top priority and that constructing a new pumping station and decommissioning the existing treatment plant will likely take about three years to complete.

Board members also discussed whether work cited on the maps was part of larger capital requests. A member asked whether the projects on the basic services maps were part of a $400 million request; staff clarified that the projects on the basic services maps are ongoing projects and in many cases already funded through earlier capital improvement program (CIP) allocations rather than new CIP requests.

The motion before the board asked the Planning Board to recommend adoption of the 2025 basic services maps for public water, public sewage and transportation per the memorandum submitted by the director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation at the Jan. 16, 2025 Planning Board meeting. The motion carried unanimously.

The Planning Board record for this item includes the staff presentation and public hearing materials previously distributed; the board did not amend the maps at the Feb. 20 meeting, instead forwarding its recommendation to the County Council for final action.