Outdoor Dining Could Stay Til Fall; Anne Arundel Economy Improves

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said he wants to keep his relaxed outdoor dining rules in place until the fall. This has let bars and restaurants serve more people outside than normal. These establishments can now accommodate more customers who aren't yet ready to eat indoors.

With coronavirus vaccines flowing and cases declining, the Anne Arundel economy is starting to improve. Pittman said he is encouraged by the way the county has bounced back so far.

Businesses still have a while to go before they return to their normal revenues. Lifting capacity caps and loosening permit requirements was a start, but Pittman has more to his recovery plan.

Patch recently partnered with several local organizations to bring you their latest news. This guest contribution comes from the Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce. Here's what President and CEO Mark Kleinschmidt wrote about Pittman's path forward:

"Each month[,] the Chamber hosts a Leadership Lunch featuring a speaker who addresses a critical political or economic issue facing businesses in Anne Arundel County. Due to COVID-19, we have been holding the lunch meetings virtually[. On] May 20th, we were pleased to host County Executive Steuart Pittman as our guest speaker. Fifty business owners and Chamber members participated in the virtual Leadership Lunch.

While there has been a great deal of focus on the COVID-19 crisis, the Chamber asked the County Executive to focus his remarks [on] the emerging recovery from the COVID crisis. In his opening remarks, Pittman said he is “pretty optimistic about the economic condition of the County” as it recovers from the significant slowdown caused by COVID-19. The bulk of his remarks focused on the implementation of the General Development Plan (GDP) and the passage of the FY22 budget which is currently being reviewed and debated by [the] County Council.

Before diving into the GDP and the budget, the County Executive shared his view concerning his primary responsibilities as County Executive. He believes there are four key areas of responsibility:

1) to restore trust in government,

2) create economic opportunity for all,

3) implement smart growth policies and

4) protect the health and wellness of county [residents].

He noted that the last 14 months were a particular challenge concerning the protection of the health and wellness of county residents. He also shared that pre-COVID the two issues that most people approached him about were overcrowding at the schools and traffic.

As he reviewed the process for the GDP, Pittman noted that [the] County Council had approved the plan and that the next step would be to prepare nine regional plans. The regional planning process will group together three regions at a time[,] and each group will take approximately six months.

At the end of the planning process for each group[,] a comprehensive rezoning will be proposed that will support [the] goals and policies of the GDP. As the regional plans move forward, he expressed concern about transportation and affordable housing issues throughout the county and was hopeful that each regional plan will be able to address these issues but would like to have a more comprehensive approach.

He also noted that the permitting process can be an impediment for business [growth. The] County is working to implement a more automated permitting process and has been dealing with staffing issues[,] so third-party inspections are being used. He also noted that there is a need to maintain a level of flexibility in the permitting process[,] which is something the County [has] encountered frequently during the pandemic.

The County Executive also discussed the fiscal condition of the County as it moves out of the pandemic. He explained that the county had to tighten its belt when the pandemic started because there was so much concern about a reduction in tax revenues.

The financial impact of the pandemic was not as severe as anticipated[. With] the stimulus funding provided by Congress, the County Executive said the fiscal condition of [the] County Government is good.

The County will receive additional federal funding through the American recovery plan (ARPA). He states that the county will receive two payments of $52 million and that the use of these funds has not been finalized[,] but they will provide a financial cushion for the County over the next two budget cycles.

After his remarks[,] County Executive Pittman took questions from the audience [which was] participating via ZOOM. He was asked about the plans for establishing an improved transportation network in the County and the need for an affordable housing policy that would address low income and workforce housing throughout the county. He was also asked about the status of the new Resiliency Authority[,] which was recently authorized by the General Assembly and would allow the County and the City of Annapolis to create a quasi-governmental corporation to help finance infrastructure projects related to climate change.

In conclusion[,] County Executive Pittman shared his thoughts about continuing the temporary outdoor dining activities that were put in place by means of his Executive Order due to the pandemic. He is hopeful to keep the temporary outdoor dining in place until October.

The Chamber was very pleased to host [the] County Executive as he shared his thoughts concerning future economic conditions in Anne Arundel County as the COVID pandemic starts to wind down and the business activity picks up.

Mark Kleinschmidt is the President/CEO of the Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce, which is based in Annapolis, MD."

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Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.