Howard County Executive seeks private property access to prevent Ellicott City flooding

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Howard County Executive Calvin Ball wants permission for county employees to enter private property to inspect and clear streams in order to prevent flooding in Ellicott City.

As part of the Ball administration’s “Ellicott City Safe and Sound” plan, the executive issued orders in December increasing the frequency of inspection of streams on public property. Now Ball, via a Howard County Council bill, seeks access to streams on private property in order to clear waterways of debris.

“It’s important to remove debris from streams to prevent future flooding. That means we sometimes need to go onto private property,” Ball said in a statement. “Currently, the right-of-entry onto private property is negotiated on a case by case basis, which can take an extended period of time and could jeopardize public safety.”

The bill allows county Department of Public Works employees to enter a private building, structure or property to inspect streams and clear tributaries of obstructions.

Deadly floods pummeled Ellicott City twice since the summer of 2016. Overflow from the Tiber and Patapsco rivers rushed down Main Street, causing millions of dollars of damage to the shopping district, which dates back to a 1770s mill town.

A variety of factors, including nearby development and clogged waterways, contributed to the flooding, according to an engineering study commissioned by the county.

Former County Executive Allan H. Kittleman last August proposed a plan to protect the town from flooding. The scheme he backed, however, required demolishing 10 buildings along historic Main Street, with a price tag of roughly $50 million.

Preservationist groups, particularly Preservation Maryland, opposed razing the buildings. Nicholas Redding, Preservation Maryland’s executive director, argued that not all available alternatives were thoroughly investigated. The group released polling in the fall that found significant opposition to tearing down the properties.

Ball, who defeated Kittleman in November’s election, criticized Kittleman’s plan during his campaign. After taking office Ball laid out his own proposal that re-examines the need to demolish properties, and investigates other options to protect the historic town.

Ball said the county will honor offers to purchase properties on Main Street made by the previous administration. Negotiations to purchase those properties remain ongoing. The buildings previously targeted for demolition represent about 5 percent of buildings in Ellicott City.

Earlier this month Ball signed an executive order establishing a committee headed by commercial real estate executive Michael Smith to examine creating a community development corporation to bolster Ellicott City’s recovery.

The county also implemented a pilot program featuring sirens, similar to those used as tornado warnings, to alert residents in Ellicott City of potential flooding.