The HCCA participates in activities on behalf of residents of Howard County and advocates for issues of interest and concern. For 2012/13 , based on member input at the 2012 Annual Meeting, the HCCA board chose to focus on 2 key areas. Our hot topics for 2012/13 are:
1) Responsible Land Use/Comprehensive Zoning – In 2012, the Howard County Council adopted the county’s general plan, Plan Howard 2030. The next step in that process was Comprehensive Zoning. It is designed to ensure that the land use in the county reflects the policies adopted in Plan Howard 2030. Rezoning requests were accepted through December 14, 2012, and then the process of considering those requests began. A final vote on CB32-2013 was taken on July 25, 2013 and final documents are posted on the county website. As proponents of “responsible” land use, the HCCA takes an active interest in advocating for land use policies that reflect the safety, health and well being of our citizens, and we spent many hours testifying on behalf of citizen concerns.
2) Aging in Place in Howard County – Many county residents are interested in staying in their own homes as they age. It is our belief that the County needs to do more to help to facilitate this process and make it easier for people to stay in their homes. To this end, the HCCA is working with other area organizations on this issue. This past fall, the HCCA, in conjunction with other area organizations, supported legislation that was passed in 2012 providing tax relief for citizens making age related modifications to their home, The Liveable Homes Tax Credit (CB-28-2012). Links to the application for the tax credit and to information regarding accessibility features can be found here. Also, one of our board members, Paul Verchinski, writes a Senior Column that provides an update on some of the senior issues.
See highlights from our Aging Successfully in the Community Forum:
Aging Successfully in Place in HoCo
In addition to our “hot topics” for 2012/13, these are some of the areas we have focused on in the past include: