Ulman vetoes Howard County land preservation bill

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. - Howard County executive Ken Ulman called a special press conference Thursday to do something he hasn't done in his six years as the county's leader -- veto a bill.

At the press conference held at the home of Martha Anne Clark, daughter of former state senator James Clark, Ulman said a recent bill regarding land preservation should not be taken lightly.

"I'm here today to restart the process," he said. "I do sincerely want to work with all of you here (and that means all of you), with our county council on a growth plan that fulfills the vision of Jim Clark and fulfills the vision of all of you that have worked so hard on this legislation and to create the county that we have today. To do that restart, I need to veto this bill that the county sent me."

The bill, if allowed, would have made land in Howard County capable of being protected from development.

The significance of the Clark family?

Senator Clark is considered the father of agricultural land preservation in Maryland. He was the chief architect of the state's program in the 1970s. The Clark family has been farming 540 acres of preserved land, 160 of which are in the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program. About 380 acres are protected by Howard County.

"This is not the end," Ulman said. "This is the beginning of a productive dialog."