Cheverly Green Infrastructure Committee News

Report from the Maryland Legislature

At its regular meeting on April 7, 2025, Gabrielle Leach, Assistant Director, Air and Radiation Administration, Maryland Department of the Environment, briefed the Cheverly Green Infrastructure Committee on environmental and environmental justice bills introduced in the Maryland legislature session just ended.

The following bills were passed:

• Senate Bill 250: Department of Environment - Fees, Penalties, Funding and Regulation

• House Bill 128/Senate Bill 149: Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation- Total Assessed Cost of Greenhouse Gas Emissions- Study and Reports

• House Bill 1253: Maryland Department of Social Equity - Established

• SB 266/ HB 286 – Local Comprehensive Planning and State Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and Planning Policy – Planning Principles

• House Bill 452: Outdoor Lighting - Guidance and Use of State Funds

• House Bill 628: Sidewalks and Bike Pathways - Construction and Reconstruction

• House Bill 506: Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act 

• Senate Bill 901: Environment - Packaging and Paper Products - Producer Responsibility Plans

• Senate Bill 117: Environment - Bay Restoration Fund - Septic System Upgrade Program 

• House Bill 1367: Lead Testing and Inspections - Falsifying Information - Penalty 

• Senate Bill 425: Environment - Coal Combustion By-Products - Fees, Coordinating Committees, and Regulations 

• Senate Bill 856: Mold - Landlord Requirements and Regulations (Maryland Tenant Mold Protection Act)

The only bill not to pass was HB0084 or Transportation – Major Highway Capacity Expansion Projects and Impact Assessments (Transportation and Climate Alignment Act of 2025). I will try to get some information on why this legislation did not move forward. 

Congratulations to Cheverly and All Who Dwell Therein

The town has issued a press release announcing Cheverly’s recertification with Sustainable Maryland Certified at the Silver level. I’d like to add some detail to that announcement and thank the many organizations, volunteers, and staff members making certification possible. The work of these organizations constitutes many of the town’s sustainability programs, and their members provided the project descriptions,

Cheverly’s participation in Sustainable Maryland Certified began in 2011 with a recommendation by the Cheverly Green Infrastructure Committee, which also completed the initial certification. The current recertification includes contributions from Cheverly Community Market, Cheverly Community Vegetable Gardens, Cheverly Garden Club, Cheverly Green Infrastructure Committee, Cheverly Village, Community Emergency Response Team, Community Native Planting Project, Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek, Friends of Kilmer Street Park and Arboretum, and History Club. The Public Works staff was responsible for organization, compilation, and submission of the report. This was truly a cooperative endeavor!

Sustainable Maryland (sustainablemaryland.com) is a certification program for municipalities in Maryland that want to go green, save money and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term  Cheverly’s report and those of other certified municipalities can be found at the same website. 

Touring Sustainability

Cheverly has been certified by Sustainable Maryland Certified since 2011 for its activities in protecting the environment. We recently completed renewal of that certification. Cheverly’s team was invited to see what other communities have been doing for the environment and Cheverly Green Infrastructure Committee members signed up for the October tours. 

Projects ranged from preservation of natural areas, to human-built stormwater management in a neo-urban setting, to retrofitted permeable road paving. 

The first tour took us to Washington Grove, an incorporated town in Montgomery County. With a population of just over 500, less than a square mile in area, of which 37% is designated as undeveloped forest preserve, and an interesting history, Washington Grove rates high in its environmental and other sustainability efforts, both modest and ambitious. Eminently a walkable town, many of its original platted streets are maintained as walkways with no vehicular access. On our walking tour of the town, we visited the West Woods, a town-owned forest preserve with a lake and site of a proposed storm management project; a 12-acre conservation meadow with its mowed bike path; a pollinator garden and edible garden; a pilot leaf composting project; EV chargers; and sustainability books available in a childrens’ library. The town’s sustainability efforts are managed by volunteer-initiated and resident-led committees.

Takoma Park is a small city of 17,725, 2.4 square miles in area. Its public works department manages its sustainability projects. Our tour took us to an EV charging station converted from a gas station, a green roof installation, a stream renovation site, multi-family housing retrofitted as all-electric, and an ecological restoration site. Takoma Park’s public works building is LEED-certified with rooftop solar panels, and the landscaping features native plantings. The department uses an electric-powered street sweeper. The city offers its residents mulch, wood chips, and corn grain silo for those heating with that alternative fuel. If you are interested in receiving a detailed tour description, please write to greencheverly@gmail.com.

Riverdale Park is a town of about 7351, with an area of 1.58 square miles. The tour showcased sustainability features in a 37-acre development, Riverdale Park Station. The plans for this “mixed-use town center” called for 187,277 square feet of commercial use, 855 multifamily units, and 126 town houses. The Trolley Trail runs through the property. Considerable space is devoted to bioretention facilities. A vegetated roof covers a commercial gym building, and parking spaces along roads in the business area feature permeable paving. Some native species are used in landscaping. Electric vehicle charging stations and LED street lights have been installed. 

With a population of 1554, Colmar Manor is only half a square mile in area, of which about 36% is county parkland. The tour highlighted a street intersection of permeable paving, with the installer on hand to explain engineering and maintenance aspects of the project. EV charging stations are among other sustainability projects in this small town.

Moira Iñigo -Cartagena, Eagle Scout, Honored for Bat Conservation

At Cheverly's September Town Meeting, Moira Iñigo -Cartagena was presented with the Cheverly Green Infrastructure Committee award for her bat conservation project. Here brief essay on the project was published in the November Cheverly Newsletter. Photos of the project are posted on the the Facebook page of her Scout troup, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/M8EFfpbymqeZ3XXv/?mibextid=xfxF2i. 

WHY ARE BATS NECESSARY FOR A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT?

Moira Iñigo-Cartagena, Eagle Scout

Bats are the only flying mammals in the world. They are nocturnal creatures and use echolocation to find their food. They play a huge role in our ecosystems, being what is known as a keystone species. This means the whole ecosystem would change drastically if they were to be removed. Their primary function is to act as population control for insects like mosquitoes, moths, gnats, and other flying insects. 

Bats eat around 1000 mosquitoes an hour! These insects often spread disease or eat away at the forest and the crops we grow which is why it’s so important that the population stays in check. Their poop, also known as guano, is really fertile and it helps the forest grow 

Maryland has ten species of bat, all of which are on the critically endangered list. The biggest issues affecting bats currently are habitat loss and a disease known as white-nose syndrome that only affects bats.

My Eagle Scout Project focuses on creating more bat habitat in Cheverly so that our town can have a healthy bat population. I’ve placed twelve bat houses around Cheverly Euclid Park along with an educational sign near the playground to hopefully teach more people why the bats are so important.