Business District

Hampstead's Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to discuss tonight changing the zoning for three tracts of land in the Roberts Field Business Center from general business to local business use.The tracts, which are restricted as part of a "planned business center," abut the Roberts Field housing development and are part of the shopping strip that houses a Weis Supermarket, a McDonald's and a Jos. A. Bank clothing outlet.Commissioners are considering a proposal, presented Sept. 26, for Blockbuster Video, Wendy's and Yingling General Tire Center on one of the tracts, which is at North Woods Trail and Clearview Avenue.

The Westminster planning commission unanimously voted last night to recommend to the City Council zoning changes that would bar some business from moving into the central business district.Residents who prefer a downtown business district that is friendly to all-day shoppers favored the changes at a hearing before the vote, while business representatives sought more study of the proposed changes.The City Council plans to have a public hearing Sept. 11 before voting on the issue.The affected area is roughly bounded by John and Bond streets on the west, Longwell Avenue on the east, Winter's Alley and Emerald Hill Lane on the north and Green Street on the south.

Hoping to spur job creation and economic growth in targeted revitalization areas, the state is expanding or adding enterprise zones in Baltimore and three counties, Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced yesterday. Newly designated zones, where businesses can relocate or create new jobs to get tax breaks, include 600 acres in Locust Point, Wheaton's central business district, 342 acres in Cambridge in Dorchester County and four towns in Prince George's County. The state uses the enterprise zone program, created in 1982, to foster economic development in urban and suburban areas by luring new business and prompting established businesses to create jobs or make improvements.

An economic development consultant has concluded that demand for housing in downtown Baltimore is strong enough that 1,000 additional residential units could be filled there over the next five years.Clifton Henry, vice president of Hammer Siler George and Associates, told a meeting convened by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore that the projected demand for 1,000 residences is one of the preliminary findings of a report on the central business district that his firm and others are preparing for release early next year.

Neighbors of a Halethorpe video store are angry that a Baltimore County law -- intended to restrict adult video stores to heavy manufacturing districts -- is not likely to shut down the shop in their neighborhood.South West Video, an adult video store in the 5600 block of Southwest Blvd., will probably not have to close because of a loophole that allows stores to remain in commercial districts if adult merchandise is a small percentage of their overall stock."This is so shocking. The intent of the law was to rid the county of these adult video stores, and they're still here," said Joseph Kinsey, president of the 400-member Halethorpe Improvement Association.

The Westminster City Council may try to shape the future of the former Farmers Supply Co. property through zoning changes, rather than by buying and reselling the downtown site.Council members have been interested in how the property develops since it was identified as a key site in a downtown revitalization study last year. The 1 acre, in the first block of Liberty St., has been on the market since 1989."This valuable property would be an ideal location for a quality housing development or office complex within the immediate future," according to the study, done for the city by consultants HyettPalma.

In a move aimed at showing that it is doing something tangible to make Baltimore's urban core a better place to live and work, the Downtown Partnership released a scorecard yesterday on its performance and declared itself mostly successful. The partnership said it had exceeded goals it set for itself in adding parking spaces, housing units and improving the look of the city's central business district, but fell short in street repairs. Michele L. Whelley, president of the Downtown Partnership, said that at first, she had to be convinced of the value of creating a scorecard.

An article in the Carroll County edition of The Sun on Monday incorrectly stated the position of the Greater Westminster Development Corp. on proposed zoning changes for the city's downtown business district. The nonprofit business group opposes zoning rules that would exclude package goods stores, amusement centers, small woodworking and metal shops and gas stations from the district. The Sun regrets the error.Bad timing appears to pit Westminster city government against an entrepreneur with a plan for a downtown property.

For reasons best known to The Sun, its coverage of the sparsely attended pep rally for State Center neglected to include any meaningful comment from the project's primary public opponents, the Coalition to Save Downtown Baltimore. That's unfortunate, because the local politics of the moment will be fleeting. What matters in the long run will be the adverse total effect of adding over 1 million square feet of unnecessary and highly taxpayer-subsidized office space in midtown when there is already 2 million square feet of vacant space in the downtown business district.

In Baltimore's latest effort to prop up its wilting downtown, city leaders took a major step yesterday toward enticing more people to move into the business district with a $1.1 million loan to help a developer convert an empty office building into apartments.The former YMCA building at 300 N. Charles St. is the first of several buildings that the city leaders say will become apartments catering to young professionals and college students, who want the convenience of downtown living.The Board of Estimates approved the $1.1 million loan to Savannah Development Corp.