Cemetery Property

Residents of Turf Valley Overlook in Ellicott City learned yesterday afternoon that their fight to keep the St. Mary's Cemetery property in the heart of their neighborhood free from development is over.The county wants to designate the heavily wooded, 3.2-acre property as open space and allow the owner to develop open space of equal value elsewhere in the community.Residents, who formed the group Friends of St. Mary's Cemetery and Preservation Society, would maintain the cemetery. A preservationist group, such as the Maryland Historical Trust, would hold the deed.

The Westminster City Council decided last night to keep Manchester Avenue a two-way street.The council also endorsed an agreement with the Westminster Cemetery Co. that will help solve residents' parking problems, over cost-related objections from Councilman Stephen R. Chapin Sr. and Councilwoman Rebecca A. Orenstein.Mr. Chapin said a $100,000 cost estimate from a cemetery board member for the city's share of implementing the agreement "is scary to me."At a public hearing before the council last month, Manchester Avenue and Webster Street residents overwhelmingly opposed making the avenue one way.The council scheduled the hearing after receiving a petition to make Manchester Avenue one way northbound from East Main Street to Buena Vista Drive.

Parking problems that prompted a petition to make part of Westminster's Manchester Avenue one way may be resolved with a proposal that Mayor W. Benjamin Brown says will benefit the city, Westminster Cemetery Co. and the residents.At the City Council meeting tonight, Mr. Brown plans to outline a possible agreement that would reopen cemetery property adjoining Manchester Avenue to resident parking.The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. in City Hall.A public hearing July 11 on a petition to make Manchester Avenue one way northbound from Main Street to Buena Vista Drive drew an overflow crowd to the council chambers.

Parking problems that prompted a petition to make part of Westminster's Manchester Avenue one way may be resolved with a proposal that Mayor W. Benjamin Brown says will benefit the city, Westminster Cemetery Co. and the residents.At the City Council meeting tonight, Mr. Brown plans to outline a possible agreement that would reopen cemetery property adjoining Manchester Avenue to resident parking.The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. in City Hall.A public hearing July 11 on a petition to make Manchester Avenue one way northbound from Main Street to Buena Vista Drive drew an overflow crowd to the council chambers.

The Westminster City Council decided last night to keep Manchester Avenue a two-way street.The council also endorsed an agreement with the Westminster Cemetery Co. that will help solve residents' parking problems, over cost-related objections from Councilman Stephen R. Chapin Sr. and Councilwoman Rebecca A. Orenstein.Mr. Chapin said a $100,000 cost estimate from a cemetery board member for the city's share of implementing the agreement "is scary to me."At a public hearing before the council last month, Manchester Avenue and Webster Street residents overwhelmingly opposed making the avenue one way.The council scheduled the hearing after receiving a petition to make Manchester Avenue one way northbound from East Main Street to Buena Vista Drive.

Two weeks ago, public works director James M. Irvin was very concerned that a compromise to halt development in St. Mary's Cemetery and allow the owner to build on open space elsewhere in Turf Valley Overlook was doomed.Today, he is optimistic that the county "can still pull it off," even though only one of four conditions of the Aug. 3 compromise -- the halting of construction -- has been realized."We've just got to get it done," Mr. Irvin said. "It's taking an incredible amount of time."

County Executive Charles I. Ecker wants Turf Valley Overlook residents and the developer of the St. Mary's cemetery property to make a deal -- and soon.Mr. Ecker will interrupt his scheduled vacation tomorrow to meet with representatives of the community in his office at 1 p.m."There has been a lot of misinformation," Mr. Ecker said. He has also directed the county public information officer to put together a fact sheet on the history of the property for tomorrow's meeting.Meanwhile, construction at the cemetery site has stopped -- at least for the moment.

Residents of the Turf Valley Overlook neighborhood in Ellicott City proved last night that not only can you fight city hall, you can win.Their victory came when the Howard County Council voted unanimously to preserve as open space the heavily wooded 3.2-acre St. Mary's Cemetery property in the middle of their neighborhood.After the vote, Sandra Pezzoli, one of the leaders of the fight to preserve the cemetery, embraced Councilman C. Vernon Gray, D-3rd, in the hallway outside the council chambers.

Turf Valley Overlook residents got expressions of sympathy but little else from the County Council last week in their continuing struggle to keep the St. Mary's cemetery property free from development.County Councilman C. Vernon Gray, D-3rd, sought to give them more. He wanted the council to tell County Executive Charles I. Ecker that it supports residents in their request that the state and the county buy the cemetery property in the heart of their neighborhood and annex it to nearby David Force Park.

Carroll County government will spend at least $154,000 over the next 30 years to use part of the Westminster Cemetery property for parking.The county has begun grading work to create a parking lot on three-quarters of an acre at Greenwood Avenue and Ralph Street. The cemetery's governing board plans to use the property eventually for burial sites. Meanwhile, the Westminster Cemetery Co. needs the income from renting land to the county.The 77-space parking lot is to be replanted in grass when the lease ends, under an agreement signed in December 1992 by the county commissioners and the cemetery's governing board.

Carroll County government will spend at least $154,000 over the next 30 years to use part of the Westminster Cemetery property for parking.The county has begun grading work to create a parking lot on three-quarters of an acre at Greenwood Avenue and Ralph Street. The cemetery's governing board plans to use the property eventually for burial sites. Meanwhile, the Westminster Cemetery Co. needs the income from renting land to the county.The 77-space parking lot is to be replanted in grass when the lease ends, under an agreement signed in December 1992 by the county commissioners and the cemetery's governing board.

Residents of the Turf Valley Overlook neighborhood in Ellicott City proved last night that not only can you fight city hall, you can win.Their victory came when the Howard County Council voted unanimously to preserve as open space the heavily wooded 3.2-acre St. Mary's Cemetery property in the middle of their neighborhood.After the vote, Sandra Pezzoli, one of the leaders of the fight to preserve the cemetery, embraced Councilman C. Vernon Gray, D-3rd, in the hallway outside the council chambers.

White and black, they stood in a circle and prayed for the dead.But their prayers yesterday were not just for the black men, women and children whose graves were disturbed by a developer's backhoe after repeated warnings about the Ellicott City burial site.In rededicating St. Mary's Cemetery, the group also prayed for those whose graves were never marked, whose broken and diseased bodies were flung from the sides of slave ships, for those who died beneath the lash or took their own lives in defense of their dignity.

Two weeks ago, public works director James M. Irvin was very concerned that a compromise to halt development in St. Mary's Cemetery and allow the owner to build on open space elsewhere in Turf Valley Overlook was doomed.Today, he is optimistic that the county "can still pull it off," even though only one of four conditions of the Aug. 3 compromise -- the halting of construction -- has been realized."We've just got to get it done," Mr. Irvin said. "It's taking an incredible amount of time."

County officials joined residents of Turf Valley Overlook in lauding a land-swap arrangement that will halt development of St. Mary's Cemetery and allow the owner to build elsewhere in the neighborhood."

Residents of Turf Valley Overlook in Ellicott City learned yesterday afternoon that their fight to keep the St. Mary's Cemetery property in the heart of their neighborhood free from development is over.The county wants to designate the heavily wooded, 3.2-acre property as open space and allow the owner to develop open space of equal value elsewhere in the community.Residents, who formed the group Friends of St. Mary's Cemetery and Preservation Society, would maintain the cemetery. A preservationist group, such as the Maryland Historical Trust, would hold the deed.

White and black, they stood in a circle and prayed for the dead.But their prayers yesterday were not just for the black men, women and children whose graves were disturbed by a developer's backhoe after repeated warnings about the Ellicott City burial site.In rededicating St. Mary's Cemetery, the group also prayed for those whose graves were never marked, whose broken and diseased bodies were flung from the sides of slave ships, for those who died beneath the lash or took their own lives in defense of their dignity.

County officials joined residents of Turf Valley Overlook in lauding a land-swap arrangement that will halt development of St. Mary's Cemetery and allow the owner to build elsewhere in the neighborhood."

Turf Valley Overlook residents got expressions of sympathy but little else from the County Council last week in their continuing struggle to keep the St. Mary's cemetery property free from development.County Councilman C. Vernon Gray, D-3rd, sought to give them more. He wanted the council to tell County Executive Charles I. Ecker that it supports residents in their request that the state and the county buy the cemetery property in the heart of their neighborhood and annex it to nearby David Force Park.

County Executive Charles I. Ecker wants Turf Valley Overlook residents and the developer of the St. Mary's cemetery property to make a deal -- and soon.Mr. Ecker will interrupt his scheduled vacation tomorrow to meet with representatives of the community in his office at 1 p.m."There has been a lot of misinformation," Mr. Ecker said. He has also directed the county public information officer to put together a fact sheet on the history of the property for tomorrow's meeting.Meanwhile, construction at the cemetery site has stopped -- at least for the moment.