Code Enforcement

In an effort to cut down on nuisances, Westminster officials are considering a proposal that emphasizes a collaborative effort between the city and landlords as the first step before taking legal action against property owners. The Westminster Common Council is expected to begin discussions on a proposed "disorderly house" nuisance ordinance at tonight's meeting. The proposal would require a property owner to meet with city officials and enter into an agreement spelling out ways to correct problems after the property is declared a disorderly house.

Layoffs will cut muscle, brain of city schools Thank you for carrying Kalman R. Hettleman's column on the 1,000 public school employees slated for termination and the planned 50 percent reduction in staff at North Avenue ("Schools in a squeeze," Opinion Commentary, Nov. 20). The budget is to be balanced on the backs of hard-working people who did not create this crisis. I am the sole elementary science specialist in the Office of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction at North Avenue.

Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. yesterday nominated Deputy Zoning Commissioner Timothy M. Kotroco to be director of Permits and Development Management, a post with tremendous authority over the application of county development laws and code enforcement. The current director, Arnold Jablon, is retiring at the end of the month after decades with the county, but Smith has had difficulty finding a replacement for the high-profile post who is acceptable to both him and the County Council.

Amid criticism from community activists, Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr.'s administration has hedged on its plan to nominate Lawrence E. Schmidt as head of Permits and Development Management. Since word first circulated this month that Smith intended to nominate Schmidt to the post, which is responsible for zoning and code enforcement and permitting, community activists have lobbied council members to oppose the nomination. They claim Schmidt has displayed a pro-development bias and a lack of respect for community concerns in his decade as zoning commissioner.

Donald C. Small, Homeowners along a busy block in Remington are getting a crash lesson in what one city official called a newly "proactive" approach to code enforcement, courtesy of Baltimore's housing and transportation departments. Owners of a dozen rowhouses were cited over the weekend for having peeling exterior paint, and two dozen property owners face fines of $500 for cracks on their sidewalks in the 3100 block of Remington Ave. The citations, some of which resulted from a neighbor's 311 call to report an ill-kept house, have riled residents like Frances Munson, 76. "It's totally unnecessary and uncalled for," complained Munson, leaning on the railing of her two-story, 83-year-old frame rowhouse.

Standing by the side of Old Annapolis Road, just east of Centennial Park, near some of the most expensive suburban real estate Howard County has to offer, it is hard to imagine a half-acre of land within shouting distance that does not belong to anyone. But there it is, hidden in plain view. Here and elsewhere across the Baltimore region, uncounted unclaimed pieces of property lurk -- landmines waiting to blow up in someone's face. Discovering unowned real estate might seem a stroke of good luck.

Standing by the side of Old Annapolis Road, just east of Centennial Park, near some of the most expensive suburban real estate Howard County has to offer, it is hard to imagine a half-acre of land within shouting distance that does not belong to anyone. But here and elsewhere across the Baltimore region, uncounted unclaimed pieces of property lurk. Discovering unowned real estate might seem a stroke of good luck. The problem is, finders are not necessarily keepers, not even a government agency that needs to build a road.

After four months of presentations and discussions, a task force formed to revitalize a Westminster neighborhood will be ready to roll out a list of recommendations after its final meeting tonight. The Lower Pennsylvania Avenue Advisory Task Force Committee will select from among 21 proposals - including a community policing plan and a program requiring landlords to be licensed - to create a list that will be presented next month to the city's Common Council. The council will consider the recommendations individually starting next month.