Density

The developer of a five-acre, mixed-use development at the southwest corner of the intersection of West Cold Spring Lane and Interstate 83 is considering adding a fifth floor of residential units to the project. "A transit-oriented development should have a lot of density," said Judy Siegel, chair of the Linthicum-based Landex Companies, after a presentation to Baltimore's Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel on Thursday. It was the second time that early-stage plans for the development, at 2001 W. Cold Spring Lane, were shown to the panel.

The developer of a five-acre, mixed-use development at the southwest corner of the intersection of West Cold Spring Lane and Interstate 83 is considering adding a fifth floor of residential units to the project. "A transit-oriented development should have a lot of density," said Judy Siegel, chair of the Linthicum-based Landex Companies, after a presentation to Baltimore's Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel on Thursday. It was the second time that early-stage plans for the development, at 2001 W. Cold Spring Lane, were shown to the panel.

ON A GORGEOUS FALL afternoon in suburban Montgomery County, Lori Feller, a management consultant and mother of a toddler, kneels in her front yard, planting flowers. The yard is tiny. It's hard by a narrow street. It's less than a minute's walk from a busy little downtown of restaurants, doctors' offices, an eight-screen movie theater, varied stores and even apartments above storefronts. Apartments above storefronts? Walking? In suburbia? This is the new suburban dream - countering some of sprawl's environmental, economic and social ills.

I would like to thank Councilman David Marks, the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations, the West Towson Community Association, Nancy Hafford and Scott Jenkins for their assistance in stopping the proposed increase in density at The Colony at Kenilworth. Aimco, the owners of The Colony, have consistently refused to maintain their property in a way that is conducive to comfortable living in Baltimore County. They have refused, until just recently, to communicate and cooperate with Towson University's Student Life organizations to help control their large student population.

IF YOU'RE John Adolphsen, you listen to the wider world scorning NIMBYism and characterizing your point of view with astonishment. Mr. Adolphsen and several of his neighbors in Fulton, just south of Columbia, want to slow down a mega-development planned by the county and Stewart Greenebaum, a developer. They don't want to stop it, he says. They want to change it some, reduce its density and demand accountability from county officials. The slow growth forces, Mr. Adolphsen said, find themselves competing against what he sees as a form of the big lie: the assertion in this case that opponents of the planned development are anti-growth.

A bank holding company that sought a fivefold increase in the number of homes it could develop on a secluded 14-acre lot on Columbia's southern edge has been told by the county Zoning Board that it will have to settle for less. But it was told the allowed housing density could be doubled.In a work session Wednesday night, County Council members, sitting as the Zoning Board, voted 4-1 to grant "residential-single cluster" zoning for the property on both sides of Old Columbia Road just north of the Middle Patuxent River.

A proposal to increase the number of housing units at Maple Lawn Maryland was turned down yesterday by the Howard County Planning Board, as had been expected. Several members of the board had expressed strong reservations about allowing greater density at the sprawling development near Fulton, which combines high-end homes with office space and stores. The developer, Greenebaum and Rose Associates Inc., was seeking to build a senior housing complex with 242 units. Technically, the board voted to leave unchanged the development plan approved by the county after marathon hearings five years ago. The 3-1 vote, with one member not attending, had the effect of denying the developer's request to increase the overall density of Maple Lawn to 2.7 units per acre from 2.2 units.

Hoping to avoid the congestion and crowded schools of Owings Mills and White Marsh, Baltimore County planners are stressing single-family homes and open space rather than townhouse and apartment complexes in their new proposal for the Honeygo area.The plan, to be unveiled at 7 tonight at Chapel Hill Elementary School, is likely to please residents concerned about the impact of the 3,000-acre planned community but disappoint landowners who wanted higher-density development.The proposal from the Office of Planning and Zoning calls for 4,259 housing units, 80 percent of which would be single-family homes.

Using supplements to increase calcium intake during pre-teen years may build higher bone density and prevent osteoporosis later in life.Osteoporosis is a disorder -- affecting mostly older women -- that makes bones susceptible to fractures from little or no stress. Areas such as the wrists, hips and spine are especially vulnerable.Osteoporosis occurs when bone mass and density -- the overall amount of bone and its amount per unit volume -- are progressively reduced. This is generally associated with a decrease in the amount of calcium stored in the bone.

Carroll County's Environmental Affairs Advisory Board will assess the environmental impact of a developer's request to increase housing density on a 205-acre farm near Eldersburg.The board reviewed Carroll Development Associates' rezoning request for the Belt Farm east of Linton Road at a meeting Wednesday. But board members said they needed to review reports on the plan before giving an assessment to the county planning commission.The planning commission gives recommendations on rezoning requests to the county commissioners, who make the final decision.

Developers in some parts of northeastern Baltimore County would no longer be able to squeeze new properties onto existing lots without a new road, under a bill introduced by three County Council members Monday. The bill, set for a vote next month, would ban new "panhandle lots" in Parkville, Cub Hill and Carney, a move meant to control density. It was introduced by David Marks, a Perry Hall Republican; Cathy Bevins, a Middle River Democrat; and Todd Huff, a Lutherville Republican.

The Baltimore County Council is set to vote on a bill to clarify the rules for so-called in-law apartments, a measure that has drawn strong opposition from community activists who claim that it could allow neighborhoods to become more densely populated than zoning allows. The proposal, to be taken up Tuesday evening, puts guidelines in the code for single-family homeowners who want to set up an apartment in their home to accommodate a relative. The county has procedures it has followed for years that allow this, but up to now there's been nothing in zoning law governing these arrangements.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $3,500 fine on a Virginia company for the temporary loss at the Fort George G. Meade Army Base of a device that contained a small amount of radioactive material. In late 2010, GeoConcepts Engineering, Inc., headquartered in Ashburn, Va., lost a portable nuclear gauge used to measure soil density at construction sites, the NRC said Tuesday in a statement. The company suspected that the gauge had been stolen during a theft of construction equipment on the base, where the item was stored on a temporary job site.

Dozens of Timonium-area residents got welcome news Wednesday night as Baltimore County Councilman Todd Huff announced that he would not support a developer's plan for 33 houses on Pot Spring Road. "I did hear what you said," Huff told the gathering of more than 100 people at Warren Elementary School in Cockeysville. "I agree with you 100 percent. " The announcement was greeted with applause in a gathering that took place four months after more than 200 people met in an often raucous session in the same room, most of them opposed to Catonsville developer Jeffrey C. Kirby's plan to build a gated cluster of 33 homes for people 55 years and older on 10 acres.

Want strong bones? Eat foods high in calcium and vitamin D, get plenty of exercise and maybe steer clear of soda. In recent decades, as soda consumption has displaced consumption of other drinks — particularly milk — studies have consistently linked soda consumption with weaker bones. Now, scientists are trying to figure out how and why. One theory is that a component in cola might cause bone to deteriorate; another is that people who drink soda simply drink (and eat)

The new state storm water regulations set to go into effect this spring, when applied to approved projects and to redevelopment properties, would have severe consequences, including a loss of density, that will cause a substantial increase to the costs and the value/economics of a project. Certain environmental interest groups are arguing that the several hundred developers who are protesting the regulations would actually save money. The fact is that the construction industry, which is in the best position to judge the impact of the new rules, clearly understands that costs will increase significantly -- in many cases to levels that will doom needed projects and the jobs they bring.

Opponents of a proposed 722-home planned unit development in Gambrills who lost the first round in March will get a second chance at blocking the project this afternoon before the Board of Zoning Appeals.Saying the development, proposed for 221 acres off Waugh Chapel Road, is incompatible with the rural land and that it would ruin a wilderness habitat, nearby residents want the seven-member panel to overturn a decision by an administrative hearing officer approving the project.Officials said today's testimony should be a replay of the March hearing where opponents streamed to the microphone to criticize the proposal.

In an unexpected move, the Harford County administration withdrew last night a bill proposing to increase development density for a proposed project on the Perryman peninsula. Nancy Giorno, a lawyer in the county legal department, said County Executive James M. Harkins told her to withdraw the bill to allow a further review of issues at the site. Neighbors reacted cautiously, but were encouraged by the news. "Maybe they're going to come up with a more sensible plan," said Bill Gunther, a waterman who lives near the proposed development.

A new election year has begun, but partisan politics don't appear to be a factor in the first major local public issue at hand - the Feb. 1 County Council vote looming on the contested plans for remaking downtown Columbia. The council members expect to vote before election campaigns get rolling, but some citizens and candidates advocate delay to consider the intricate mix of concerns that amendments to the downtown bills contain. If that happens, it could push the issue into the election season or even beyond it. Meanwhile, the debate over density vs. congestion continues.