Density

Higher densities and a relaxation of construction restrictions are needed to address Howard County's acute shortage of affordable housing, according to a draft report by a task force appointed by County Executive James N. Robey in June. The 33-page draft recommends a series of initiatives to meet what it describes as "an indisputable gap between the need for affordable housing and the availability of affordable housing" in the county. The report, a copy of which was obtained by The Sun, warns: "It is inevitable that this gap will continue to grow unless steps are taken to ensure that enough affordable housing is developed to meet the anticipated growth in low and moderate wage jobs in the county, and that existing affordable units are preserved."

The next phase of the luxury planned community Maple Lawn, Maryland has been approved, clearing the way for 75 additional housing units and four office buildings. In less than two years, the development near Fulton has been transformed from a place where there were only workmen, steel pillars and house frames into a minitown, with residents, retail shops and other businesses. The continuation of that evolution was assured Thursday night when the Planning Board, in three unanimous votes, approved sites developments plans for: Forty townhouses, to be constructed on 2.52 acres by Miller and Smith, a McLean, Va.-based builder.

Vernon D. Swaback had time to kill four nights ago, so he strolled the downtown lakefront. "You know what was missing?" he asked rhetorically. "People," he answered after a pause. Although he is an admirer of Columbia - "it's a rare place" - Swaback, a renowned urban designer, also said it is disappointing because it has failed to evolve. "Given the opportunity of Columbia, the place right now should be more than it is," he said in an interview. "I don't know, with the exception of adding new buildings and maintaining them, how much of an idea has been added to anything beyond that which was really put together in the 1960s.

A bill that was intended to promote more affordable housing, but which raised development fears among some Howard County residents, is to be withdrawn, according to County Councilman Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat, who is the sponsor. The measure, which would exempt from some zoning restrictions affordable housing on commercially zoned land, is scheduled for a council vote Tuesday night. No one testified on the measure at the public hearing Sept. 19, but critics of county zoning policies raised red flags yesterday, worried that the bill could result in large apartment houses being built on some small lots - projects that could be incompatible with existing homes and businesses.

A broad cross-section of Marylanders favors steering most of the state's expected population growth over the next 25 years into already-existing communities and preserving more rural land than local officials are planning to do, according to a report to be released today. The report, summarizing a series of growth "visioning" workshops last spring, says participants generally agreed there should be a major shift in Maryland's land-use patterns, increasing development density inside the Baltimore and Washington beltways and along transit lines - in some cases beyond what current zoning allows - to spare forests and farmland from the bulldozer.

I'm a woman in my 40s. I usually get my cardio in each week, but my friends tell me I need to be lifting. Is this true, and how do I get started on something that's not going to take over my entire day? This is one of those times that it makes sense to listen to your friends. Strength training is important for a woman of your age, in part because it helps keep your bones strong. It's not uncommon for women as young as 35 to enter a phase called osteopenia, in which the body starts to lose bone density.

A device containing small amounts of nuclear material was stolen from a contractor's work site in Pikesville, state environment officials said yesterday. The moisture-density gauge was reported stolen about 8:30 a.m. yesterday from the site in the 1700 block of Reisterstown Road, Maryland Department of the Environment officials said. The device, a yellow Troxler Model 3430 with the serial number 23191, contains Cesium-137 and Americium-241, state officials said. The gauge is used to measure moisture and compaction in soils, concrete, asphalt and other aggregates, said Ray Manley, of department's radioactive materials licensing and compliance division.

LAST WEEK'S ISSUE: -- Two Annapolis city council members are seeking to limit the density of developments along the outer West Street corridor, where major office and residential projects are fast overshadowing older homes and storefronts. Prompted by concerns that the thoroughfare is being overdeveloped, Aldermen Josh Cohen and Samuel E. Shropshire have proposed an ordinance that would seek to limit the density of multifamily developments to 35 units an acre, a 20 percent reduction from current standards.

Harford County Councilman Dion F. Guthrie said after Tuesday's council meeting - in which the council voted to approve a contentious rezoning package - that the county might be wise to look at rezoning more often than once every eight years. And why not? This year's process provided ample theatrics, including barnyard animals parading out front of council chambers, a long-tenured council member changing her vote in what some said was an election-year ploy, and another council member wistfully recalling the good old days when politicians could settle a score by challenging someone to a duel.

Howard County continues to enjoy healthy growth, but that could be jeopardized by the virtual absence of affordable housing and the lack of a mass transit system serving the Washington-Baltimore corridor, two top county officials warn. Both issues will become more acute in the next few years as the realignment of the nation's military and defense facilities takes hold, adding thousands of workers at Fort Meade, said County Executive James N. Robey and Richard W. Story, chief executive officer of the county Economic Development Authority.