Gardina

The Baltimore County Council approved a measure last night designed to crack down on people who ask for donations from motorists stopped at traffic lights. The bill, approved unanimously, will make it a misdemeanor to ask for money on county-owned roads without having a county permit. Violators would face a $100 criminal fine. Under a county law passed last summer, solicitors must obtain a license from the Department of Permits and Development Management or face a civil fine of $100. Those who receive a citation could appeal to a hearing examiner, and then to the county Board of Appeals.

Over the strong objections of one council member who bemoaned a waste of taxpayers' money, the Baltimore County Council approved last night the purchase of land in a crime-ridden Dundalk neighborhood slated for redevelopment. The proposed land deal in the old Yorkway apartment complex is part of the administration's plan to buy and raze the complex and then sell it for new development. In the most recent in a series of deals, the county offered $170,000 for less than two-tenths of an acre in Yorkway, using the higher of two independent appraisals.

Gardina proposes northern bike path A Baltimore County Council member is lobbying for the construction of a bicycle path that would run from Towson to the northern part of the county. Councilman Vincent J. Gardina has sponsored a resolution asking the county administration to set aside money for the construction of the path. The path, proposed by a committee of residents, elected officials and county planners, would run parallel to the Cromwell Valley. Gardina said there is demand for a bike and pedestrian path in his district, which runs through Towson and Perry Hall up to the northern part of the county.

With heart problems and diabetes, Paul Leucht has been looking for steady work since the late 1980s when the recession killed his printing business on Long Island.In 1989, he packed his wife and two sons in a car and headed south.The family ended up at The Villages of Tall Trees, a sprawling, gritty apartment complex in Essex. Now their home for the past two years is to be demolished as part of a $12 million revitalization effort by Baltimore County.Leucht and other tenants say the plan has them wondering how long they will have roofs over their heads and where they will go next.

SEARCHING FOR an alternative to standard suburbia? Interested in a new home in an old-time village setting? Wondering if the gab about Smart Growth will amount to anything?Don't go looking in Honeygo, the growth area carved from field and forest in northeast Baltimore County. It should be a lovely community when it's done, 4,000 homes in all. But the intent to make Honeygo a cutting-edge suburb has been undercut.Named for the Honeygo Run that meanders across its 3,000 acres, the growth area was envisioned to have more of a community feel than the typical subdivision.

Removing tattoos could prove easier than removing tattoo parlors in Baltimore County, where a county councilman is struggling to round up enough support to reverse a mid-March vote legalizing several shops that had been operating outside county zoning laws.Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat whose district has at least two parlors, is pushing the issue, backed by Lorraine Gordon, a Belair Road activist who wants to close Mr. B's Tattoos in the 7200 block of Belair Road, near her home.

Seeking progress -- or closure -- on a proposed $100 million auto speedway in Middle River, a Baltimore County councilman will meet this week with the developers' attorney to discuss why the project is gridlocked.Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat, said he has grown "frustrated" while trying to get a commitment from Middle River Racing Association officials. Both Gardina and County Executive A. Dutch Ruppersberger have extended deadlines to MRRA -- ultimatums issued last month that have drawn no response.

In an attempt to encourage homeownership in eastern Baltimore County, officials will continue to offer a program of $130,000 worth of loans to prospective homebuyers.The incentive program promotes ownership in the communities of Middlesex, Hawthorne, Fox Ridge Manor and Ballard Gardens -- neighborhoods in Middle River and Essex, a region where 43 percent of the occupants are renters."We hope homebuyers will take a second look at these solid, blue-collar communities," said Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat whose district includes the area.

In a continuing effort to acquire parkland for the Perry Hall-White Marsh area, Baltimore County officials are looking to purchase 25 acres slated for development near Seven Oaks Elementary School.Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat, will introduce a bill Monday night that would halt development of the tract until the county decides whether to acquire it.Developer Tom Sperl has submitted plans to build 51 houses on the tract off Seven Courts Drive, which is known as the Brewer property.

IN EIGHT YEARS on the Baltimore County Council, the 5th District's Vincent J. Gardina, a former police officer who now works as a computer analyst, has had one tough job.He weathered the controversy surrounding a planned NASCAR speedway in Middle River that ultimately did not materialize. He was also in the middle of another heated debate -- a county proposal to condemn a farm, against the farmer's wishes, and turn it into a park to serve the Perry Hall growth area.In both disputes, Mr. Gardina, a Democrat, exhibited considerable courage and skill.

Vincent J. Gardina, the longest-serving member in the 52-year history of the Baltimore County Council, says he will not seek re-election next year to what would have been an unprecedented sixth term. "Twenty years on the council is enough," Gardina said. "It is time to pursue other interests. I would like to work in the engineering and science field. I can't pursue that and still devote time to the council." Gardina, 53, is a high school math teacher who expects to continue in that job throughout this academic year.

Baltimore County voters have rejected a referendum question that would have permitted County Council members to be employed by state agencies. Opponents said the change could have led to conflicts of interest. Had it passed, the measure would have triggered a change in the county's charter, which forbids such crossover jobs. With all but three of the county's 219 precincts reporting, 157,514 voters, almost 54 percent, were against the charter amendment, while 135,077 (46 percent) were in favor.

Fee reduction proposed to revive Towson project The old Victorian houses and the brick duplexes are gone. The land has been cleared and plowed, and looks like a field after the harvest. But Baltimore County Councilman Vincent J. Gardina says the development planned for the Towson Manor Village neighborhood near Towson University might stall if the county doesn't offer to reduce the fees for not meeting its open-space requirements. Gardina is looking to help revive the project, planned by the Bozzuto Group, a Greenbelt-based developer, which consists of 160 condominiums, townhouses and single-family houses, "The economics of the project won't work without this," Gardina, a Towson-Perry Hall Democrat, told other council members at yesterday's work session.

A proposal to create a task force to look at affordable housing in Baltimore County prompted an unusually heated exchange between two council members yesterday during a work session that ended with one legislator storming out of the meeting. Saying county teachers, police, firefighters and young professionals are having a hard time finding houses to buy in the county, Councilman Vincent J. Gardina introduced a resolution to create a group that would look at ways to address the "scarcity of moderately priced housing" in the county.

A Baltimore County Council member said yesterday that his effort to require pit bull owners to muzzle their dogs in public and cage them at home was likely to fail, as dozens of people urged council members to defeat the proposal. But Councilman Vincent J. Gardina said he planned to move forward with the bill. Gardina said that even though he appears to lack the council votes needed to pass the bill, he wants to make the point that more needs to be done to prevent attacks. His bill, prompted by the mauling in April of a 10-year-old Towson boy, would require pit bull owners to equip their homes with concrete-based cages, muzzle their dogs in public and buy insurance to cover expenses after attacks.

Gardina to revise bid for charter change The co-sponsor of a proposed charter amendment to repeal a prohibition on Baltimore County Council members working for the state said yesterday he would alter the bill so that the change would not take effect until 2010 -- after current council members' terms expire. Councilmen Vincent J. Gardina and John Olszewski Sr. have proposed placing the charter amendment proposal on the 2008 ballot. Gardina said yesterday he planned to add a provision that would have the amendment take effect during the next council term.

Baltimore County Councilman Vincent J. Gardina worked for a quasi-state agency, then collected a six-figure legal settlement from the government when he challenged his firing. Now Gardina, along with fellow Councilman John Olszewski Sr., want to place on the 2008 ballot a charter amendment to repeal a prohibition against council members holding state jobs. Gardina and other county officials say they were unaware of the charter provision in 2003 when the councilman was a project manager for an agency created by the state legislature.

The Baltimore County Council approved a measure last night designed to crack down on people who ask for donations from motorists stopped at traffic lights. The bill, approved unanimously, will make it a misdemeanor to ask for money on county-owned roads without having a county permit. Violators would face a $100 criminal fine. Under a county law passed last summer, solicitors must obtain a license from the Department of Permits and Development Management or face a civil fine of $100. Those who receive a citation could appeal to a hearing examiner, and then to the county Board of Appeals.

Over the strong objections of one council member who bemoaned a waste of taxpayers' money, the Baltimore County Council approved last night the purchase of land in a crime-ridden Dundalk neighborhood slated for redevelopment. The proposed land deal in the old Yorkway apartment complex is part of the administration's plan to buy and raze the complex and then sell it for new development. In the most recent in a series of deals, the county offered $170,000 for less than two-tenths of an acre in Yorkway, using the higher of two independent appraisals.

Gardina proposes northern bike path A Baltimore County Council member is lobbying for the construction of a bicycle path that would run from Towson to the northern part of the county. Councilman Vincent J. Gardina has sponsored a resolution asking the county administration to set aside money for the construction of the path. The path, proposed by a committee of residents, elected officials and county planners, would run parallel to the Cromwell Valley. Gardina said there is demand for a bike and pedestrian path in his district, which runs through Towson and Perry Hall up to the northern part of the county.