General Plan

From: Ridgely JonesSykesvilleThe 1990 General Plan projection of 2,500 housing units per year is out of touch with reality.The General Plan was worked on in the years 1987, '88 and '89. The economic conditions in that time framewere not the conditions that prevail today.The massive indebtedness of the federal government, which increases monthly, makes it highly unlikely that Howard County will get the financial assistance for capital improvements that it has received in past years.The financial condition of the state is also progressively getting worse.

My commute to work is very simple, quick and efficient, a short drive to Broken Land Parkway (BLP) and then across Columbia to Snowden River Parkway (SRP). This is how our planned community road system was designed, with the parkways forming an efficient ring road joining residential areas to industrial and retail business areas. If the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning and Public Works have their way it will change this parkway dramatically but not for the better. Their plan for a section of Snowden River Parkway from Broken Land Parkway to Oakland Mills Road will not address the bad congestion in this area but will allow some Guilford Industrial Park land owners who back onto Snowden River Parkway "direct access" to this very congested section.  DPZ and Public Works have been planning to change SRP into an Urban Boulevard for at least two years without input from land owners in the Guilford Industrial Park or the general public.

U.S. 1 in Howard County gets you from Elkridge to Laurel, from the White Elk Motel to the Fat Daddy Saloon, with an array of industrial and office parks, homes, fast-food restaurants, storage places and gas stations in between. The strip is looking better in recent years, sprouting new developments with names like Elkridge Crossing, Howard Square and Ashbury Courts, but it's still a work in progress. The county's planning department has a vision of what that 11-mile stretch along Howard's eastern edge could be, and has included these notions in the proposed master plan for growth to be presented to the County Council for the first time Monday night.

The Howard County Council faces a busy voting session this week before the August recess, taking up the master plan for growth, several charter changes and whether to allow voters to consider term limits for newly elected council members. The master plan, PlanHoward 2030, is a guide to issues that include environmental protection, housing, transportation, and the redevelopment of U.S. 1 and U.S. 40. Years in the works by the council, Planning Board, Department of Planning and Zoning, consultants and citizens, the nearly 200-page proposal takes stock of changes since General Plan 2000, updates that document and generally maintains existing policies.

Howard County's General Plan Task Force meeting has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at Burleigh Manor Middle School, 4200 Centennial Lane.The meeting originally was planned for tomorrow evening.Information: 410-313-2350.Pub Date: 10/13/99

Howard Circuit Court Judge Cornelius F. Sybert Jr. has ruled that the county's 1990 General Plan and the 1992 and 1993 comprehensive rezonings of the county are valid.Five neighborhood activists had asked the court to overturn both the plan and the rezoning on the grounds that neither is subject to a voter referendum or a veto by the county executive."I'm shocked. Really, really shocked," said Jean Iampieri Quattlebaum of Ellicott City, one of the activists who brought the suit. "We had so much valid information.

Five activists wanting to slow Howard County's growth have filed suit asking that the county's 1990 General Plan and the 1992 comprehensive rezoning of the west be declared invalid.The suit also asks that the County Council sitting as the Zoning Board be enjoined from taking any further action to comprehensively rezone the eastern portion of the county."We're asking for a sweet, simple declaratory judgment," said Highland resident Susan Gray, one of the five plaintiffs.Ms. Gray said she and the other plaintiffs -- Thomas Horvath of West Friendship, Jean Iampieri Quattlebaum of Ellicott City, Gary Prestianni of Jessup and Pauline Sieverding of Elkridge -- filed the suit because they believe that most county residents are "almost overwhelmingly against" the General Plan and the rezoning.

Circuit Court Judge Cornelius F. Sybert Jr. said Friday that he will decide within 10 days whether to issue a summary judgment in a case brought by five neighborhood activists who want him to declare invalid the county's 1990 general plan and 1992 comprehensive rezoning of the west.A summary judgment is one in which both parties agree to the facts of the case and ask the judge for a binding ruling. If there is no such ruling, the case proceeds to trial.In the case before Judge Sybert, the facts are about the only thing to which the county and the complainants -- Susan Gray of Highland, Pauline Sieverding of Elkridge and three other activists -- agree.

A 34-member advisory panel analyzing Howard County's General Plan wrapped up two days of subcommittee reports last nightin a first-floor conference room of the Columbia Gateway Building.Five subcommittees of the General Plan Task Force identified priorities for the next General Plan, a document that directs growth in areas of the county.The Responsible Regionalism subcommittee was one of the last groups to make its presentation.The subcommittee suggested, among other ideas, coordinating public transportation systems linking residential and employment locations throughout the Baltimore-Washington corridor, developing an economic plan that would improve the fiscal health of those cities and working with governments to revitalize aging neighborhoods.

Slowing growth and development will be the focus of Howard County's 2000 General Plan as it was in 1990, a member of a task force working on ideas for the document said last night."

U.S. 1 in Howard County gets you from Elkridge to Laurel, from the White Elk Motel to the Fat Daddy Saloon, with an array of industrial and office parks, homes, fast-food restaurants, storage places and gas stations in between. The strip is looking better in recent years, sprouting new developments with names like Elkridge Crossing, Howard Square and Ashbury Courts, but it's still a work in progress. The county's planning department has a vision of what that 11-mile stretch along Howard's eastern edge could be, and has included these notions in the proposed master plan for growth to be presented to the County Council for the first time Monday night.

A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a provision in Maryland law regulating who can carry a handgun, effectively loosening the restrictions governing firearm possession on the state's streets. In a 23-page memorandum opinion, made public Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Benson E. Legg said a state requirement forcing those applying for a gun-carry permit to show that they have a "good and substantial reason" to do so "impermissibly infringes the right to keep and bear arms," as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

Robert and Maxine Walker are hoping for county approval allowing them to hold social events at their Woodbine farm, despite neighbors' opposition at two hearings this month that further delayed a ruling by the county's Board of Appeals. Back in 2009, the Walkers asked the county for permission to open an antiques store and rent out a portion of the property for private events for up to 150 people, but several neighbors fought back over concerns about noise, to increased traffic, possible drunk drivers and worries over a business operating in a agricultural area.

The plan to cluster hundreds of new homes in the northeast corner of historic Doughoregan Manor and preserve the rest of the estate took a big step forward Monday night when the County Council unanimously approved the extension of public water and sewer to the property. The next step is a county Zoning Board hearing May 12, when the board - composed of the five council members - will consider a zoning change for the land. The Ellicott City estate is the only home of a signer of the Declaration of Independence still in family hands, and the descendants of Charles Carroll have shown a determination for nearly 300 years to preserve their family home and keep the public away.

Extending public water and sewer lines to allow 325 new homes at Doughoregan Manor appeared to get a boost Monday during a three-hour County Council discussion of the proposal to develop part of the historic Ellicott City estate. Every county official questioned by council members on issues brought up by critics said the Carroll family's plan is the best way to proceed, though some issues - such as what to do with wastewater - defy easy answers. Under the proposal, the new homes would be clustered in the northeast corner of the 892-acre estate, 34 acres would be donated for the expansion of a county park and the money raised through the development would enable preservation of the rest of the property.

Simon Property Group Inc. said General Growth Properties Inc.'s plan for discussing Simon's proposed takeover of its bankrupt rival is "unreasonable" and asked the mall operator to reconsider its negotiating agreement. Simon, the largest U.S. shopping mall owner, said General Growth's draft of a nondisclosure agreement would prohibit Simon from talking with potential partners and wouldn't ensure the company receives the same information made available to competing bidders. Simon commented in a letter sent to General Growth Chief Executive Officer Adam Metz and distributed Friday in a news release.

A COUNTY'S "General Plan" may not compete with John Grisham as summertime beach blanket reading. But the document will have a lot more importance than any courtroom potboiler. And, in September, the Howard County Council will meet again to consider the document that will lay out directions for at least the next 10 years. In a sense, this exercise is designed to foresee and to shape the future. The planning occurs amid heightened concerns about growth, money to provide for it and the quality of life.

The Howard County Council approved last night a new 20-year General Plan and a bill limiting home building in areas where middle schools are crowded. The council also rejected an administration bill that would have applied strict maintenance standards for the exteriors of owner-occupied homes. "This bill is a terrible bill. This bill stinks," said Ellicott City Republican Christopher J. Merdon about the maintenance bill before he voted against the measure. Merdon said that "personal freedom is preserved in Howard County."