Land Development

Gov. Martin O'Malley's broad strategy to revamp land development rules across Maryland met harsh criticism Friday, as local officials worried that the governor's proposal would interfere with their ability to plan and pay for schools, roads and housing. In a discussion with local leaders at a Maryland Association of Counties conference, the Democratic governor sought to sell his new program, which has been in the works for three years. He said it would protect farms and woodlands, and would designate targeted growth areas - saving the state billions by concentrating development in areas already served by roads, sewers and other infrastructure.

Lynn Davis has been hired as a senior project manager for Harford-based Ecotone Inc., an ecological design build firm. Davis will be developing and managing Ecotone's environmental credit market services in the Mid-Atlantic region. Davis spent the last 14 years in the land development industry. As director of land development for Bob Ward Companies, and previously for Michael T. Rose Companies, she was responsible for managing all phases of residential development from planning and engineering through construction and final bond release.

Karen Gulczynski wants to build a second house on her 2 acres in Essex for her daughter and future son-in-law. There's one hitch: Baltimore County zoning rules won't let her. "I could put a golf course back there. I could put a rec center back there, a small church," said Gulczynski, a bus attendant for Baltimore County public schools. "I could put anything back there but a home." Beginning Tuesday, Gulczynski and anyone else in Baltimore County will be able to ask their elected officials to change the rules covering what can be built on a particular piece of property.

Dundalk residents plan to rally Saturday afternoon to protest a Baltimore County plan to close the North Point Government Center and reorganize schools in the area. A protest is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. at the intersection outside the center, which is located on Wise Avenue. County Executive Kevin Kamenetz has proposed selling three government properties, including the North Point center, for private development. Opponents of the plan in Dundalk say it would leave various community organizations that use the center and its recreational fields with nowhere to go. Also, the county's plan would require the police precinct now located at the government center to move to Eastwood Elementary, requiring the students there to relocate.

Erin McKelvey enjoys the open space of Dayton, a small western Howard County town with rolling hills and cattle farms. Disparaging remarks about country life don't bother her."I'm perfectly satisfied," McKelvey says. "My friends say I live in the boondocks. And I say, 'Damn straight.' "McKelvey was among 300 people who attended a public hearing at Glenelg High School on Wednesday to oppose plans to radically restructure land development in western Howard County.Residents of such small towns as Lisbon, West Friendship and Clarksville urged a county-appointed commission on rural land use to reject proposals to channel development into villages or small, clustered areas.

After decades of paving streets and parking lots, Genstar Stone Products Co. is paving the way for its first ventures into land development.And the Hunt Valley-based company, which owns 3,000 acres in Maryland and some of the largest parcels of undeveloped business property in Baltimore County, is poised to become one of the region's largest land developers."

Lynn Davis has been hired as a senior project manager for Harford-based Ecotone Inc., an ecological design build firm. Davis will be developing and managing Ecotone's environmental credit market services in the Mid-Atlantic region. Davis spent the last 14 years in the land development industry. As director of land development for Bob Ward Companies, and previously for Michael T. Rose Companies, she was responsible for managing all phases of residential development from planning and engineering through construction and final bond release.

Exxon Land Development has donated to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center an environmentally sensitive parcel of land in Edgewater, adjacent to the sprawling South River county school complex. The 96-acre tract, bounded by Route 214 and Muddy Creek Road, contains the headwaters of Glebe Creek, a tributary of the South River, said Anson Hines, assistant director of SERC. The land has been used by SERC for several years to observe migrant bird populations. "It's a very interesting parcel which has a diverse array of species," Hines said.

HRD's Forester wins a Lifetime Achievement Award The Home Builders Association of Maryland announced the winners of its Land Development Council Award of Excellence at a ceremony in Baltimore on Oct. 16. The award recognizes excellence in design and quality, and honors outstanding contributions to the land development industry. Howard County winners included David E. Forester, senior vice president and senior development director of Howard Research and Development Corp., an affiliate of the Rouse Co. Forester, who retired Sept.

County ethics law should be tougher I was pleased to read in a recent article ("Call Renewed on Ethics," The Sun, Nov. 16) that some Anne Arundel County Council members are calling for strengthening the county's ethics laws. The issue was raised because Joseph W. Rutter Jr., until last December the county's top planning official, is now both a development company executive and a paid consultant on the county's once-in-a-decade General Development Plan update. As a consultant to the county department he once headed, Mr. Rutter will assist with the analysis of land development and use plans.

A developer claims he would be "protecting the land" by building up to 400 houses in conservation land near Bird River ("Battle lines form over site near bay" May 25). He must use the same logic as the Vietnam War officer who explained that it was "necessary to destroy the village in order to save it. " Chris Yoder, Baltimore The author is chair of the Greater Baltimore Group of the Sierra Club.

Why do politicians continue to take money and favors from developers and others? ("Kamenetz, council members got tickets from developers," May 2). Don't they realize how this looks and that favors are expected in return? One of the attorneys who represents a large land development corporation gave Orioles tickets to a Baltimore County councilman who has much influence on whether or not a big development gets cut back or not. A councilwoman, who got $732 worth of tickets says, "It was a nice treat for members of my family.

As one who was told, by name, to "shut up and listen" by a fellow resident at the recent pre-submission meeting concerning GGP's plans for the mall, I feel compelled to comment on three portions of your article, "Mall plans draw tepid response" (Jan. 19). One: You claim that residents were "unconvinced at first that (GGP's) hands were tied" in terms of sharing more information about their plans. Actually, we continue to be unconvinced. Contrary to GGP's assertion, the county's development approval process clearly allows them to share whatever additional information they want to share about their plans.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's broad strategy to revamp land development rules across Maryland met harsh criticism Friday, as local officials worried that the governor's proposal would interfere with their ability to plan and pay for schools, roads and housing. In a discussion with local leaders at a Maryland Association of Counties conference, the Democratic governor sought to sell his new program, which has been in the works for three years. He said it would protect farms and woodlands, and would designate targeted growth areas - saving the state billions by concentrating development in areas already served by roads, sewers and other infrastructure.

The Howard County Planning Board has voted against funding the purchase of land to build a road that would serve a proposed mixed-use development in Clarksville, a potential setback for the county-backed project, which has struggled to secure highway access. About 150 people, including landowners in the area surrounding the former Gateway School site, showed up to a Thursday hearing in support of Kendall Hardware, which has been a vocal critic of a plan that county officials believe can breathe life into the stalled Clarksville Commons development on the county-owned land.

With the dismissal of some charges in the City Hall corruption cases this week, the person left taking the biggest hit is someone who never has sought or held political office: Ronald H. Lipscomb. The state prosecutor's bribery case against the developer is the only one that remains fully intact after a judge on Thursday tossed out all charges against Helen L. Holton, the city councilwoman accused of accepting a bribe from Lipscomb. Also dismissed were five charges brought against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon after a three-year investigation into City Hall spending practices, but seven others were allowed to stand.

Maryland's growing counties will face an acute shortage of homebuilding lots beginning next summer because of the lack of loans for land development, real estate analysts predicted yesterday.At the same time, lagging consumer confidence in the economy and fear of job losses will keep home sales in the Baltimore area static through 1994, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors was told at its annual convention."The resale markets are still a little weak, especially at the upper [price] end," said Robert Kleinpaste, president of the Legg Mason Realty Group.

Robert Culver Hazard, a former chief executive of land development, building and home improvement companies in Baltimore and a resident of the Baltimore area for 61 years, died Thursday of cancer at his home in Towson. He was 82.Born in Salamanca, N.Y., Mr. Hazard graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., in 1925 and from Dartmouth College in 1929.He came to Baltimore in 1929 and in 1934 became vice president, then president, of John K. Culver Inc., which dealt with development and mortgages in Baltimore and Savannah, Ga. During that time he was also president of the Culver Construction Co. and served on the board of directors of other land development companies, including Sinclair Building Supply Co. and the Brooklyn-Curtis Bay Land Co. By 1937 he had become president of the Culmor Co., which built and then owned and operated what is now Bonnie View Country Club.

County ethics law should be tougher I was pleased to read in a recent article ("Call Renewed on Ethics," The Sun, Nov. 16) that some Anne Arundel County Council members are calling for strengthening the county's ethics laws. The issue was raised because Joseph W. Rutter Jr., until last December the county's top planning official, is now both a development company executive and a paid consultant on the county's once-in-a-decade General Development Plan update. As a consultant to the county department he once headed, Mr. Rutter will assist with the analysis of land development and use plans.

Karen Gulczynski wants to build a second house on her 2 acres in Essex for her daughter and future son-in-law. There's one hitch: Baltimore County zoning rules won't let her. "I could put a golf course back there. I could put a rec center back there, a small church," said Gulczynski, a bus attendant for Baltimore County public schools. "I could put anything back there but a home." Beginning Tuesday, Gulczynski and anyone else in Baltimore County will be able to ask their elected officials to change the rules covering what can be built on a particular piece of property.