Pud

Approve PUD on Y property so majority of residents will benefit As a Catonsville resident, I would like to weigh in again on the discussions about 1st District Councilman Tom Quirk's important decision regarding the PUD the Catonsville YMCA has requested. I try to follow the local news. Recently, I saw that he attended the April 21 cybersecurity event at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, research park, where Mr. Quirk was quoted as saying, "Clearly, (the research park)

In response to Baltimore County Councilman David Marks' recent letter about the proposed Nottingham Ridge Outlet Mall, I would again point out the project's appalling lack of community input ("Marks: Consider the alternative to the outlet mall plan," June 23). As Councilman Marks is aware, I have been a long-time supporter of both his work with the Baltimore County Council and his volunteer work within the community. In fact, I believe our working friendship began in 2008, when he was president of the Perry Hall Improvement Association and I was president of the Perry Hall Middle School PTSA.

The Baltimore County Council unanimously approved last night a little-heralded bill that is viewed as vitally important to the preservation of the county's older, urbanized commercial areas.The measure, a commercial Planned Unit Development (PUD) law, will allow redevelopment of many commercial areas without the long, expensive rezoning process that occurs only once every four years.For example, an investor wanting to build a restaurant on land zoned for light industry where an abandoned gas station sits can do it without getting a zoning change.

The late, great New York senator, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, famously said, "You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts. " That sentiment, however wise, seems sadly quaint in an era when many Americans strongly prefer a "reality" that conforms to their opinion, not to objective facts. A fresh case in point is Marco Rubio, the boyish Florida senator who is considered a serious contender for the U.S. presidency in 2016. Sunday, on ABC's "This Week," Mr. Rubio said, "I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it," adding that he also did "not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy.

Developers and opponents of a 722-home planned unit development (PUD) proposed in Gambrills haven't reached a compromise and an appeals hearing on the project is set for this afternoon.A scheduled hearing last month was delayed until today to give both sides time to meet. But an attorney representing one of the opponents said an agreementcouldn't be reached. "We would just as soon let the board of appealsdecide," he said.Attorneys were more optimistic last month, saying there had been a "meeting of the minds" on a proposal offered by Thomas and Dorothy Watts, who live near the proposed development on St. Stephen's ChurchRoad.

The Taneytown Planning and Zoning Commission wants to institute a Planned Unit Development (PUD) program that would give developers flexibility in building in exchange for open space areas.The program would also allow developers to build residential and commercial structures in the same areas."It really is a planning dream that you have a chance to sit down and build an area from scratch," said City Manager Joseph A. Mangini Jr."What we are planning for is an ordinance that would allow developers coming into the city to prepare all types of buildings in one project, providing it meets certain criteria."

Councilman David Marks has stood with the citizens of Carney in refusing to introduce a planned unit development (PUD) for the former Bill Bateman property located north of the Harford and Northwind roads intersection in Cub Hill. This is the last property south of the URDL (Urban Rural Demarction Line). This decision was an important one. Marks told me about the PUD and the meeting of the Northwind Townhomes Home Owners Association (HOA) and I attended the meeting with permission of HOA. The PUD proposed by Kirby as presented to the HOA board was to build 160 apartments on the site.

PUD would weaken zoning protections The letter "Zoning rules permit PUD for care center" (Jan. 8) said the Keswick Multi-Care Center is not proposing a zoning change for the Baltimore Country Club property. Under the current law, the R-1 zoning permits single-family houses and other land uses normally found in single-family neighborhoods, such as schools, houses of worship and recreational facilities. Multiple-family apartments and commercial uses are prohibited. A residential planned unit development (PUD)

I have been reading that Tom Quirk's position opposing the massive PUD development on the YMCA property may be softening. I was very disappointed to hear this news. I fully support improvements to the YMCA. Improvements to the Y are long overdue, but we need to keep things in the proper balance, lest we destroy what most of us love about Catonsville. As I understand it, the YMCA has viable development options that would not require the PUD process. I also understand that options within the existing zoning designation would provide enough money to finance some very nice improvements to the Y. Why can't we just, for once, develop property within the existing zoning guidelines?

Neighborspace and Catonsville Rails To Trails are both great organizations. However, allowing developers to make donations to side step planned unit development requirements is wrong, no matter the organization's merit. The Catonsville Times was correct ("PUD benefits should remain specific to project's location," CatonsvilleTimes, Oct. 5) in stating, "Quirk's bill could turn a PUD request into a pay to play deal. " Opponents to Whalen Properties' medical building PUD feel that dealing with traffic increases, building sidewalks to the Beltway and noise remediation from the possibility of 24-hour ambulance services aren't meaningful community benefits.

Hey, "The Walking Dead" is back on AMC! It's been two months since we've been able to spend our Sunday nights watching men and women in tattered clothing brutally slaughtering rotting men and women in even more tattered clothing/skin, unless you happened to catch that one really weird episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" on the Memorable Entertainment network. Sunday night's return - titled "After" - was a very strong showing, in this humble blogger's opinion. If you didn't start getting a little choked up during the scene where little Carl almost has to squeeze the trigger to put down his father, Rick, you might want to be tested to see if you're a serial killer.

A community group in the Loch Raven area got a first look Monday night at plans for Loch Raven Commons, a $45 million mixed-use development with up to 200 high-end apartments, commercial space and a village green proposed for the former Raytheon site on East Joppa Road. The meeting, which was held in Councilman David Marks' office, included the project's developer, the Buccini/Pollin Group, and an advisory committee comprising residents of nearby Towson Estates and Loch Raven Village that Marks formed earlier this year.

City Councilman Carl Stokes sounded all but certain Monday that he would ask the Planning Commission on Nov. 21 to return the planned 25th Street Station shopping center project back to the council for further review. The Planning Commission would only revisit the development if it decides that changes to the Walmart-anchored project constitute "major amendments" that warrant reconsideration by the council. Stokes said that although the council approved the planned unit development, or PUD, in 2010, the project has undergone so many design changes - from the loss of Lowe's as a co-anchor to the recommending razing of a stone church to make way for a Walmart loading dock - that the PUD needs council review again.

A Baltimore City-mandated citizens' advisory committee that few people knew existed until this month scrambled to meet Saturday, ahead of a Monday deadline to make recommendations to the Planning Department about a proposed shopping center with a Walmart store in Remington. Although 15 area residents attended the meeting at Corky's Grill near the development site, only two were committee members, so the five-member committee lacked a quorum and can only issue "a report of those present," said John Viles, who chaired the meeting.

Water for Chocolate chef/owner Sean Guy calls his food "sexy comfort cuisine. " We're not sure about the "sexy" part, but his capable take on traditional Southern comfort food is definitely impressive. Guy cut his teeth in chain restaurants - think Hard Rock Cafe - but Water for Chocolate is anything but corporate. Operated out of a corner storefront in Butchers Hill, the restaurant dishes up breakfast, lunch and dinner to a steady stream of loyal, local customers. Scene & Decor With soda cases lining one wall, a path to the bathroom that winds through the kitchen and a weeknight closing time of 7 p.m., Water for Chocolate sometimes feels more like a carryout than a sit-down restaurant.

Ann Montgomery of Millersville was looking for the recipe for a dessert her mother used to make in the 1950s for what she called cottage pudding. She described it as basically a single-layer yellow cake that was served warm with a slightly sweet vanilla sauce poured over it. Cheryl Robbins of Joppa thought she had the very recipe Montgomery was looking for. It comes from the first cookbook she acquired, "The Fanny Farmer Cookbook," which she received as a wedding gift in 1966.

The future of 221 acres in Gambrills was debated yesterday by developers who want to build 750 homes and by residents who oppose the plan.Testifying before a county zoning official, both sides argued the merits of the proposed planned unit development, which would bring a mixture of town houses, single-family homes and apartments to the site off Route 3.Ernest J. Litty Jr., president of Leimbach Development Inc., the primary developer, wants a special exception...

The Baltimore County Planning Board has endorsed legislation that officials view as a key to revitalizing the county's older commercial and industrial areas.The Planned Unit Development (PUD) bill would allow redevelopment of many commercial properties without requiring a zoning change, something that can take up to four years.By directing economic reinvestment to the older communities, mainly inside the Beltway, the bill also would discourage commercial developers from looking to the more rural areas of the county for new commercial ventures, Planning Director P. David Fields told the board Thursday.

Two pieces of legislation sponsored by 5th District Councilman David Marks - one regarding a bike trail in Towson and another on the county's Planned Unit Development ordinance - faced a rocky road last week with scrutiny from citizens and fellow council members. But after each was amended to assuage concerns, both passed at Monday's County Council meeting. The first, a resolution that adds a quarter-mile West Towson neighborhood trail to the Eastern Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycling Plan, had been challenged by the West Towson Neighborhood Association Friday.

Baltimore County Council members have finally approved legislation to require the county to post preliminary plans for "Planned Unit Developments" online ("Balto. Co. Council OKs PUD reform" Feb. 22). It's about time. Such projects allow developers to get around certain zoning restrictions by offering defined benefits to the community. In the matter of Mays Chapel Park, the council has decided to usurp the dedicated Recreation and Parks property for the construction of an elementary school without the opportunity for public comment.