Rezoning

Editor: I do attend church, I know I need to; I am not anti religion. I am aware that front men promote wants and causes they hope will produce big bucks for themselves and their sponsors. Religious promotions are some of America's biggest recipients of money. Religion sells well on TV and in other public arenas. Some religious promoters become rich and some do go broke. Here in Harford County prayer is banned from public schools during the school week, however some of Harford's Public Schools become Churches on the weekend.

The overview of the Plan Howard 2030 General Plan states: "The purpose is to articulate policies and actions to move us to further sustainability while enhancing the quality of life. " The question is: What is Howard County's true vision? I ask because as comprehensive rezoning has taken place to date, it appears the vision is to merely grow, grow, and develop, regardless of inadequate infrastructure. Refer to Section 8 of Plan Howard 2030 — "Public Facilities and Services" as infrastructure comprises not only roads and schools, but other categories such as transportation, police, fire, health services, water and sewer, solid waste, etc. The Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance should be expanded to include all these categories to achieve accountability.

A man who lives on the eastern edge of historic Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City has filed a circuit court appeal of Howard County rezoning to allow development of hundreds of new homes — a key part of a plan that allows some development in order to preserve the rest of the property. The Carroll family, descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, wants to develop part of the 892-acre property to raise money for restoration and maintenance of the estate that once comprised more than 10,000 acres, while keeping it in family hands.

It is unusual for me to side with developers, but your article about the Chestnut Ridge property being re-zoned to accommodate nine houses instead of the more lucrative zoning that currently exists is just wrong ("Developer sues Balto. Co. Council," Dec. 24). I understand the issue with the Greenspring Valley Association, but the proper time to change the zoning is during the Comprehensive Zoning Map. This allows residents time to air their views and get a fair hearing. Residents cannot be expected to go to meetings every time a councilperson wants to change zoning.

The Baltimore County Planning Board voted unanimously Thursday to allow the former Solo Cup property in Owings Mills to be redeveloped as an office and retail hub called Foundry Row. The 385,000 square foot development is expected to be anchored by a Wegmans grocery store, a fitness chain, and a sporting goods store. There will also be restaurants, more retail stores and 40,000 square feet of office space. The re-development of the 52-acre property will cost $140 million, according to a Thursday statement from project developer Greenberg Gibbons.

A six-year effort by city officials and others to rezone certain industrial properties along the South Baltimore waterfront to permit more mixed-use development was endorsed Thursday by Baltimore's Planning Commission, which approved two City Council bills drafted to bring about the changes. The pending legislation would alter the boundaries of an urban renewal plan for Key Highway and create a new renewal area called Key Highway South. It would replace an area in which only industrial uses are permitted at present.

A zoning change granted late Friday will enable descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, to build hundreds of new homes on a portion of Doughoregan Manor, their Colonial-era Ellicott City estate, while preserving the rest of the 892-acre property. The Howard County Council is due to vote Thursday on the final element of the complex arrangement: a contract that lays out all the elements of the deal between Camilla and Philip D. Carroll and the county.

The Baltimore County planning board on Thursday approved the rezoning of a 52-acre site in Owings Mills to allow for a large-scale development project that will include a Wegmans grocery store, according to a news release from the developer. Foundry Row, a 385,000-square-feet mixed-use project to be built on the former Solo Cup property along Reisterstown Road, will also include a fitness center, a sporting goods store and shops, restaurants and offices. The project, estimated to cost $140 million, is being developed by Greenberg Gibbons and Vanguard Equities.

Two petitioners are seeking approval from the Carroll Planning and Zoning Commission to rezone land in the Finksburg area near Route 140 and the Baltimore County line.James and Carla Uhler, of Reisterstown, Baltimore County, have requested that about five acres designated conservation be rezoned to industrial. The property is on the north side of Route 140, just northeast of the intersection with Route 91.A similar request submitted by the Uhlers was rejected in 1983 by the planning commission, said planner Steve Horn at Tuesday's monthly meeting.

Businesses wanting to locate in Baltimore County or existing companies hoping to expand operations would have a faster track for property rezoning under a change proposed to the County Council.A committee appointed by the council has recommended that rezoning for projects that would have an economic benefit to the county and create permanent jobs be processed at any time, under a new process that could speed approval by as much as three years.The group also recommended that the County Council make the final decision on cases under the proposed economic development initiative process, rather than the county Board of Appeals.

In her commentary, "Don't sign it" (Oct. 18), Ruth Goldstein notes that the Baltimore County zoning process is a game. She points out that "Mr. [Howard] Brown and Mr. [David] Cordish got outplayed by other developers. " She is absolutely right. What she doesn't pause to realize is that both sides are playing a game where the Baltimore County Council is the stand-in referee. As a citizen of Baltimore County, District 2, I do not want rezoning to be a game. It should be a process. Jujitsu is an ancient Japanese "art" or "technique" that represents the manipulating of the opponent's force against himself rather than confronting it with one's own force.

Many in Baltimore County and elsewhere are no doubt bewildered by all the fuss that was raised in recent months over the redevelopment of the former Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills into an upscale development featuring a Wegmans supermarket. If you're going to build a shopping center (and built-up Reisterstown Road is no stranger to them) isn't this what you'd want? But alas, the proposal proved as contentious and fraught with political intrigue as any county land use decision in recent memory.

Small purple wildflowers dot sections of northern Baltimore County's rolling roads, where the only sounds are the chirps of birds and insects. Rows of corn and soybeans grow along other stretches. Now, many residents fear the land's environmental resources and natural beauty - its farms, open fields and greenery - are being threatened by dozens of requests that would allow more development on large rural tracts. On Tuesday, the County Council is scheduled to make crucial decisions on hundreds of acres in a district stretching from Lutherville to the Pennsylvania border, as part of a countywide rezoning process that occurs every four years.

I was fooled by the summer calm of old Lutherville, the Victorian village in Baltimore County that hides behind York Road, the Beltway and Interstate 83. On a cloudy morning, Lutherville's timeless homes seemed to be enjoying a July holiday, with abundant rose of Sharon bushes blooming near the rain-encouraged weeds. But something else was sprouting on the lawns of old Lutherville: a crop of signs devoted to a neighborhood zoning issue. It is a tricky issue. The longtime owners of the College Manor assisted-living complex want a zoning change that would enable them to build a new facility, move the residents into it, then renovate the old complex, portions of which are decades old. But the Lutherville residents say that once a zoning change is enacted, it stays on the books and remains permanent should the property change hands.

Our coalition objects to the way Say No To Solo was characterized in a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed ("A boon for Owings Mills," July 19). If you look at our website (www.votenoonsolo.com/who-is-the-coalition), you will see the names of more than 2,000 Baltimore County residents and businesses who are supporting our goals. The Baltimore County Council is being asked to approve a new 400,000 square-foot retail mall along Reisterstown Road, jeopardizing the millions of dollars in transportation infrastructure investments made by taxpayers at the nearby Owings Mills Mall and Metro Centre projects.

With all the recent press over the proposed redevelopment of the Solo Cup site in Owings Mills, the casual reader would think this is an isolated issue that boils down to one community that will see new traffic patterns or new places to shop. But Solo Cup is just one piece of a conversation that will affect neighborhoods across Baltimore County. A conversation that is expressed in upzoning (to allow more intense development on a property) and downzoning (to allow less). A conservation that is expressed in community desires and developer dollars.

Two Howard County-based partnerships are seeking to rezone land near Jessup so they can build up to 264 homes in the heart of the county's industrial belt.The project would be constructed on a site that Arnold Sagner, a managing partner of one of the groups, argued last summer might be rendered useless for development because it was so close to a proposed waste transfer station. At the time, he said the partnership was planning to build warehouse and distribution buildings on the site.Blue Stream Limited Partnership and Elk Partnership now seek to have almost 34 acres of a 79-acre site rezoned as residential property, county records show.

Roger D. HallMarriottsvilleLast Tuesday, the Howard County Planning Board meeting scheduled to hear GTW's proposal for the rezoning of 682 acres was postponed due to a legal technicality. Several local television stations and hundreds of citizens, who oppose the rezoning, attended.After the planning board advised the audience of the decision to postpone the meeting, I watched and listened to a reporter interview Leonard R. Goldstein, an attorney representing GTW. One of Goldstein's responses mentioned, "The emotional people" who were protesting the proposal "shouldlisten on a rational basis."

Baltimore County CouncilmanKenneth N. Oliver is right to proceed cautiously in rezoning the former Solo Cup site in Owings Mills until more is known about its effect on traffic. State transportation officials have begun two major studies of traffic along the Reisterstown Road corridor, a key area that is already congested. Until we know what fixes are needed to relieve the gridlock - and how much it will cost as well as where the money will come from - the last thing Baltimore County should do is add another 400,000 square feet of retail space.

Responsible planning and growth policy calls for key infrastructure to be in place before the country government approves new development projects. In the case of the Solo Cup property in Owings Mills, that means the road improvements to relieve the congestion along Reisterstown Road need to in place before 400,000 square feet of new retail is approved. As CouncilmanKenneth N. Oliverrecently pointed out, state officials have barely begun two comprehensive studies of the Reisterstown Road corridor.