Rezoning

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.

Baltimore County Councilman Kenneth Oliver wants his colleagues to reject a proposal to allow a retail development anchored by a Wegmans supermarket at the former Solo Cup plant site in Owings Mills. Oliver represents a district near the site and said his main concern about the proposed Foundry Row development is traffic congestion on Reisterstown Road. The Randallstown Democrat said he also believes the site, which is in Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond's district, should be preserved as manufacturing property and said using it for retail is not "smart growth.

City health officials want to strip the licenses of dozens of liquor stores in predominantly poor Baltimore neighborhoods, linking the outlets to higher levels of violent crime. Health and planning officials said Friday that they will use a citywide rezoning effort to force some stores that don't conform to current law to move, shut or change their offerings. "Clearly alcohol and violence are two of the major issues affecting the city," said Dr. Oxiris Barbot, city health commissioner, who is helping to lead the effort against the stores.

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.

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.

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.

It's one of the oldest ruses in Harford County land use planning, or shall we say mis-planning, that we've written about ad nauseum. Someone buys some land and then tries to get its zoning changed to allow a different usage. The most recent case involves Legends Vineyard on Asbury Road in Churchville. The owners have a 2,000-vine vineyard, and would like to add another 1,600 vines, on their 6.17-acre property. No problem. The problem is they want to add a retail building to hold tastings and sell wine.

For anyone looking into why Maryland's 14-year-old campaign to reduce sprawl development has proved so ineffective, we present the learned members of the Anne Arundel County Council. Next week, they're scheduled to give a demonstration of how not to follow the growth restrictions advocated by their own constituents. As long as anyone can remember, Route 214 (Central Avenue) has been the line of demarcation between the commercial development on Route 2 (Solomons Island Road) and the rural South County.

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.

Anne Arundel County residents will have an additional opportunity to weigh in on proposed land zoning changes — a move made in response to community complaints. The Planning Advisory Board will hold public hearings on any amendments to pending rezoning bills, a new step in the county's once-in-a-decade comprehensive rezoning process. County Executive John R. Leopold called for the change in a letter to the board's chair, after residents complained they hadn't had a chance to voice opposition to several amendments affecting their neighborhoods.