Turf Valley

The Preakness Celebration Hot Air Ballon Festival drew many sightseers to Turf Valley in Ellicott City from May 19-21. The three-day event included tethered hot air balloon rides, walkthroughs of a hot air balloon and pilot demonstrations, as well as family activities and craft sales.

The Turf Valley golf club and resort in Ellicott City won approval this week for extended hours for alcohol sales. The resort will have a country club license once the legal papers are signed, said Howard County liquor board administrator Denise King, which allows establishments to begin serving at 6 a.m. Its existing golf club liquor license has more limited hours for serving alcohol. The change comes as the Howard County legislative delegation is considering proposing a bill in the General Assembly to extend sale hours for alcohol under a golf course liquor license to hours nearly identical to those under the country club license.

Opponents of a large supermarket at a proposed Turf Valley shopping center in Ellicott City lost another court challenge in their two-year effort to revive a petition drive that sought to put the project's zoning approval on a Howard County election ballot. The 4th U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., upheld Monday an earlier U.S. District Court dismissal of a constitutional argument brought by Paul Kendall. The appeals court ruled there are no federal constitutional issues involved in the case.

Claude S. Cohen, former director of real estate for Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and an avid golfer, died Dec. 13 of a heart attack at his Turf Valley home. He was 81. Claude Samuel Cohen, the son of an iceman and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised on Mulberry Street. He was a 1950 graduate of Forest Park High School, where he had played varsity football and baseball, and in 1969 earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Baltimore. After graduating from high school, Mr. Cohen played professional baseball for the Rocky Mount Leafs, a Washington Senators farm team.

Critics of plans to build a large mixed-use community at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City are looking forward to a new chance to voice their objections at a Howard County Board of Appeals hearing. Marc Norman, a persistent critic of the project that would see more than 1,300 homes plus a shopping center and offices added to the 800-acre golf and hotel resort, is hailing a series of board decisions Sept. 23 that rejected a developer's motion to deny him legal standing to appeal four site development plan approvals by the county planning board.

A Howard County judge has ruled that the county elections board properly followed state law when disqualifying names on petitions that sought to block a supermarket that critics said would be too large. Judge Timothy J. McCrone ruled late Monday that the board acted in accordance with Maryland law when it declared the drive to block the Turf Valley market dead on March 12, 2009. The elections board had decided earlier that a first batch of 2,603 names was sufficient to allow the campaign against a zoning change to proceed.

Critics of development at Turf Valley attacked traffic studies of intersections along Marriottsville Road at a four-hour Board of Appeals hearing Monday night, but the developers contend that they have met all of Howard County's requirements. It was the latest installment in a seven-year campaign by Turf Valley resident Marc Norman and his allies to derail the project by Mangione Family Enterprises, based on arguments that the county does not do enough to ensure that major projects will have sufficient infrastructure such as roads and schools.

Neighbors fighting against new apartment buildings at the Turf Valley development in Ellicott City are hoping for another shot at stopping the project, which is scheduled to go before a county appeals board Tuesday. A group of opponents led by nearby resident Marc Norman is challenging a planning board decision to approve two apartment buildings near two existing housing developments. Norman said the new properties will be placed too close to existing homes and will increase traffic on residential streets.

Proximity to three 18-hole golf courses and a free membership in Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center come with homeownership at the Vistas of Turf Valley in Ellicott City.Turf Valley Builders has opened the second section in the Howard County community, where the firm is constructing homes named after famous golf courses: Augusta, Bay Hills, Canterbury, Doral and Eagleton.Buyers can customize any of the Turf Valley houses or bring in their own design and have their homes built by Turf Valley Builders.

A decade after the 693-acre Turf Valley development was approved as a "planned golf course community" by county officials, its first residents are expected to move into their posh country club homes this fall.Despite continued worries about Howard's real estate market, the western Ellicott City development will feature $350,000 to $500,000 luxury homes -- with great-rooms looking out on plush greens and fairways of Turf Valley's 56 holes of golf.About the same time, Mangione Family Enterprises, Turf Valley's owner, also will be trying to market European-style flats with large porches radiating from its hotel complex.

A state appeals court has refused to revive a petition that would allow Howard County voters to weigh in on the zoning approval for a supermarket at a proposed shopping center in Turf Valley. The county's elections officials correctly decided that opponents of the supermarket failed to garner enough valid petition signatures needed to place the store's zoning approval on the ballot, a state appeals court ruled last week. The challenge to the 2008 zoning change was brought by the Howard County Citizens for Open Government.

  Kristine and Dan Trader   Glen and Katherine Stone, of Parkville, announce the marriage of their daughter, Kristine Stone, to Dan Trader, son of Miriam and Hugh Trader III, of Baltimore. The bride earned a bachelor's degree in human services from Stevenson College. The groom earned a bachelor's degree in digital art and design fromTowson University. The ceremony was held at Turf Valley Country Club. The bride's uncle, Pastor Jeff Wilson, of Roanoke, Va., officiated.

Neighbors fighting against new apartment buildings at the Turf Valley development in Ellicott City are hoping for another shot at stopping the project, which is scheduled to go before a county appeals board Tuesday. A group of opponents led by nearby resident Marc Norman is challenging a planning board decision to approve two apartment buildings near two existing housing developments. Norman said the new properties will be placed too close to existing homes and will increase traffic on residential streets.

The Preakness Celebration Hot Air Ballon Festival drew many sightseers to Turf Valley in Ellicott City from May 19-21. The three-day event included tethered hot air balloon rides, walkthroughs of a hot air balloon and pilot demonstrations, as well as family activities and craft sales.

Opponents of a large supermarket at a proposed Turf Valley shopping center in Ellicott City lost another court challenge in their two-year effort to revive a petition drive that sought to put the project's zoning approval on a Howard County election ballot. The 4th U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., upheld Monday an earlier U.S. District Court dismissal of a constitutional argument brought by Paul Kendall. The appeals court ruled there are no federal constitutional issues involved in the case.

A Maryland Court of Appeals decision that petition signatures don't have to be legible to be valid is giving new hope to critics of development in downtown Columbia and Turf Valley, but Howard board of elections officials say the new wrinkle likely won't change anything. The court ruling Tuesday could make it easier to force a referendum for voters on contested zoning decisions, and Turf Valley critic Marc Norman is hoping it may also help revive his failed 2009 petition drive.

Address: 2700 Turf Valley Road,Ellicott City, Md. 21043Telephone: 410-465-1504Professional: Craig Day, PGASuperintendent: Mike GilmoreCourse architect: Eddie AultOpened: 1959Open: All year (First tee-off at dawn)Status: Resort (Open to members and hotel guests)Holes: 54Par/Slope: North (71/123), South (70/114), East (71/128)Yardage (middle tees): North (6,187), South (5,931), East (6,150)Greens fees: Hotel guests -- $37 weekdays and $52 weekendsCarts: $13Tee-time policy: Times reserved seven days in advance in person and six days in advance by day telephone.

Concerned about a repeat of an outbreak of gastroenteritis that struck about 250 people a week ago, state health officials ordered the Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center yesterday to discontinue preparing any food on the premises until further notice.A state health department spokeswoman said the agency will allow Turf Valley to buy frozen hors d'oeuvres to reheat, but was not comfortable about the Ellicott City resort preparing food.Officials said the 250 people who became ill included 28 Turf Valley employees.

By a 3-1 vote, Marc Norman lost his latest appeal of plans for a shopping center and supermarket at Turf Valley. The Howard County Board of Appeals discussed Turf Valley residents' fears about the potential for added traffic on the narrow residential road within the 809-acre Ellicott City development for nearly two hours Tuesday night at the George Howard Building. Board member Henry Eigles championed their cause by arguing that the case should be sent back to the Planning Board for more traffic reviews.