Zoning

Preaching in a makeshift sanctuary in a school auditorium, the Rev. Tyrone P. Jones IV frequently punctuates the ends of his sentences with a quick "amen. " As only the fifth pastor in the 112-year history of First Baptist Church of Guilford, Jones says he has many reasons to infuse his sermons with such affirmations. Stepping into a job held by a beloved minister for nearly 40 years is one of them. Starting a fresh chapter of church life with his new congregation by shepherding their move into a long-delayed church building is another.

A Baltimore County delegate said Wednesday that the governor should send in the Maryland State Police to control "roving mobs of black youths" at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, prompting a colleague to label the message "race-baiting. " Del. Patrick L. McDonough, a Republican whose district includes part of Harford County, distributed a news release with the headline: "Black Youth Mobs Terrorize Baltimore on Holidays. " In it, McDonough said he had sent a letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley urging him to use the state police to help prevent attacks and to declare the Inner Harbor area a "no-travel zone" until safety can be guaranteed.

The petition drive to block some zoning changes for the 30-year plan to redevelop central Columbia appears doomed, based on a preliminary review of signatures by the Howard County Board of Elections. After two days of counting, the board posted numbers on its Web site late Wednesday that showed the drive has a mathematical chance to pass its first hurdle but virtually no practical chance. Critics of the residential portion of the plan that would allow up to 5,500 new residences in town center need to have collected 2,501 valid signatures to pass the first requirement.

I would like to thank Councilman David Marks, the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations, the West Towson Community Association, Nancy Hafford and Scott Jenkins for their assistance in stopping the proposed increase in density at The Colony at Kenilworth. Aimco, the owners of The Colony, have consistently refused to maintain their property in a way that is conducive to comfortable living in Baltimore County. They have refused, until just recently, to communicate and cooperate with Towson University's Student Life organizations to help control their large student population.

The Friendly Inn's neighbors have lost another round in their quest to stop the Ellicott City tavern from building an outdoor patio, though the yearlong struggle may be far from over. The bar and restaurant, known in recent years as a gathering place for blues music, has been an outpost on once-rural Frederick Road at Folly Quarter Road since before Howard County adopted zoning in 1948, but newcomers who bought new retirement homes around it say the patio would change the neighborhood they've come to love.

The Baltimore County Council unanimously enacted tougher zoning on businesses that stock adult entertainment products at its legislative session Tuesday. The new law will require those businesses to scale back total adult inventory from 20 to 15 percent or relocate to a less visible location. The same standard applies to the establishment's gross retail sales. The ban also prevents adult video stores, massage parlors and tattoo and body-piercing shops and any others that sell or display sexual paraphernalia and material from operating within 1,000 feet of many establishments — including churches, libraries, day care centers, homes or other family facilities.

The tiny honeybees in Dan and Jeri Hemerlein's six hives in their big Columbia backyard are dedicated work-a-day drudges, oblivious to the passions they've stirred in humans across Maryland. But in a search for water next door in retiree Sam Peperone's yard, the bees set off a Howard County zoning fight that has lasted close to three years and drawn hundreds of bee supporters to a series of public hearings over the last 18 months. The local dispute has highlighted what experts say is a global trend, and Howard County has become a flashpoint in the debate over growing interest among home beekeepers, more than 3,000 of whom are registered in Maryland alone.

IF BALTIMORE County Executive James T. Smith Jr. has his way, the region's largest jurisdiction will soon join a small but growing revolt against the straitjacket strictures of traditional zoning. Up to seven communities will be allowed to write their own codes. The goal: cutting red tape and speeding up revitalization of decaying commercial strips. The County Council should support this radical experiment when enabling legislation is introduced in the next few weeks. From Randallstown to the U.S. 40 corridor, the current zoning approach has failed to spur viable redevelopment; it's time to try alternatives.

A Columbia-based developer is requesting rezoning of 50 acres of office park-research land near new Route 100 and Executive Park Drive for apartments.K & M Development Corp. Inc. filed the request yesterday for zoning authority to build as many as 750 apartments and condominiums on the site west of Loew's Columbia Palace Nine theater and Howard High School. "The concept is to have condominium units which can be used as starter homes and affordable housing," said Richard B. Talkin, an attorney for the development firm.

In an effort to boost Carroll's economic development efforts, county planners are pushing for a new zoning designation that would encourage the creation of high-tech employment campuses.Already a staple of nearby counties, employment campuses would attract "the kinds of businesses compatible with the county's character," said Greg Horner, a county planner who introduced the concept to a South Carroll citizens group last week."It would really give us something to market to companies," he said.

Baltimore's Board of Estimates has approved the final variable of a formula that will dictate the amount developers in South Baltimore pay for road improvements. The new formula replaces time-consuming traffic impact studies and ad hoc negotiations between developers and the city, which for years have determined what builders pay to mitigate the traffic produced by their developments. "Sometimes [developers would] end up spending more on the traffic impact study than on the mitigation fees themselves," said Jamie Kendrick, the city's deputy director of transportation.

The Baltimore City Council on Monday approved a new map for the city's enterprise zone that significantly realigns and diminishes its footprint, from 22,000 acres to 14,000 acres. The zone is designed to support investment in and improvement of impoverished sections by offering tax breaks to businesses in the areas. The state reimburses the city for half the lost tax revenue. The new map, created by the Baltimore Development Corp., eliminated residential areas but also cut out some business zones that have seen a change in fortune over the last decade, including Harbor East and Harbor Point.

This week, Republicans have been criticizing President Barack Obama for his surprise trip to Afghanistan marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. By accusing the president of hyping the commemoration, they apparently hope to undercut the political potency of his biggest foreign policy coup. Instead, the GOP critics may merely make themselves look a bit silly. They must think Americans are suffering from amnesia and cannot recall President George W. Bush and his Top Gun moment back in 2003.

As the Orioles went 5-1 on this week's six-game homestand, it's been an eventful week for right-handed reliever Pedro Strop. Earlier this week, with closer Jim Johnson hospitalized with food poisoning, Strop had the opportunity to step into the ninth-inning role and earned his first two career big-league saves on back-to-back nights Tuesday and Wednesday against Toronto. Strop, who has spent most of the season pitching in an eighth-inning set-up role, thrived under the late-inning pressure, throwing 98-mph two-seam sinking fastball that cuts off the corners of the plate.

The notion that poor students are less likely to have access to high-quality educational options isn't new, but a report released today by the Brookings Institution sheds light on a factor that hasn't yet been highlighted as a driver of the achievement gap. The report examined test scores and housing costs in 100 of the largest metropolitan regions in the nation, including the Baltimore-Towson area, and found that  stringent zoning...

Needless to say, Orioles leftfielder Nolan Reimold is in the zone. The hitting home runs every night in the most critical spots. He's making all sorts of dramatic catches in the field - running, diving, even lunging into the first row of seats atU.S. Cellular Field. In the Orioles' 3-2 win over the White Sox Tuesday night on Chicago's South Side, Reimold was at it again. He hit his fourth homer in as many starts. And in the field he made two web-gem caliber catches. In the first inning, Reimold made a diving snag of No. 2 hitter Brent Morel's ball in shallow left-centerfield.

HAVRE DE GRACE -- A religious person might well conclude that it was God, curious to see just how horrible so-called "civilized" human beings can become, who invented the zoning game.Within the protecting walls of our democratic society, zoning offers the nearest thing to war that the laws permit. Zoning battles over what one may or may not do with one's property can be petty, but they can also be titanic, involving naked self-interest, money, political power, arrogance, vindictiveness -- and occasionally even humor.

When Towson American Legion Post 22 commander Jim Rebbert looks at a planner's drawing envisioning a future for the patch of land where the post now stands, he gets the jitters. The drawings show businesses and apartments along pleasant, tree-lined thoroughfares, but not the Legion post. "You don't see us there, need I say more?" Rebbert said. T he Legion's leaders have no intention of going anywhere. The county is considering several changes this year that would extend the boundaries of downtown Towson, including one that would allow more intense development on the 14-acre triangular expanse where the Legion post stands just south of Towson Circle.

A program to improve healthcare in minority areas and reduce health disparities was approved by the General Assembly over the weekend. The pilot program, which now goes to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature, would offer tax breaks and other incentives to local health departments and community groups for their programs in these underserved areas - labeled as Health Enterprise Zones. “Every Marylander, of every race, ethnicity, and nationality, in every part of our state, should have the chance to live a healthy, productive life,” said Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who pushed for the administration bill.