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BALTIMORE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP Newsletter
Land Use and Transportation Issues Around the Region
March 6, 2002
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Contents:
*Transit Funds in Jeopardy; Demonstration Set For March 11
*Legislature Eyes $101 Million in Environmental Cuts
*Permit to Draw from Harford Scenic River Opposed
*Public Meetings for Vision 2030 Begin April 9
*Rebuilding Slated For Historic East Towson
*Campuses and Downtown Grapple with Traffic and Parking
*Fairfax County, VA Weighs Split-Tax System
*Job Openings: Public Outreach Positions
*Calendar of Events
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TRANSIT FUNDS IN JEOPARDY; DEMONSTRATION SET FOR MARCH 11
The Budget Financing Act of 2002 (SB 828 and HB 1274), introduced in
the 2002 General Assembly to preserve the fifth installment of a planned
state tax cut, names reductions in transit funding as a way to balance
the budget for the state's upcoming fiscal year. In an effort to
compensate, the bill does allow the Mass Transit Administration (MTA) to
float additional bonds to fund operating expenses, but the MTA is
hesitant to rely on bonds as a revenue stream for operating expenses.
In response to these proposed cuts, the Citizens Planning and Housing
Association and the Transit Riders League of Metropolitan Baltimore are
hosting a Save Transit Demonstration on Monday, March 11, 2002 from 6:30
to 8:30 PM at Asbury United Methodist Church, 87 West Street (near
Calvert) in Annapolis. Transportation is available with the bus leaving
from CPHA at 5:30 PM. Parking is available in Annapolis at the Navy
Stadium parking lot on Rowe Blvd with transit to the church on the free
Annapolis Downtown Shuttle. Get off at Church Circle, the church is a
half block away. For more information contact Caroline Harmon at
CarolineH@CPHAbaltimore.org or at
410.539.1369 x244.
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LEGISLATURE EYES $101 MILLION IN ENVIRONMENTAL CUTS
Legislative analysts, searching for ways to balance a proposed state
budget have identified $101 million in potential cuts that target more
than a dozen environmental and natural resource areas. The specific
cuts recommended include $32.8 million from Program Open Space, $26.3
million form Rural Legacy, $14.3 million form the Community Legacy
program and the elimination of 28 jobs in the enforcement of
environmental laws. Gov. Glendening launched a vocal defense of the
programs last week, and several members of the Baltimore Regional
Partnership, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 1000 Friends of
Maryland, and Environmental Defense, are working to avert the deep cuts.
For more information or to get involved, contact Terry Cummings,
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, at TCummings@cbf.org.
March 1 Sun story on
the cuts available at:
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.budget01mar01.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines
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PERMIT TO DRAW FROM HARFORD SCENIC RIVER OPPOSED
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) will hold a public
hearing at 6:30 PM on March 6 on the City of Aberdeen's application for
a water appropriation permit to draw from Deer Creek two to three times
the amount of water used by the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Deer Creek
was designated a scenic river by the Maryland General Assembly in 1973.
The Deer Creek Watershed Association, the Harford County Council, the
Baltimore Regional Partnership, and concerned citizens will all urge MDE
to limit the permit amount to only the water necessary for the
continuing operation of the Proving Grounds. Aberdeen's Comprehensive
Plan calls for the city to grow through annexation and development of
farmland -- land that Harford County's land use plan designates as
agricultural and outside its growth area. The March 6 hearing will be
held at the Aberdeen Fire Hall. For additional information, contact
Rich Norling, Deer Creek Watershed Association, at norlingr@aol.com
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PUBLIC MEETINGS FOR VISION 2030 BEGIN APRIL 9
Beginning April 9 in Owings Mills, the Baltimore region's Vision 2030
process will move into a new phase of seeking input from the public on
what kind of framework should guide the region's progress over the
coming three decades. The mayors of Annapolis and Baltimore, along with
the chief elected officials of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll,
Harford, and Howard Counties launched Vision 2030 in May 2001 to provide
just such a framework. Since then, a 39-member Oversight Committee
chaired by Donald Fry of the Greater Baltimore Committee has been
meeting and gathering input from four stakeholders subcommittees. Those
subcommittees have been exploring issues related to the economic
development, the environment, government and public policy, and social
equity. The public meetings will include an opportunity to share fresh
ideas as well as chances to comment on the results of the subcommittees
and four potential "models" of growth and transportation over the
coming
thirty years. The 17 public meetings will be held in the evenings
around the region and will conclude on May 8. For a complete list of
public meetings, go to:
http://www.baltometro.org/Vision2030pubmtg.html.
For more general
information on Vision 2030, visit:
www.baltometro.org/content.asp?id=37
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REBUILDING SLATED FOR HISTORIC EAST TOWSON
Baltimore County has launched another revitalization project that will
inject new life into the historic African-American community of East
Towson that will become a model for residential redevelopment in the
county. The East Towson plan focuses on improving the housing stock
and aggressively promoting incentives that will make new and refurbished
homes affordable. Using $1.3 million in local and federal grants, St.
Ambrose Housing Aid Center will be the principal developer of 20 modern
houses costing between $110,000 and $120,000, with construction
scheduled to begin this month. Two other non-profit organizations,
Neighborhood Housing Services and Metro Housing, Inc. will provide
support services. The East Towson plan also includes restoration of the
two historic log cabins. Sun story and editorial available at:
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.towson27feb27.story
and
http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/bal-ed.towson02mar02.story.
Baltimore County press release available at:
http://www.co.ba.md.us/p.cfm/news/eastowsongrdbrk.cfm
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CAMPUSES AND DOWNTOWN GRAPPLE WITH TRAFFIC AND PARKING
Both the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University have
embarked on ambitious plans to reduce automobile gridlock and return
their campus cores to more pedestrian and transit-friendly communities.
An initiative has already been instituted on the Hopkins campus and will
be phased in over the next few years by the University of Maryland. In
downtown Baltimore, a new shuttle will circulate from outlying parking
lots to downtown businesses, but substantial emphasis is still on
building new parking garages in the city's core. Downtown employers are
not yet fully using new, substantial state and federal tax breaks for
giving their employees financial incentives to find another way to get
to work. Other regions are more aggressively using such tools to manage
perceived parking shortages in their business districts. Sun story on
campus efforts available at
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.cars26feb26.story.
Story on
downtown parking issues available at:
http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.md.parking23feb23.story.
For more
information on tax incentives for employee commute benefits, visit:
http://www.commuterchoicemaryland.com.
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FAIRFAX CITY, VA WEIGHS SPLIT-TAX SYSTEM
In a move favored as a revitalization tool by many smart growth
advocates, Fairfax City, VA could be the first municipality in that
state to enact a two-tiered system for taxing real estate. The split
tax, under which buildings and other improvements are taxed at a lower
rate than the land is seen as a way to encourage development in blighted
areas while curbing sprawl. The two-tiered system applies to both
residential and commercial properties and is in large part
revenue-neutral, the revenues lost by cutting property taxes are offset
by increasing land taxes. This dual system of taxation has been
successfully used in economically depressed urban areas as a
revitalization tool by encouraging improvements to generate income to
pay higher land taxes. This idea of a land value tax was first proposed
by Henry George, in the late 19th century. For complete coverage of the
story go to
dcwww?-show:client/journal/FFX/j2002/q1/m02/t24/pa/s001/002_001_001.dcs.
For more information on Henry George
go to http://www.progress.org/books/george.htm
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JOB OPENINGS: PUBLIC OUTREACH POSITIONS
The Citizens Planning and Housing Association is seeking four part-time
organizers to work on promoting the public participation component of
the Vision 2030 process during March, April, and May. Vision 2030 seeks
to engage residents, businesses and government in reaching a consensus
on a vision for a sustainable, community- and environmentally-friendly
vision for the future of the Baltimore region. These part-time
organizers will work 20 hours per week to mobilize citizens to
participate primarily in the public meetings in Anne Arundel, Carroll,
Howard, and Harford counties. CPHA is especially interested in
individuals with a strong background and network of contacts and
relationships in one or more of those counties and a proven record of
community organizing ability. Cover letter and resume can be faxed to
CPHA Resource Center for Neighborhoods at 410-625-7895, via e-mail to
RCN@CPHABaltimore.org, or by mail to
CPHA Resource Center for
Neighborhoods, 218 W. Saratoga St., Baltimore, MD 21201.
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*Calendar of Events
March 6
*CPHA's Drug Treatment Workgroup Meeting. 6:00 - 8:00 PM, CPHA, 218 W.
Saratoga Street, Baltimore. You are invited to participate in workgroup
meetings to finalize the issues for the June 6, 2002 Rally for the
Region at the Baltimore Convention Center. For more information visit
http://www.CPHARegionalCampaign.org
*Deer Creek Water Appropriation Public Hearing. Aberdeen Fire Hall,
6:30 PM Public comments referencing application HA1978S028/5 can be
submitted to Chief, Water Rights Division Water Management
Administration, 2500 Broening Highway, Baltimore, MD 21224. For more
information, contact Rich Norling, Deer Creek Watershed Association, at
norlingr@aol.com.
March 11
*CPHAs Save Transit Demonstration. 6:30 - 8:30 PM, Annapolis.
Transportation available from CPHA at 5:30 PM. Briefings are scheduled
at CPHA for March 4th and March 6th from 6:00 - 8:00PM, 218 West
Saratoga street, Baltimore. Contact Caroline Harmon at
CarolineH@CPHAbaltimore.org or
410.539.1369 x244 for more details.
March 13
*Baltimore - Washington MAGLEV Project: Public Meetings on Alternative
Alignments. Sponsored by the Office of Planning, Maryland Transit
Administration, 4:30 - 8 PM, Lindale Middle School, 415 Andover Road,
Linthicum. For additional information visit: www.bwmaglev.com
March 14
*Baltimore - Washington MAGLEV Project: Public Meeting on Alternative
Alignments. Sponsored by the Office of Planning, Maryland Transit
Administration, 4:30 - 8 PM, Laurel High School, 8000 Cherry Lane,
Laurel. This is the second of the Baltimore region's public meetings.
Additional information can be obtained by visiting the official website
at www.bwmaglev.com.
March 19
*Baltimore - Wahington MAGLEV Project: Public Meetings on Alternative
Alignments. Sponsored by the Office of Planning. Maryland Transit
Administration, 4:30 - 8 PM Odenton Fire House, Annapolis Road,
Odenton, MD. The third meeting to discuss alternative corridor
alignments: the I-95 parallel, the BW Parkway parallel and the Amtrak
parallel. Additional information can be found at the official website:
www.bwmaglev.com.
March 21
*CPHA's Housing and Community Conservation Workgroup Meeting. 6:00 -
8:00 PM CPHA, 218 W. Saratoga Street, Baltimore. You are invited to
participate in workgroup meetings to finalize the issues for the June 6,
2002 Rally for the Region at the Baltimore Convention Center. For more
information visit http://www.CPHARegionalCampaign.org
*Baltimore - Wahington MAGLEV Project: Public Meetings on Alternative
Alignments. Final of the public meetings sponsored by the Office of
Planning, Maryland Transit Administration to determine which of the
possible corridors should continue or be eliminated throught the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. Penn Station, 1525 North
Charles Street, Baltimore. For more information, have questions or to
arrange a presentation at a community meeting visit the website at
www.bwmaglev.com.
March 22
*CPHA's Transportation and Land Use Workgroup Meeting. 8:45 AM, CPHA
218 W. Saratoga Street, Baltimore. You are invited to participate in
workgroup meetings to finalize the issues for the June 6, 2002 Rally for
the Region at the Baltimore Convention Center. For more information
visit http://www.CPHARegionalCampaign.org
March 26
*Baltimore Regional Transportation Board monthly meeting, 9:00 AM,
Baltimore Metropolitan Council offices, 2700 Lighthouse Point East,
Suite 310, Baltimore (on the 2700 block of Boston St. in Canton,
directly above Blockbuster Video). For more information, go to
http://www.baltometro.org/content.asp?id=31
April 3
CPHA's Drug Treatment Workgroup Meeting. 6:00 - 8:00 PM CPHA 218 W.
Saratoga Street, Baltimore. You are invited to participate in workgroup
meetings to finalize the issues for the June 6, 2002 Rally for the
Region at the Baltimore Convention Center. For more information visit
http://www.CPHARallyForTheRegion.org
May 3 & May 4
*Annual Preservation and Revitalization Conference 2002. The annual two
day conference is sponsored by Preservation Maryland and will be held in
the Historic Mount Vernon Cultural District. The keynote speaker is
Stanley Lowe, vice president for Community Revitalization of the
National Trust for Historic Preservation. For further information, go to
http://www.preservemd.org/conf.html
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ABOUT THE BALTIMORE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP AND NEWSLETTER
The Baltimore Regional Partnership is an alliance of five civic,
environmental, and anti-sprawl groups:1000 Friends of Maryland
(www.friendsofmd.org ), Baltimore Urban
League (www.bul.org), Chesapeake
Bay Foundation ( www.savethebay.cbf.org),
Citizens Planning and Housing
Association (www.CPHARegionalCampaign.org
), and Environmental Defense
(www.environmentaldefense.org).
This newsletter explores current issues, recent and upcoming events, and
ongoing deliberations that affect the region's quality of life through
transportation, economic development, and land use policy and planning.
We hope to link citizens in the region who are working to fight sprawl,
promote clean and efficient transportation, protect valuable farm and
forest lands, and revitalize urban areas, older suburbs, and historic
towns. You can view past issues at
www.balto-region-partners.org/news.htm .
Has this newsletter been forwarded to you, and you would like to receive
it yourself? Go to http://www.balto-region-partners.org/news.htm
to
sign up.
Send us information, too. Let us know about your work on land use and
transportation decisions that are affecting the Baltimore region. Email
information to Steve Beck at steve@balto-region-partners.org
. Visit
the Baltimore Regional Partnership website at
www.balto-region-partners.org
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