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BALTIMORE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP Newsletter
Land Use and Transportation Issues Around the Region
November 28, 2001
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Contents:
*Owens Vetoes Parole Standards, Appoints Committee
*Public Invited to Workshops on Baltimore Rail Plan
*Dec. 6 Rail Symposium Explores Curbing Sprawl
*State Offers Bike and Pedestrian Planning Sessions
*Census Survey Shows Poverty, Wealth, Car Ownership
*Preservation by Citizen Purchase
*Calendar of Events
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OWENS VETOES PAROLE STANDARDS, APPOINTS COMMITTEE
Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens vetoed County Council-approved
design standards for the redevelopment of Parole Town Center on November
15, claiming that the standards were incomplete. The standards, which
were supported by local citizens groups, four County Council members,
and the Baltimore Regional Partnership, would have helped to ensure that
the new town center is built with a walkable, transit-friendly design.
Shortly after the veto, Owens appointed an 11-member committee to
develop further standards and pledged her support to enact them quickly.
Members of the new panel include an even balance of property owners and
local citizens, including strong supporters of the vetoed design
standards bill. County Planning Director Denis Canavan, speaking at a
November 5 council hearing, felt he could not legally promise that this
new committee would be able to come up with final design standards
before he issued building permits for the proposed Parole Plaza
redevelopment, a key project proposed for the town center that includes
a Wal-Mart in the first phase, followed by residential and office towers
in later phases. However, Owens, in issuing her November 15 veto,
pledged that the new committee would be able to get standards enacted
before building permits are issued.
November 26 Sun story on new committee available at
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.south26nov26.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Darundel
November 16 Sun story on veto available at
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.parole16nov16.story
November 15 Capital story on veto available at
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/live/11_15-52/TOP
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PUBLIC INVITED TO WORKSHOPS ON BALTIMORE RAIL PLAN
Which of life's activities should be served by a rapid transit system in
the Baltimore region? The Maryland Transit Administration will host two
rounds of public workshops during the development of the Baltimore
Region Rail System Plan. The first round of workshops will be held
between November 29 and December 19 to receive public input on corridors
and destinations that should be served by rapid transit, the best mode
(i.e. subway, light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit) to serve
these corridors, and other issues that should be considered during the
development of the system plan. A second-round of meetings will be held
in mid-January to review system plan options with the public and to
begin to prioritize the corridors identified in the system plan. The
Advisory Committee and the Maryland Transit Administration will consider
information received from the public at these workshops in developing
the Baltimore Region Rail System Plan. The dates and locations of the
meetings are listed below under "Calendar of Events," or visit
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/publicwrkshp/intro.htm.
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DEC. 6 RAIL SYMPOSIUM EXPLORES CURBING SPRAWL
The fourth symposium to address issues in planning the regional rail
system will look at "Rail Transit as and Environmental Asset and
Opportunity." It will be held on December 6, at 6:00 PM at Tide Point
in Locust Point and will explore how rapid transit can help foster
brownfield redevelopment, control sprawl, improve air and water quality
and promote meaningful land use reform. Maryland secretary of planning
Roy Kienitz will speak, and panel respondents will include Theresa
Pierno of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Scot Spencer of
Environmental Defense. This is the fourth installment of a half-year
long event designed to promote the region to think about rail transit
and its impact on community and economic development. For complete
details of the process go to http://www.baltimorerailplan.com.
Flyer on
December 6 event available at
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/symposium/symposium4.htm
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STATE OFFERS BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN PLANNING SESSIONS
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) has scheduled a series
of statewide training sessions through the month of December to aid in
achieving the goal "to make Maryland the best state for bicycling and
walking." The sessions, part of the Maryland Bicycle and
Pedestrian
20-Year Plan planning process, are geared toward state, local, and
regional planners and engineers, but are also open to other interested
participants as well. Sessions in the Baltimore region are scheduled
for December 5 in Annapolis and December 6 and 19 in Baltimore. MDOT
asks those interested in participating to register by November 30. For
more information or to sign up, go to:
http://www.fhiplan.com/md_bike_ped_plan/index.htm.
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CENSUS SURVEY SHOWS POVERTY, WEALTH, CAR OWNERSHIP
Recently released survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau paints a
picture of varying levels of poverty, wealth and car ownership in
different jurisdictions in the Baltimore region. Baltimore City has a
median household income half that of Anne Arundel County, a high poverty
level of 21 percent (35 percent for children), and the most affordable
housing of the counties surveyed. Baltimore County showed the shortest
commuting time of the counties surveyed and a median income between
Baltimore City's and Anne Arundel's. Anne Arundel households also own
the most cars, with two thirds owning at least two and a quarter owning
three or more. Quoted in the Sun, Chesapeake Bay Foundation senior
planner George Maurer was not surprised by the findings: "As development
becomes more and more sprawling, car ownership goes up. It's typical of
Anne Arundel County. You can't go anywhere without a car."
November 20
Sun story available at:
http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.md.census20nov20.story
or go to the U.S.
Census Bureau site at
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/c2ss.html
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PRESERVATION BY CITIZEN PURCHASE
Increasingly, in Maryland and across the nation, there is a trend
towards neighborhoods taking things in their own hands and no longer
relying on traditional zoning regulations and the political process to
monitor and control development, according to a November 22 story in the
Baltimore Sun. The trend can be seen in the impressive growth of
community and regional land trusts, up 42% since 1990. Community
efforts to buy land have several things in common: a shared vision of
what the area should look like, dedicated volunteers formation of a
non-profit group and a landowner willing to negotiate. Full story
available at:
http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.ho.purchase22nov22.story
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
November 29
*CPHA's "Evening to Remember." 6:00-9:00 PM; Old Stewart's
Department
Store at the intersections of Lexington and Howard Streets, Baltimore.
Features legendary Baltimore Jazz artist Ethel Ennis accompanied by Earl
Arnett. $20.00 for CPHA members, $25.00 for non-members. Call
410-539-1369 for more information.
*Public Workshop - Planning Baltimore's Regional Rail System, 6:00 -
8:00 P.M. Northeast Baltimore - Good Samaritan Hospital, 5601 Loch
Raven Boulevard. For more information, go to:
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/publicwrkshp/intro.htm
December 3
*Public Workshop - Planning Baltimore's Regional Rail System, 6:00 -
8:00 P.M. Downtown Baltimore - Baltimore City Hall, 100 North
Holliday
Street. For more information, go to:
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/publicwrkshp/intro.htm
December 4
*CPHA Meeting of the Transportation and Land Use Workgroup. 6:00 -
8:00 p.m. at CPHA, 218 W. Saratoga St. This group is meeting as a
result of the Regional Agenda Outlook 2002. See
http://www.CPHARegionalCampaign.org
for more information and details.
December 5
*Public Workshop - Planning Baltimore's Regional Rail System, 6 - 8 P.M.
Essex/White Marsh - Essex Community College, College Community Center
Building, 7201 Rossville Blvd. For more information go to:
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/publicwrkshp/intro.htm
December 6
*Baltimore Region Rail System Plan Symposium - Rail Transit as an
Environmental Asset and Opportunity. 6:00 P.M. Tide Point, 1040 Hull
Street (Locust Point) Baltimore. The highlighted speaker is
Roy Kienitz, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Planning and a
panel discussion by representatives of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation,
Environmental Defense, Parks and People Foundation, and the Herring Run
Watershed Association. For more information, go to:
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/symposium/symposium4.htm
December 11
*CPHA Meeting of the Drug Treatment Workgroup. 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at
CPHA, 218 W. Saratoga St. This group is meeting as a result of the
Regional Agenda Outlook 2002. See http://www.CPHARegionalCampaign.org
for more information and details
Public Workshop - Planning Baltimore's Regional Rail System, 6:00 - 8:00
P.M. Catonsville/Woodlawn - St. Agnes Catholic School, 603 St. Agnes
Lane. For more information, go to:
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/publicwrkshp/intro.htm
December 12
*CPHA Meeting of the Housing and Community Conservation Workgroup. 6:00
- 8:00 p.m. at CPHA, 218 W. Saratoga St. This group is meeting as a
result of the Regional Agenda Outlook 2002. See
http://www.CPHARegionalCampaign.org
for more information and details.
December 19
*Public Workshop - Planning Baltimore's Regional Rail System. 7:00 PM,
Ellicott City - Howard County Office Building, 3430 Court House Drive.
This meeting is in conjunction with Howard County Public transportation
Board Meeting. For more information, go to:
http://www.baltimorerailplan.com/pages/publicwrkshp/intro.htm
January 14, 2002
*Baltimore County Forum on Suburban Residential Development - 5th
District Council Town Meeting, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Perry Hall High
School Library. Public meeting regarding suburban residential
development issues. More information at
http://www.co.ba.md.us/p.cfm/news/suburban.cfm
.
January 16, 2002
*Baltimore County Forum on Suburban Residential Development - 7th
District Council Town Meeting. 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Patapsco High School
Library. Public meeting regarding suburban residential development
issues. More information at
http://www.co.ba.md.us/p.cfm/news/suburban.cfm
.
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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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