BALTIMORE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP Newsletter
September 15, 2000

Land Use and Transportation Issues Around the Region
___________________________________

Welcome to the electronic newsletter on smart growth issues in the
Baltimore region. See the end for more information about the Baltimore
Regional Partnership and this newsletter.

Website: www.balto-region-partners.org 

I N  T H I S  I S S U E

1. IN THE REGION: 
    Process Begins for Long-Range Transportation Plan
    CBF Discusses Partnership with Urban Land Institute
    MARC Camden Line Trains Threatened
    Chesapeake Bay Foundation Hosts Ford Foundation Visit
    Calendar of Events

2. BALTIMORE CITY
    Report Says City Lags Behind in Parks

3. CARROLL COUNTY 
    County Comprehensive Plan Stalled
    Calendar: Commissioners to Attend Finksburg Meeting

4. HARFORD COUNTY
    Correction: Edgewood Meeting Set for September 20

5. HOWARD COUNTY 
    1000 Friends Opposes Lower Density
    Calendar: General Plan Hearing September 18

6. JOB OPENINGS
    1000 Friends Seeks Program Manager
    Organizer Opportunities at CPHA
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1. I N  T H E  R E G I O N

PROCESS BEGINS FOR LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN

On September 8, the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) hosted
a workshop at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) offices on the
process the panel intends to follow to develop its federally required 2001
long-range plan. The Board insists that public participation will be a
key ingredient in this process, although a group has just recently been
convened to begin developing the Board's public involvement plan. The
BRTB anticipates approving its Goals, Policies, and Strategies for the
Plan and receiving candidate transportation projects from each of the
region's jurisdictions at its September 26 meeting. Each transportation
project not included in the state's current 2000-2005 Consolidated
Transportation Plan (CTP) must be justified again to be included in the
2001 long-range plan. After both technical and "policy" evaluations, each
jurisdiction will be able to include five high priority projects, four
medium priority projects, and three or more low priority projects.
Baltimore City, as an exception, can program 15 high priority projects. 

In addition to receiving candidate projects, the Baltimore Regional
Transportation Board, staffed by the BMC, is currently analyzing the
fiscal capacity of the region to fund transportation projects to 2025. It
also plans to evaluate funding and cost assumptions, calculate
socioeconomic data (such as population, households, and employment) out to
2025, and develop and evaluate both a "highway-dominant" scenario and a
"transit-dominant" scenario before selecting a "preferred network
alternative." This entire plan must then "conform" to the region's plan
under the Clean Air Act for meeting federal health standards by 2005.

The Baltimore Regional Partnership was extremely critical of the most
recent long-range plan, approved in 1998. The BRTB is now moving quickly
to assemble the 2001 plan on a project-by-project basis with no context of
a regional vision, something the Partnership believes is a prerequisite
for effective regional transportation planning. It is unclear when the
BRTB's promised "Vision 2030" process, which could provide such a context,
will get underway in earnest.

For more information on the long-range plan and the Baltimore Regional
Partnership's critique of the 1998 plan, visit
www.balto-region-partners.org/advocate.htm and click on "20-Year Baltimore
Regional Transportation Plan." Or contact Dan Pontious, Baltimore Regional
Partnership, at danp@balto-region-partners.org.


CBF DISCUSSES PARTNERSHIP WITH URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) staff Theresa Pierno and George Maurer met
recently with the Executive Committee of the Urban Land Institute's
Baltimore District Council to discuss a formal partnership. The institute
(ULI) is a highly regarding national organization devoted to promoting
exellence in land use planning and land development. The purpose of this
partnership would be to advance smart growth in the Baltimore region by
combining the resources and capabilities of the two organizations and
jointly undertaking activities. This new partnership is intended to
complement the work being undertaken by the Baltimore Regional
Partnership. ULI and CBF expect to complete a partnership agreement next
month.

For more information, contact George Maurer, CBF, at gmaurer@cbf.org.


MARC CAMDEN LINE TRAINS THREATENED

The Maryland Department of Transportation is finalizing its MARC operating
contract with CSX within the next few weeks. Transit advocates are
concerned that the result of the contract may be a further reduction in
the number of trains running on the Camden line in order to free track
space for freight carriers. The Camden line has been plagued by poor
on-time performance since CSX acquired part of Conrail last May. MDOT
officials see a reduction in train service as one way to improve on-time
performance; however, members of the Transit Riders League of Metropolitan
Baltimore strongly oppose a reduction in the number of trains. Two trains
were eliminated in 1997 in order to clear track space for freight, yet
on-time performance has worsened since the service reduction. The Transit
Riders League is encouraging supporters to contact MDOT Secretary John
Porcari at (410)865-1000 to voice their opposition to the elimination of
any trains on the MARC Camden line.

For more information contact Jamie Kendrick, CPHA, at
JamieK@CPHAbaltimore.org. 


CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION HOSTS FORD FOUNDATION VISIT

On September 19, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is hosting a visit by
Jeff Olsen, a grants administrator for the Ford Foundation. An existing
Ford Foundation grant supports the activities and staff of the Baltimore
Regional Partnership. Mr. Olsen will receive a briefing on completed and
ongoing activities and hear presentations on proposed activities. A
representative of Struever Brothers, Eccles, and Rouse will conduct a
luncheon presentation on the firm's redevelopment projects and the
opportunities and barriers to broadscale redevelopment in Baltimore City
and the inner suburbs.

For more information, contact George Maurer, CBF, at gmaurer@cbf.org.


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Unless otherwise noted, contact Joan Gorsuch, Baltimore Metropolitan
Council, for more information or to confirm. (410) 732-0500 x1043.

September 18:
*Public Hearing on Baltimore region 2001-2005 Transportation Improvement
Program (TIP), air quality conformity determination, and amendments to
1998 Regional Transportation Plan. 5:30 PM. BMC office. Visit
www.baltometro.org and click on "Transportation Planning" for more
information. 
Partnership critique of April draft 2001-2005 TIP available at
www.balto-region-partners.org/2001_TIP_Comments.htm. For more general
Partnership information on TIP, Plan, and conformity, visit
www.balto-region-partners.org/advocate.htm.

September 16-17:
*Jones Falls Valley Celebration 2000. 
Kayak the falls on Saturday morning. All other activities are on
Sunday: bike or skate the JFX, nature and neighborhood walks, rock
climbing, festival 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM in front of Baltimore Streetcar
Museum, 1905 Falls Rd. For more info, visit www.jonesfalls.com.

September 26:
*Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) monthly meeting. 9:00 AM.
BMC office. The BRTB anticipates approving their 2001-2005 TIP, air
quality conformity determination, and amendments to 1998 Plan at this
meeting.

*Transportation Opportunities Committee. Panel assembled to make
recommendations to region's public officials on regional transportation
priorities for 2001 General Assembly. 4:00-6:00 PM. Maryland Department
of Transportation (MDOT), 10 Elm Road, near BWI Airport.

September 27:
*Gwynns Falls Watershed Association -- forum on the impact of development
practices in Baltimore County's growth area on the upper Gwynns Falls.
7:00-9:00 PM, Randallstown Library. Speakers include George Maurer of the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Paul Sturm of the Center for Watershed
Protection, and Baltimore County Councilman Kevin Kaminetz. For more
information contact Michael Lester at michael@willowbrooksystems.com.

October 16:
*1000 Friends of Maryland Annual Meeting. 6:00 PM. Great Room. Historic
Savage Mill. 8600 Foundry St., Savage (Howard County). Keynote speaker
is Carl Guardino, President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing
Group, who will talk about public/private partnerships on quality of life
issues. $35 per person. Please RSVP by October 2 to Kristen Forsyth at
kforsyth@friendsofmd.org.

October 18:
*CPHA Rally for the Region. 6:30 PM. Sudbrook Performing Arts School
Auditorium. For more information contact Matthew Weinstein, CPHA, at
MatthewW@CPHAbaltimore.org.

October 21:
*Herring Run Blues Bash to benefit the Herring Run Watershed Association,
"working for cleaner streams and parks." Tickets $20. Event includes
live music with an emphasis on blues, free beer, wine, soda and hot and
cold Hors d' oeuvres. Cameo Hall, 4711 Harford Road, 8:00 PM -12:30 AM.
Call the Watershed Assoc. office at 
410-254-1577 for tickets and tables for a group. Co-sponsored by the
Baltimore Blues Society.

_____________________________________

2. B A L T I M O R E  C I T Y

REPORT SAYS CITY LAGS BEHIND IN PARKS

A report released by the Trust for Public Land and the Urban Land
Institute in August finds that Baltimore City's parks rank below the
average of those in eight high-density cities in the U.S. in areas such as
funding per capita and percentage of the city's acreage. Only in acres of
parks per resident did Baltimore rank slightly above average. Boston,
home of the nation's oldest park and the Emerald Necklace park;
Minneapolis, which has a goal of having a park within six blocks of every
resident; and Cincinnati had the best track records for urban parks among
the 25 cities studied overall. Miami, Detroit and Cleveland ranked among
the lowest. The study found New York to be the "greenest" city with 26.6%
of its acreage devoted to open space. In contrast, Baltimore devotes 9.8%
of its land to open space, below even the 14.2% average for high-density
cities. 

For more information on the report, visit www.tpl.org/newsroom/ and click
on "Inside City Parks" on the sidebar. For local information on Baltimore
City's parks, contact Guy Hager, Parks and People Foundation, at
guy.hager@parksandpeople.org.

_____________________________________

3. C A R R O L L  C O U N T Y

COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STALLED

In response to the Carroll County Commissioners' failure to approve a
Master Plan that received approval of the County Planning Commission and
was subject to a year and a half of citizen participation, the Maryland
Department of Planning may now withhold Program Open Space funds from
Carroll County. After holding the Planning Commission-approved plan for a
year, the Commissioners stripped the 125-page document down to a nine-page
outline, removing the plan's strategies, and then returned it to the
Planning Commission. The Planning Commission does not appear willing to
accept the stripped down version and may return it to the three County
Commissioners revised practically to its original form within the next few
weeks. 

For more information contact Neil Ridgely, Finksburg Planning Area
Council, at brooksbend@erols.com. 

CALENDAR: COMMISSIONERS TO ATTEND FINKSBURG MEETING

The Finksburg Area Planning Commission will host the Carroll County
Commissioners at their September 28th meeting. The Commissioners will be
responding to the "scorecard" issued by the group on June 29th, giving the
Commissioners failing grades in ten of thirteen categories. The meeting
will start at 7:00 PM and is held at Sandymount United Methodist Church,
at the intersection of Old Westminster Pike and Sandymount Road. 

For more information contact Neil Ridgely at brooksbend@erols.com.
Information also available at the Finksburg group's web site at
www.finksburg.com.

___________________________________

4. H A R F O R D  C O U N T Y

CORRECTION: EDGEWOOD MEETING SET FOR SEPTEMBER 20

Harford County officials will unveil proposed zoning changes to bring
zoning in accordance with the Edgewood Community Plan at a September 20
meeting at Edgewood High School, 7:00-9:00 PM. (This is a correction from
the September 19 date cited in the Partnership's 8/31/00 Newsletter.) The
plan, passed in March after a year of conversations between county
officials and Edgewood residents, calls for more neighborhood commercial
development within walking distance of homes, a new town center of
mixed-use development on a former Army housing site, and a main street
corridor on Edgewood Road between the Edgewood library branch and the
Edgewood MARC station. County officials hope that this infill development
will help revitalize the struggling area, the state's fourth-largest
unincorporated town, by attracting a mix of uses to the area which will
make the community a more attractive place to live and work.

For more information contact Adam Gordon, Baltimore Regional Partnership,
at adam@balto-region-partners.org, or Joan Morrissey Ward, Harford County
Planning and Zoning, at jmward@co.ha.md.us. 

______________________________________________

5. H O W A R D  C O U N T Y

1000 FRIENDS OPPOSES LOWER DENSITY IN GROWTH AREAS

On September 6, 1000 Friends of Maryland announced the group's opposition
to a reduction in density at Maple Lawn Farms, amplifying past statements
that all Maryland counties need to use land inside Priority Funding Areas
(PFAs), or "growth areas" more efficiently. 1000 Friends decided to go
public with their position after council members Kittleman and Merdon
proposed reducing density of the project in July. The group also released
a critique of the proposed development that its leaders had sent to
developer Stewart Greenebaum in May.

1000 Friends Executive Director Dru Schmidt-Perkins and Land Use and
Transportation Committee Co-chair Gary Anderson stated that counties’
failure to use land inside their designated their growth areas efficiently
will lead to unnecessary future expansion of those areas as growth
originally targeted for these areas must be accommodated in more rural
areas. They also cited that inefficient use of land reduces the viability
of transit in areas designated for growth. 1000 Friends stated the
group's preference that development patterns inside growth areas support
alternative modes of transportation, including walking, bicycling, and
taking transit. Conversely, the group's spokespeople said, sparse
development forces reliance upon the automobile for most trips. 1000
Friends highlighted future goals of light rail transit near the Maple Lawn
Farms site as well as existing commuter bus transit in the 29 corridor.
The group also pointed to the need to maximize the benefit of the public’s
investment in road improvements to US 29 and MD 216.

Opponents of dense development at the Maple Lawn site have protested that
the Baltimore-based 1000 Friends weighed in at the end of a long and
heated debate within Howard County without participating in the formal
zoning hearing process. A decision in the case is anticipated sometime
soon. The Howard County Zoning Board, comprised of the members of the
Howard County Council, has scheduled a work session on the Maple Lawn
Farms zoning case for 6 p.m. Sept. 20 in the George Howard Building in
Ellicott City. 

For more information contact Dru Schmidt-Perkins, 1000 Friends of
Maryland, at dru@friendsofmd.org, or Kristen Forsyth, 1000 Friends of
Maryland, at kforsyth@friendsofmd.org.


CALENDAR: GENERAL PLAN HEARING SEPTEMBER 18

On September 18, at 7:30 PM, in the Banneker Room of the George Howard
Building in Ellicott City, the Howard County Council will hold a hearing
on the Howard County 2000 General Plan. Sign-up sheets for testimony will
be posted at 7:00 PM. The Plan is a document guiding land use and
transportation policy in Howard County and is updated about every ten
years. The 2000 draft plan updates the existing 1990 Plan.

More information about the Draft 2000 Plan is available at
www.co.ho.md.us/PZ/genplan.html For more information contact Adam Gordon,
Baltimore Regional Partnership, at adam@balto-region-partners.org.

______________________________________________

6. J O B  O P E N I N G S

1000 FRIENDS SEEKS PROGRAM MANAGER

1000 Friends of Maryland is seeking applicants for the position of Program
Manager for the group's efforts to curb sprawl and promote smart growth in
Maryland. Responsibilities include research, policy analysis, development
and plan review, staff support for Revitalization & Preservation
Committee, special event coordination, proposal writing, quarterly
newsletter production, and special projects, . Applicants should have
excellent communication skills, experience in growth management, land use,
and transportation issues, and familiarity with Maryland's planning
framework. To apply: Please send resume and cover letter to Search
Committee, 1000 Friends of Maryland, 1209 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD
21202. More information available at www.friendsofmd.org.


ORGANIZER OPPORTUNITIES AT CPHA

CPHA is seeking two half-time regional organizers for three months.
Responsibilities include organizing community leaders and residents in
city and suburban communities to participate in CPHA's October 18th Rally
for the Region, and also to convene cross-border meetings following the
event that will bring residents and leaders together across the
city-suburban line to discuss shared concerns and explore shared
interests. Resumes are due by Monday, September 18th to Matthew
Weinstein, fax # 410-625-7895. For more information contact Matthew at
MatthewW@CPHAbaltimore.org.

______________________________________________

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.

Has this newsletter been forwarded to you, and you would like to receive
it yourself? Visit our web site at www.balto-region-partners.org/news.htm
to sign up and to view past issues.

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 Dan Pontious at danp@balto-region-partners.org.
Visit the Baltimore Regional Partnership website at:
www.balto-region-partners.org.