1000 Friends of Maryland
1209 North Calvert
Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
March 20, 2000
Kenneth N. Oliver
Chairman
Baltimore County Board of Planning and Zoning
401 Bosley Avenue
Towson, MD 21204
Re: 3-128,
3-129, 3-164, 6-064, 6-065, 6-066, 6-067, 6-068
Dear Mr. Oliver:
On behalf of 1000 Friends of Maryland, a
statewide organization dedicated to revitalization of established communities
and protection of the natural environment as an alternative to continued sprawl
development, I wish to express our
support for CZMP proposals 3-128, 3-129, 3-164, 6-064, 6-065, 6-066, 6-067, and
6-068.
Private landowners and public expenditures have
invested in the protection of a significant amount of farm and resource
land in Baltimore County. The state Rural Legacy board also chose this area to
receive funding for land preservation,
yet current zoning permits development incompatible with preservation efforts.
Moreover, we cannot provide residents of
existing communities with secure and prosperous places to live and work
if we continue to siphon resources away from these communities to support new
development in the hinterland.
Therefore, this downzoning proposal is actually an important element in the
revitalization of Baltimore County’s
older communities.
Continued development in the hinterland of
Baltimore County simultaneously undermines investments in land
conservation, environmental protection and community revitalization. Please
exercise your power to save this
land from inappropriate development. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dru Schmidt-Perkins
Executive Director
