417 Acres Downzoned in the Fifth District; 174 Acres Designated Open Space

On Tuesday, August 28, the Baltimore County Council adopted my recommendations for rezoning in the Fifth District.   

You can view the adopted changes here.

By the numbers:

We downzoned 417 acres and upzoned 18 acres in the Fifth District.   That means that 96 percent of the land that changed during the rezoning process had its development potential lowered.  

About 174 acres received the newly-created open space zoning designation.  This means that no development can occur on this property.   No other district had as much land designated as open space.

More land was downzoned in Towson, Loch Raven, and the Cromwell Valley than during any previous rezoning cycle.  In Perry Hall, where development pressures are the greatest, we downzoned 263 acres, including much of the environmentally-sensitive area southwest of Perry Hall High School.

I believe these changes will lighten the impact of future development from Towson to Perry Hall, which will lessen the strain on our schools and roads. 

A Note of Thanks to our Perry Hall Community

I have been reluctant to insert myself into the events that occurred after the shooting at Perry Hall High School because there is so much work that needs to be done by police, legal authorities, educators, and counselors. But now that a few days have passed, I do want to say a few words. 

 

On the morning of the shooting, I walked from our house to Perry Hall High School. I will always remember the calm procession of students from the high school out to Ebenezer Road and eventually toward Perry Hall Square, where they waited for transportation home. Our police and faculty did an amazing job in an extraordinarily difficult situation.

Jesse Wasmer, the guidance counselor who took quick action on Monday, is a genuine hero who saved countless lives.

It pains me to such a tragedy at any school, let alone my alma mater. But the expression of love and support since Monday's shooting reminds me of something very special about Perry Hall: this is a big community with a small town heart. We have our problems, and it is very easy to gripe about this or that; I do it myself sometimes. But there is a larger Perry Hall community that pulls together during tough times. We are all praying for the speedy recovery of Daniel Borowy.

So in closing, I would like to thank everyone who took quick action on Monday, and all those who are working to bring a sense of closure and recovery for our Perry Hall community.

An Update on Rezoning

Since June, I have been announcing my recommendations on the 59 rezoning issues in the Fifth District.   Zoning determines the type and intensity of development on any property in Baltimore County.   Community organizations and private propertyowners are very interested in the rezoning process, which is why I waited until after the two public hearings to begin announcing my recommendations.

I have announced recommendations for 19 issues encompassing some of the largest acreage involved in the rezoning process in the Fifth District.  

I will support downzoning 237 acres in the Fifth District, 158 acres of which would receive open space zoning.   Since open space zoning was created by the County Council earlier this year, this will be the first time it has been applied during the rezoning process.

67 of the acres are in Towson and Loch Raven.  I believe this is the largest such downzoning ever proposed in this area by a County Councilmember.  The downzoned areas would include the Mount Pleasant Golf Course, community areas in Southland Hills and Burkleigh Square, and city-owned properties closer to Downtown Towson. 

69 acres would be in the Parkville area, mostly in the Cromwell Valley.

101 acres are located in Perry Hall, including the wooded area north of Seven Oaks Elementary School, the undeveloped property west of Perryvale Road, and common areas along Honeygo Boulevard.

I have not proposed any increase in residential density.   I will release my remaining recommendations over the next two weeks. 

We live in a system of private property rights.  People have the right to make a profit off their land, and a certain degree of development is needed to grow our economy and produce jobs.  At the same time, I believe we can preserve open space and lighten the impact of growth on our schools and roads with the right zoning decisions.

Preserving the Cromwell Valley

The Cromwell Valley stretches across the northern edge of Towson.   While its western part includes neighborhoods like Campus Hills, the eastern part is largely undeveloped.  This includes the ridge that once supported the Ma and Pa Railroad, as well as Cromwell Valley Park, Long Island Farm, and the woods near Loch Raven Reservoir. 

Years ago, community leaders were warned about high levels of zoning in the Cromwell Valley, and they were urged to downzone property.  That didn't happen.   Today, however, I am announcing that I will support lowering the development potential on more than 66 acres in the Cromwell Valley.   The acreage includes land owned by Baltimore City, a homeowners association, and private propertyowners south of Cromwell Bridge Road, east of Littlewood Road, and north of Satyr Hill Road. 

It is the largest downzoning in this area in county history, encompassing more acreage than exists at Loch Raven High School.  Earlier this year, I also supported the landmarking of "Little Valley," a historic property in this area. 

With this announcement, I have pledged to downzone more than 191 acres in the Fifth District, from Towson to Perry Hall.   The full County Council will vote on this and other zoning recommendations on Tuesday, August 28.