Downzoning Decisions Will Lighten Future School Overcrowding

On Tuesday, August 28, the Baltimore County Council adopted my rezoning recommendations in the Fifth District. The recommendations lower the future development potential of 417 acres. Of the acreage that changed during the rezoning cycle, 95 percent was lowered in development potential, which means fewer new homes throughout the Fifth District.

Some of these changes were opposed by developers and landowners, but it is critical for Baltimore County to anticipate the future growth that could occur on undeveloped land. 
 
In Towson and Loch Raven, we lightened the impact of future development on 67 acres, the largest change ever adopted in this area. Some of the rezoning affects community parks and a city-owned reservoir, but the most substantial rezoning affected the Mount Pleasant Golf Course. The old zoning allowed hundreds of apartments or townhouses to be built at the Mount Pleasant Golf Course if the city ever sold the property for development. The new zoning prohibits any new development by designating the 38 acres as open space.

The county has poured millions of dollars into Towson’s schools, which are overcrowded largely due to demographic changes. I don’t want overdevelopment making the situation even worse.

In Carney and Parkville, we downzoned 87 acres, including 67 acres in the Cromwell Valley. I also recommended downzoning undeveloped properties near Northwind Road and Magledt Road. By lightening the zoning, we prevented the impact of growth on Carney and Harford Hills Elementary Schools, Pine Grove Middle School, and Loch Raven High School.

The Council downzoned 263 acres in the Perry Hall area, including 55 acres of wooded property southwest of Perry Hall High School between the Ebenezer Road corridor, Honeygo Boulevard, and Silver Spring Road. This is one of the biggest chunks of undeveloped land in Perry Hall. I believe that without the rezoning change, builders would have proceeded with plans to erect dozens of new homes here over the next two decade, maybe even sooner. 
 
I have advocated for more and better schools for the past 15 years, both as President of the Perry Hall Improvement Association and as President of the school system’s Northeast Educational Advisory Council. In my mind, the county should unquestionably have purchased land for new schools when money was more plentiful. During these tight times, our options are more limited.

Recognizing these limitations, I used my power as a County Councilman to reshape the zoning in the Fifth District to make sure that future development has a lighter and better impact on our schools.

Breaking Ground for the Stoneleigh Elementary School Addition

With classes out for the summer, work will soon begin on the addition at Stoneleigh Elementary School. The 200-seat expansion is one of many projects designed to alleviate overcrowding throughout the York Road corridor.

Stoneleigh Elementary School.

Towson is one of the most desirable communities in Baltimore County. Schools like Stoneleigh Elementary are not overcrowded because of development, but because younger families are attracted to Towson's neighborhoods and our excellent school system. 

I have been a strong supporter of the Stoneleigh Elementary School addition, as well as the Hampton Elementary expansion and the new Carver High School. I applaud County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and our state legislators for their support of these projects. In Fiscal Year 2013, about 48 percent of all the consolidated public improvement projects are in the Fifth District, excluding those that cross district lines. The level of investment in Towson's schools has been extraordinary.

But I really want to commend the parents who led the way for projects like the Stoneleigh Elementary School addition. I can remember the first meeting I had with the nucleus of parents who became Stoneleigh United. I told them it would be very difficult to secure the funding, but they pushed hard. Kudos to Juliet Fisher and all those who believed in the project.

Looking forward, we need to look at our middle and high schools, which are already experiencing overcrowding (although Carver High School may be able to accommodate some growth). I am looking at the development potential of more than 480 acres of land as part of the rezoning process. We need to make sure our communities can sustain future development.

But for now, as the Stoneleigh Elementary School addition gets underway, I want to thank the Kamenetz administration, our state legislators, and parents and community leaders who helped make it possible.

Three Priorities for the New School Superintendent

Congratulations to S. Dallas Dance on being named to lead the Baltimore County public school system. As the first member of the Baltimore County Council born in the 1970s, I am particularly proud that someone of my generation will be in this position.

Mr. Dance should focus on three important priorities.

First, continue to advance reforms that make the school system more open to the public and accountable to taxpayers. Over the past year, the Board of Education has taken some important steps, such as making more facilities available to communities.

Second, work with our teachers to raise achievement among all students, but particularly the county's burgeoning minority population. Under Superintendent Hairston's watch, the school system was credited by the Schott Foundation for having the third highest graduation rate for African American males among large school districts.

Third, develop a strategic plan for modernizing our schools. During tough times, the county has found the resources to deal with overcrowding in its most overcrowded region, the York Road corridor. Now is the time to develop a plan so we spend future surpluses wisely, on school modernization, expansion, and land acquisition.

I know that all education stakeholders are ready to work with Mr. Dance to improve an already strong public school system.

The Mays Chapel Elementary School Site

I provided the following as a response to a request from the Forge Flyer:

The Mays Chapel and Dulaney Springs sites.
Source:  Towson Times

I support the Mays Chapel site for a new elementary school, and I have communicated that to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, Superintendent Joe Hairston, and my friend and colleague County Councilman Todd Huff.  Councilman Huff has heard from many constituents who oppose the Mays Chapel site, and I can understand why they would want to preserve such a large, undeveloped area.  But I am motivated to support the Mays Chapel site for a number of reasons. 

First, it offers the fastest way to provide relief to overcrowded schools along the York Road corridor.  The property is already owned by Baltimore County and there are fewer environmental constraints than the alternate location at Dulaney Springs.  I am told the school can be opened by the fall of 2014.

Second, if the school system moves forward with the proposal to move some West Towson Elementary School students to Ridge Ruxton Elementary School, I want a plan that makes this disruption as brief as possible.  I understand the concerns of parents from both schools.  The Mays Chapel location offers the fastest route to a solution.

Third, the Mays Chapel location has been "on the books" for decades.  

Fourth, geographically the Mays Chapel location seems to make sense.  The September 2011 enrollment numbers demonstrate that school overcrowding affects elementary schools along the entire York Road corridor, from Towson to Hunt Valley.  Mays Chapel will help reduce overcrowding not just in Towson, but in Ruxton, Lutherville, and Cockeysville as well.

Although I know my position will be criticized by some, I will defend the Mays Chapel location because it offers the fastest relief for schoolchildren in central Baltimore County.