Friday, May 24, 2013
The Baltimore County Council lowers open space waiver fees charged to developers but gives more money to a group that protects open space in urban areas.
Developers will pay a little less to side-step open space requirements for residential projects but a group that helps protect open spaces in urban areas of the county will get a bigger cut under a bill passed by the Baltimore County Council. The council Thursday approved the bill that lowers the county's open space waiver fees. As part of the bill, the council also approved an amendment sponsored by Councilmen Quirk and David Marks that will give NeighborSpace of Baltimore County 20 percent of the fees collected. Six of the seven councilmen voted in favor of the bill. Council Chairman Tom Quirk voted against the measure. Prior to the passage of the bill Thursday, NeighborSpace could receive up to 10 percent of the waiver fees collected …
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The timing of a bill that reduces fees for developers comes as an August deadline looms for more than a dozen projects.
The Baltimore County Council Thursday is scheduled to vote on a bill that would lower the rates charged to developers who would rather pay a fee in lieu of setting aside a portion of a proposed development as open space. Michael Harrison, a lobbyist for the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said his group asked for the rates to be updated last November—the first such change in seven years. "The fees were set at the peak of the market and developers could afford those prices," Harrison said, adding that later it became apparent that a number of developers were in danger of losing their ability to move forward because they had not yet paid the waiver fees. If the council adopts the new fee schedule, developers would pay rates equivalent…
Thursday, April 25, 2013
A 2012 college teaching position held by Councilman David Marks, while legal, should have triggered an amended financial disclosure report.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks said Thursday that a 2012 teaching job at a local university should have been part of his required financial disclosures. Marks acknowledged the job and failure to file an amended report last year with the Baltimore County Ethics Commission during an interview. "It was an oversight," Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, said after being asked about the job. The undisclosed teaching job as well as two previously disclosed consulting positions do not appear to violate county law. Marks said the teaching job will appear in disclosure forms that he has already filed that will be made public next month. Following the interview, Marks issued a statement by email: "As soon I was offered a three-month teaching …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Councilman Todd Huff's request for a jury trial in Circuit Court raises concerns because of family connections and recent zoning decisions, according to a legal scholar.
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said Wednesday he will seek a prosecutor from a neighboring jurisdiction to handle the drunken driving case against Councilman Todd Huff. Huff, who was arrested Feb. 23, has requested a jury trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court—a move that a legal scholar says raises concerns because of Huff's relationship with the family of Circuit Court Administrative Judge John Grason Turnbull II and a recent zoning decision related to property owned by the judge. Shellenberger Wednesday said his decision to ask a prosecutor from a neighboring jurisdiction to handle the case "is not common but it's not unusual either" when the case is politically charged. "The County Council decides the budget for…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Councilwoman Vicki Almond is the lone dissenting vote as an 11th hour push to table the legislation fails.
A change to how county employees appeal pension decisions was approved despite an 11th hour attempt to delay the final vote. The Baltimore County Council Tuesday night voted 6-1 in favor of the legislation that moves the appeals process from a seven-member panel appointed by the council to one of two administrative law judges appointed by the county executive. Councilwoman Vicki Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat, was the lone vote against the bill and three amendments. Almond, reading from a prepared statement, said the bill would affect the integrity of the council and "county employees for years to come." She said conflicting legal opinions offered by County Attorney Michael Field and county legislators in the General Assembly was reason …
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400 Washington Ave, Towson, MD
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Councilwoman Cathy Bevins denies that a bill passed Monday night affects the Middle River Depot project and could thwart a referendum attempt.
A bill passed by the Baltimore County Council Monday appears to provide an alternative development option for the owners of a Middle River industrial property that is the focus of a zoning referendum effort. The council approved the bill by a vote of 6-0 with Councilman Ken Oliver abstaining. Oliver said he abstained from a vote because a referendum involving the property has not yet been decided by voters. Bevins last week said the bill was about finding creative uses for large manufacturing buildings on the east side of the county that can't be torn down because of their historical designations. "Not only does it create a blight for the community but it's a reminder of the jobs lost," Bevins said of the warehouses, adding that her bill "…
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Bill "contravenes 50 years of regulation" and "is simply not good public policy," according to county executive.
UPDATED (6:03 p.m.)—A controversial bill that granted exemptions to the Metro Centre at Owings Mills project will be vetoed, according to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. The veto is Kamenetz's first since taking office in December 2010. The bill passed unanimously Monday by the Baltimore County Council was amended to protect the proposed redevelopment of the Owings Mills Mall and Solo Cup. Some of the amendments, sponsored by Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond and Councilwoman Cathy Bevins granted exemptions to traffic studies and prohibited county hearing officers from placing additional requirements on the Mall and Solo Cup project known as Foundry Row. Parts of the original bill were also thought to be problematic. Almond said late …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Councilman Ken Oliver chastises Chairwoman Vicki Almond for late introduction of amendments to his bill affecting the Metro Centre at Owings Mills.
A disagreement Monday night over amendments to a bill impacting an Owings Mills development led Baltimore County Councilman Ken Oliver to publicly accuse two of his colleagues of working for attorneys of a rival development. A clearly irritated Oliver questioned the motives of Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond and Councilwoman Cathy Bevins after several amendments were introduced immediately prior to the vote. Bevins, an Oliver Beach Democrat who represents Essex, Middle River and Parkville, co-sponsored three sets of amendments that affect the Owings Mills area, split by Oliver and Almond. "How are you going to put an amendment on my bill at the last minute without asking me," Oliver said to Almond. "Is this how were going to legislate in …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Baltimore County Councilman Kenneth Oliver asks colleagues to delay rezoning the former Solo Cup manufacturing site to retail, until Reisterstown Road traffic studies are completed.
Councilman Kenneth Oliver asked his colleagues to delay a decision on rezoning the Solo Cup property in Owings Mills for retail development until a state traffic study is completed. Oliver said in a statement Tuesday that he wants to give transportation officials time to finish studying and engineering traffic improvements on "the already overwhelming traffic congestion along Reisterstown Road." He said it would be premature to rezone a manufacturing property prior to the completion of those processes. “When we are talking about potentially committing tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize the traffic from a developer’s proposed private project, we need to fully understand the facts and the costs,” Oliver said in the release. In…
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
In front of the Randallstown Branch Library, Del. Adrienne Jones, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Councilman Ken Oliver celebrated the opening of the Liberty Road Business Association's weekly market on Wednesday.
The Main Street Randallstown Farmers Market opened Wednesday with visits from elected officials and the Woodlawn precinct commander Capt. Andre Davis of the Baltimore County Police Department. Del. Adrienne Jones, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Councilman Ken Oliver spoke during the festivities, and led the cheer "The Market is Open!" "I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out today. In order for this to be successful, we need you ... to tell your neighbors," Jones said, noting that there will be more farmers coming out as the season progresses. Kamenetz thanked the Liberty Road Business Association "for always being here for the businesses along Liberty Road." And he addressed the business owners who have …
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John Wilson
7:45 pm on Friday, May 24, 2013
With all due respect Ms. Hopkins, the fee schedule and the legislation originally granting the waiver was tied to the value of land. The decrease in real estate values is not the fault of property owners. The decrease in the open space fee is just simply fair. Property values have dropped significantly. Your representation that the fee decrease results in less money to NeighborSpace is also … more ›