Tuesday, February 5, 2013
A decision released Tuesday said the opponents of zoning issues in two council districts had enough signatures but ruled the petitions were legally deficient.
UPDATED (9:23 p.m.)—The Baltimore County Board of Elections ruled that petitions to referendum zoning decisions in two council districts will not be placed on the 2014 ballot. Baltimore County Elections Director Katie Brown wrote in a decision issued Tuesday afternoon that while opponents had collected the required number of signatures, the petitions were legally deficient. Andrew Bailey, an attorney for the county Board of Elections, reviewed five challenges to the petition filed by attorneys representing Greenberg Gibbons, the developer of the proposed Foundry Row project on the grounds of the old Solo Cup factory. "I believe that the form of the petition, as circulated to potential signers, was insufficient to alert them to what exactly…
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 "…
Friday, November 9, 2012
Two groups funded by developers, including David S. Brown Enterprises and David Cordish, seek to overturn zoning for the Solo Cup and Middle River Depot properties.
Two groups funded by high-powered developers, say they have nearly 170,000 signatures in their effort to force two zoning issues to the 2014 ballot. The Committee For Zoning Integrity Inc. said in a statement that they have delivered an additional 83,435 signatures in their effort to challenge zoning decisions in the 2nd and 6th Council Districts. “We have successfully completed the signature gathering phase, with citizen interest in fixing the rezoning process in Baltimore County far exceeding our expectations,” Stuart Kaplow, an attorney for the Committee for Zoning Integrity Inc., said in a statement released Friday morning. “A referendum restores the sense of empowerment and guarantees integrity by direct participation in the decision …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The county executive is expected to cite budget constraints and continue to request money for MARC-oriented development in Middle River and intersection upgrades near the Solo Cup property in Owings Mills.
County and state budget outlooks have not changed in the last year and because of that, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's transportation requests will seem like a repeat. Kamenetz is scheduled to speak to a panel of state Department of Transportation officials this afternoon in Towson and outline his priorities for the coming year. As with last year, Kamenetz is expected to avoid pie-in-the-sky requests and wish lists and instead ask for continued focus and funding for just two projects—intersection improvements along Reisterstown Road near Painters Mill Road in Owings Mills and more transit oriented MARC development in Middle River. "It's really a continuation of the priorities he outlined last year," said Ellen Kobler, a county …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Group needs nearly 29,000 verified signatures of registered county voters to place zoning issues in the 2nd and 6th Council Districts on the 2014 ballot.
UPDATED (9:03 p.m.)—A developer-backed group that hopes to force two zoning bills to the 2014 ballot has delivered the first installment of signatures to the Baltimore County Board of Elections. The Committee for Zoning Integrity announced in a statement Friday that it submitted 34,000 signatures for the petition on the 6th district zoning issues and another 36,662 on the 2nd Council District zoning bill to the board of elections, according to an email Friday night from Stuart Kaplow, attorney for the group. By law, the group needs to collect 28,826 signatures of registered Baltimore County voters for each bill within 45 days of the county executive signing the bills. The group can extend the deadline by 30 days if it submits at least 9,…
Friday, October 5, 2012
Community leaders claim referendum on zoning decisions would "render the work of communities and the council vote meaningless."
A loosely formed group of community associations said Friday that it has formed a coalition to fight developers attempting to force two county zoning bills to referendum. The Don't Sign It! Coalition plans to begin a public education campaign to oppose a group calling itself the Coalition for Zoning Integrity, which is backed by David S. Brown Enterprises and The Cordish Companies. Cheryl Aaron, zoning chair for the Greater Greenspring Association and an organizer of the Don't Sign It! Coalition, said the attempt to overturn zoning decisions made by the County Council in August is bad for communities. "Communities don't have the resources to file referendums and hire lawyers and organizers to go out and collect signatures," Aaron said. "It…
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The Baltimore County Council voted to rezone the vacant Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills from manufacturing to retail, a move that helps pave the way for Wegmans-anchored center Foundry Row.
The Baltimore County Council voted to rezone the Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills from manufacturing to retail. The vote helps pave the way for Foundry Row, a Wegmans-anchored retail and office center that was dependent on the rezoning to be built at the vacant plant on Reisterstown Road. The vote comes after months of debate between developers, special interest and community groups and council members. Developer Greenberg Gibbons plans to build a $140 million center that would be anchored by Wegmans, and house a national fitness center, a national sporting goods retailer, a national shoe retailer and 40,000 square feet of office space. CEO Brian Gibbons hopes to open the center, called Foundry Row, by spring 2015. "What the council did was…
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…
amanheights
6:47 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Flats in Crossing Republic Aman heights is the place which might give you your dream home with all the facilities and amenities you ever unreal of return, build these stylishly crafted life style flats your home and revel in a life-style that's sought-after by several and skilled by few. Flats in Crossing Republic Vision has brought the top Class Real Estate Groups together to Create Crossings … more ›