Reisterstown - Owings Mills - Glyndon
Coordinating Council

August Minutes

Minutes of the August 6, 2007 meeting of ROG at the All Saints Church.


The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by ROG’s president, George Harman.

The minutes of the July 2, 2007 meeting were approved as written.

Treasurer’s Report: Larry Dobres reported that the balance in the bank is $2,078.54 after $100. was sent to SDAT to reinstate our charter.

Guest Speaker: Bruce Rice, regional real estate representative for WAWA, attended the meeting in order to brief ROG on the proposed site for a new WAWA in Reisterstown on Main Street, replacing Patti O’Malley’s car lot. The site has three zoning designations. The proposed parking spaces have a residential zoning code that would need to be changed. The current, preliminary plans call for 8 gas pumps (16 gas positions), a 24/7 schedule, an entrance on Main St and Stocksdale, and an interior trash compaction system to eliminate the smell and unsightly appearance of outside dumpsters. Mr. Rice reminded the group that WAWA is always corporately owned, never franchised.

Committee Reports:
Transportation—Dave Simonetti
Dave read a letter from the Department of Public Works re: Owings Mills Blvd extension from Lyons Mill through to Liberty Rd. Alternative 1A plan has been chosen as the route.
In addition, a letter from the State Highway Department to Bobby Zirkin advising that a traffic signal is being considered for Rt. 128 at Central Ave. Community input will be sought first.
Public hearing notice—August 21 at Owings Mills High d/stairs cafeteria from 6 – 8 pm regarding the proposed road improvements to Reisterstown Road from St. Thomas Lane north to the railroad overpass.
Transportation Outlook 2035 (draft) community hearings will be held 8/15, 8/21, and 8/28.

Committee members still needed for the following committees: Comprehensive Zoning Map Process, Hearings, and Legislation. (A reminder that current pending legislation can be referenced on: www.mlis.state.md.us)

President’s Report:

Old Business: The reinstatement of incorporation for ROG has been filed but can take up to seven weeks to be recorded




New Business:
Governance matters:
George urged all HOAs to have Rule 8 certification completed before speaking on behalf of an organization in front of a legal entity. Additional Rule 8 information will be sent out in the near future.
The following resolution was proposed and approved by the members present:

RESOLVED, that at this second meeting of ROG for 2007 to 2008, that the responsibility for the official presentation of positions for actions on all zoning and development matters is hereby assigned only to the President, Vice President and Committee Chairs as elected, or duly appointed. The President and Vice President may authorize in writing with 2 signatures, the delegation of this authority to other members of the organization.


Reisterstown Festival—ROG is planning to have a booth at the festival. George asked for volunteers to man the booth in shifts of a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday. Community groups and HOAs should submit newsletters, flyers, etc. of interest to the community.

*****The next meeting will be on Monday, Sept. 10 (due to the holiday on Sept 3rd) at 7:30 pm.


Addendum from George Harman:

These are the topics that must be addressed in any argument before the zoning commissioner involving special exceptions, such as will be required in the WAWA situation.

Section 502, Special Exceptions [BCZR 1955]

NOTE: Certain types of uses are required to secure a permit to allow them to be placed in one or more zones in which their uncontrolled occurrence might cause unsatisfactory results of one kind or another. A few uses, such as dumps and junkyards, are inherently so objectionable as to make extra regulations and controls advisable even in the M.H. Zone, to which they are restricted. Others, like a cemetery, do not fit into any of the zone categories, that is, residential, business and industrial, and therefore must be located with discrimination in relation to their surroundings. All the items listed are proper uses of land, but have certain aspects, which call for special consideration of each proposal. Because under certain conditions they could be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of the public, the uses listed as special exceptions are permitted only if granted by the Zoning Commissioner, and subject to an appeal to the County Board of Appeals.

In granting any special exception, the Zoning Commissioner and the County Board of Appeals, upon appeal, shall be governed by the following principles and conditions.

502.1 Before any special exception may be granted, it must appear that the use for which the special exception is requested will not:

A. Be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of the locality involved;
B. Tend to create congestion in roads, streets or alleys therein
C. Create a potential hazard from fire, panic or other danger;
D. Tend to overcrowd land and cause undue concentration of population;
E. Interfere with adequate provisions for schools, parks, water, sewerage, transportation or other public requirements, conveniences or improvements;
F. Interfere with adequate light and air; [Bill No. 45-1982]
G. Be inconsistent with the purposes of the property's zoning classification nor in any other way inconsistent with the spirit and intent of these Zoning Regulations; [Bill No. 45-1982]
H. Be inconsistent with the impermeable surface and vegetative retention provisions of these Zoning Regulations; nor [Bill No. 45-1982]
I. Be detrimental to the environmental and natural resources of the site and vicinity including forests, streams, wetlands, aquifers and floodplains in an R.C.2, R.C.4, R.C.5 or R.C.7 Zone. [Bill No. 74-2000]
502.2 In granting any special exception, the Zoning Commissioner or the Board of Appeals, upon appeal, shall impose such conditions, restrictions or regulations as may be deemed necessary or advisable for the protection of surrounding and neighboring properties. The owners, lessees or tenants of the property for which a special exception is granted, if required by the Zoning Commissioner, or Board of Appeals, upon appeal, shall enter into an agreement in writing with said Zoning Commissioner and/or the County Commissioners of Baltimore County, stipulating the conditions, restrictions or regulations governing such special exception, the same to be recorded among the land records of Baltimore County. The cost of such agreement and the cost of recording thereof shall be borne by the party requesting such special exception. When so recorded, said agreement shall govern the exercise of the special exception as granted, as to such property, by any person, firm or corporation, regardless of subsequent sale, lease, assignment or other transfer

Respectfully submitted,
Gail Mangels
Recording Secretary