ROG Minutes

Reisterstown - Owings Mills - Glyndon
Coordinating Council

NOTICES

ROG Family,

The attached letter should be in Word 97 format and conveys ROG's recommendations for the 31 issues to the Planning Board that were identified as of potential interest to our community. ROG's Board assisted in the review of the issues and with only a few editorial updates, the attached document represents our positions. In being given only two minutes for verbal comment before the Board, I was able to only address a few issues at each of the three Planning Board hearings over the past month. At the March 13th hearing, I arrived 15 minutes after the opening of the doors and was assigned position 91 on the speakers list. Total time for two minutes of presentation: 1 hour sign up and waiting, 3 hours of waiting to speak, and two minutes of talking. That does not count the one hour of travel. Thus, my comment in the Country Crier that the hearings are of little value given the time. It will be interesting to see how the Council hearings in June will be conducted.

I will be meeting with Councilman Huff for about two hours on the eight District 3 issues of concern this week and will try to meet with the other two District Council members in the near future.

I would strongly urge each ROG family member, and their individual community members, to take the time to write organization and a personal letters to the Board and to the respective Council member. Electronic letters are being accepted. The Planning Board contact person is: Barbara Weaver - bweaver@baltimorecountymd.gov. The Council representatives are: Vicki Almond -council2@baltimorecountymd.gov, Todd Huff -council3@baltimorecountymd.gov, and Ken Oliver - council4@baltimorecountymd.gov.

As I have been saying for some time, now is the time to make your wishes known. Once the decisions are made, whatever the zoning allows will happen and there will be no opportunity to change the zoning and thus no opportunity to stop an undesired use.

George Harman

5429 Weywood Drive

Reisterstown, MD 21136

410-429-6035
ghharman@aol.com

-----Original Message-----
From: George Harman <harmangeorge@hotmail.com>
To: Andrea VanArsdale <avanarsdale@baltimorecountymd.gov>; bweaver <bweaver@baltimorecountymd.gov>
Cc: Vicki Almond <council2@baltimorecountymd.gov>; Todd Huff <council3@baltimorecountymd.gov>; Ken Oliver <council4@baltimorecountymd.gov>; Jessie Bialek <jbialek@baltimorecountymd.gov>; David Green <dagreen@baltimorecountymd.gov>; mark <mark@prolawnplus.com>
Sent: Fri, Mar 30, 2012 10:19 am
Subject: ROG Coordinating Council CZMP positiions for districts 2 3 ad 4

Baltimore County Planning Board,
Attached please find our thoughts and recommendations regarding 31 issues of concern to the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Coordinating Council in Districts 2, 3, and 4. As stated in the letter, we have given considerable effort to informing ourselves regarding the issues, but find that the process has a number of flaws. Applicants are apparently not required to submit analyses of the economic, traffic, social, or environmental impacts on the community. Despite all of the concerns with PUDs, they do offer much of what is missing in the CZMP submittals and process.

The primary burden for developing the initial evaluation information should be on the applicant and not the County or the community. It is very difficult for the community to provide an "informed" recommendation when there is no information provided. Nevertheless, we will appreciate your careful review of our submission.

Please note also that two minutes is woefully inadequate to present comments when a group has 20 or more issues to present. Two minutes is barely adequate for one issue.

George Harman, President
Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Coordinating Council
PO Box 117 or 5429 Weywood Drive
Reisterstown, MD 21136
410-429-6035
410-818-9022 cell

See attached letter by clicking here 2012_Final_CZMP_ltr_Word_97.doc

Final Letter to Mr. O'Malley

View the O'Malley Draft Document Here

View the Table of Issues Here

ROG Team,

We need to meet on Jan 2nd and not the second Monday because of a couple of upcoming issues. One, we need some discussion and planning for the CZMP process, and two, we need to discuss the proposed re-alignment of the legislative districts. The re-districting proposal that will be voted upon by the legislature early in the upcoming session would generally divide Reisterstown from Owings Mills along the south by Gwynnbrook and Bonita Avenue. Reisterstown would be joined with District 10 that reaches down the west side of the county to I-70 and would wrap around Pikesville and Owings Mills to Cockeysville.

My first thoughts are that the district has no unifying elements or demongraphics and is not at all compact. The rather compact District 11 on the other hand is unified in both space and demographics. While roads do not always make good focal points for communities, those communities that are along Liberty Road, Reisterstown Road, and York Road have a lot of unifying factors, including school districts, that would easily justify them as the basis for defining our legislative district boundaries.

The process is also something that needs to be called into question. Presenting the plans just before the holidays and then holding a public hearing in Annapolis (also before the holidays) gives the public little or no opportunity for input. While the process is very political in its nature, there are some factors that need to be considered. The question for ROG is whether we want to write letters to the Legislature and Governor as a group, as individual organizations, or as individuals. At a minimum, some letters would seem to be appropriate from all sectors.

Despite the potential for lengthy discussion on the above topics, I am looking for a relatively short meeting on January 2nd.

Please note the Timbergrove CIM on Jan 9th and let me know if additional topics need to be discussed.

George

If you pay ground rent - click here for important information

Northwest Substation Update

BGE is in the process of expanding the existing Northwest Substation located between Cockeys Mill Road and Stocksdale Avenue. This expansion will address the increased electricity demand that is expected in the area over the next few years and enhance the overall reliability of BGE’s transmission system.

The expansion is currently in the construction phase. During this period, heavy traffic is expected entering and exiting the site and at times this traffic may generate dirt and debris on the road near the construction entrance. BGE understands the importance of maintaining clear road conditions and is committed to sweeping and cleaning as required. It is expected that with major equipment deliveries completing in early spring that site conditions will improve and that there will be less impact to nearby roads. The Northwest substation expansion is expected to be complete in the fall of 2012.

Thank you for your patience and we appreciate your cooperation.

Milton Branson, BGE

MAIN STREET ROAD WORK

The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) will begin a $200,000 project to repair highway pavement on MD 140 (Reisterstown Road/Main Street) between Chartley Drive and MD 30 (Hanover Pike) on weekdays beginning today, April 18. During the next two months, contractor crews will patch damaged portions of pavement along MD 140.

Single lane closures and flagging operations may occur along sections of MD 140 at any time between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. SHA advises motorists to plan ahead for extra travel time along MD 140 on weekdays, look ahead for flagging operations, and to use caution when entering and exiting driveways within the work zone.

The MD 140 highway repair project is made possible through Governor Martin O’Malley’s aggressive management of the requirements of the landmark American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This project, together with other ARRA projects, is stimulating Maryland’s economy by preserving and creating thousands of jobs. The State’s contractor for this project is Gray and Son, Inc. of Timonium, Md. Weather permitting, the project will be complete early summer 2011.

Citizens who have questions about maintenance operations on State highways within Baltimore County may contact SHA’s District Four Office – Maintenance Division in Hunt Valley at 410-229-2360, toll-free at 1-866-998-0367 or by email at shadistrict4@sha.state.md.us.

If you or your aides have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me or Mr. Andre Futrell, Assistant District Engineer for Maintenance at 410-229-2361, 1-866-998-0367 or by email at afutrell@sha.state.md.us. He will be pleased to assist you.

Sincerely,

David W. Peake

Metropolitan District Engineer

State Highway Administration - District 4

Baltimore and Harford Counties

410-229-2310/1-866-998-0367

dpeake@sha.state.md.us

ROG - P. O. Box 117, Reisterstown, MD 21136