Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The Baltimore County Board of Elections announced Tuesday that the petition drive against two county zoning maps were legally deficient.
Baltimore County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins had said she had long been frustrated with the petition drive against the zoning map for the 6th district, but pending legal challenges, that drive may be over. Patch reported Tuesday that according to Baltimore County Board of Elections decision, the petition drives against the zoning maps for the 2nd and 6th districts were legally deficient. "I believe that the form of the petition, as circulated to potential signers, was insufficient to alert them to what exactly they were being asked to petition to a vote," wrote Andrew Bailey, an attorney for the county board of elections who reviewed five challenges to the petitions from an Owings Mills developer. That matches what Bevins said she heard from…
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, January 8, 2013
Two elementary schools and the Martin State Airport MARC stop are on Kamenetz's legislative to-do list for the General Assembly session.
Three Essex- and Middle River-area elementary schools and an expansion to the MARC station in Middle River are mentioned on Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's list of legislative priorities in the Maryland General Assembly Session that begins this week. Sussex, Middleborough and Middlesex elementary schools are among eight county elementary schools for which Kamenetz announced requests for air conditioning projects as part of $128 million in school construction projects. On Monday, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced that his proposed budget for the next fiscal year would include $336 million for school construction projects statewide, including $25 million for air conditioning. The release said that in the past decade, the county has …
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…
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Six years after the property's auction, a representative for the depot's ownership says they're in for the long haul.
(Update 3:35 p.m.)—The owners of Middle River Depot aren't intimidated by a referendum drive aimed at rezoning and preventing the construction of their planned recreation complex. The 55-acre depot at Eastern Avenue and White Marsh Boulevard includes a former warehouse of 1.9-million square feet. Preliminary drawings by the Baltimore firm Design Collective include a gym, indoor sport facilities and a music venue. The outdoor spaces include nods to the area's rich aviation history. The project is expected to create about 4,000 permanent jobs. "We're getting a little bit of resistance from a development group that wants to stop the growth of Middle River for his own intentions," said Sal Smeke, a managing member for Middle River Station LLC…
Friday, May 11, 2012
The county executive spoke about a number of Essex-Middle River issues with the Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce.
Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz is optimistic that the long-dormant Middle River Depot will one-day be part of a vibrant economic engine for the Middle River-White Marsh corridor. Kamenetz provided insight into the future of the property while speaking to members of the Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce Tuesday at Crab Quarters in Middle River. Kamenetz said he recently met with the owners of the property, who paid $37.5 million in an online government auction in 2006, about their plans for the 55-acre site. He believes they will be able to develop new retail opportunities while maintaining its historical integrity and respecting the facilities aviation legacy. The owners have applied to get the property rezoned for mixed-…
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