I am pleased to be here this afternoon, and I thank you for sharing a few minutes with me. I am here today because the planning board will soon be asked to review legislation that I believe is important to the future of Baltimore County. From the moment I took office last year, my administration has been focused on the Renaissance of Baltimore County. In the coming weeks we will take the next and perhaps most important step so far toward this Renaissance.
Baltimore County is changing. Old buildings are being replaced, new homes are being built, roads are under construction to serve changing populations and new destinations. The role of government is to protect the individual character of our neighborhoods, and safeguard our resources and adjust to the changing development needs of our communities.
Here in Baltimore County, we are at a crossroads. We have two choices:
- One road leads to increased urban decay and decreased community pride and involvement in our older business districts and neighborhoods.
- The other is the Road to Renaissance of these same neighborhoods and commercial areas.
We can continue to push the boundaries of development farther and farther from our civic core, encroaching on rural areas, creating congestion and abandoning our established, older neighborhoods. We can continue with development that too often isolates neighbors and diminishes the spirit of community.
Or, we can go another way. We can realize that the needs of every community are not the same. We can understand that development regulations that work in Timonium might not promote opportunity in Randallstown, and that by meeting the needs of individual, older neighborhoods, we serve every community in Baltimore County. We can make citizens part of the development process and invest each person in the future of their community.
I believe that if we look at the development and land use process in a new light - with a new emphasis - we can keep development from encroaching on our rural land, protect our growth areas from congestion and sprawl and bring new life to our established communities.
What we know, through national studies and surveys right here in Baltimore County, is that demand for traditional, mixed-use development is high. What we know, is that many county residents want walkable, unique neighborhoods and tight-knit communities. What we know, is that our current development process does not allow for or promote these kinds of communities. What we have to do is stop putting developers and citizens on opposing sides. We need a process that helps them work together to build better neighborhoods. Rather than involving the community in the final steps, we need to help residents become invested in the Renaissance of their neighborhoods and local business districts early in the process.
Over the summer, our Renaissance Redevelopment Committee met with the County Council, community leaders, and members of the business and development community. They provided great insight, and I would like to thank the Council and many of those individuals who were involved, some of whom are here tonight: Jim Keelty, Sid Emmer, Steve Whalen, Betsy Kahl, Ron Harvey, Dick Parsons and Don Gerding. I would also like to thank the many professional associations and advocacy groups which participated. Groups from across the spectrum, from the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors to the Thousand Friends of Maryland. We received a tremendous amount of input.
Within the next few weeks, we will propose legislation that reflects what we have learned, and that provides a framework for a Renaissance throughout Baltimore County. The cornerstones of this legislation will be form-based codes and collaborative design. Form-based codes to de-emphasize traditional land-use rules and to focus development on the design of an entire community. Collaborative design to make redevelopment a collaborative effort between developers, residents and government.
The road to community renaissance - instead of a long, complicated and confrontational process - will be flexible, responsive to the needs and wants of citizens, and will promote cooperation between government, communities and businesses.
What will be proposed is a pilot program, where seven specific areas within the Urban-Rural Demarcation Line can be designated as Renaissance areas by the County Council. The Developer, residents of the community, local business persons and county agencies will work together to come up with a buildable plan that best suits the Renaissance area, and best serves the community. It will be an efficient, intensive, collaborative process, within predetermined time parameters so that the process moves along expeditiously.
At the end of the process, each Renaissance project will have its own form-based code and pattern book, a combination of regulations and standards adopted as law for a specific area, affording greater flexibility than is provided in the traditional development process. Developers will have a buildable plan, and citizens will have had a say in the future of their communities from the start.
This pilot program will work, and when it does broader legislation will follow. The changes we make today will build a better Baltimore County. As I mentioned earlier, I have shared this approach with the County Council, and we have collectively decided to move forward. We have made a commitment to safeguard our communities; to put the needs of our families first when planning for our future. We have made a commitment to the Baltimore County Renaissance. It is time to act on that commitment. The legislation we are preparing is the first step, and one we must take now.
I am pleased to introduce Geoffrey Ferrell, an expert with a national reputation in the field of community planning, and a man with a great knowledge of form-based codes and collaborative design.
Revised November 17, 2003
Courthouse 