Although every day is a great day to be in Towson, this day is particularly exciting. For far too long this gas station site at the gateway to the Towson business district has been a boarded up eyesore in the middle of the community. For years, right up through the recent Towson Urban Design Assistance Team (UDAT) process, people have dreamed about this location becoming an addition to the open space so badly needed in Towson. Today that dream will begin to become a reality.
Everyone agrees that Towson needs additional open space. At the public forum that was held on May 4, 2006, the UDAT team repeatedly heard pleas regarding this issue. Speakers implored the team to "preserve open space, parks, and green space." Citizens urged the committee to "create a central park," and to "create more pocket parks." Steve Gaddis, the UDAT team leader made specific reference to this need at the UDAT Opening Forum on June 7, 2006: "Based upon input from the citizens, we saw a need for more public spaces where people can gather and where people can feel safe coming and going. These public spaces included more formal gathering areas as well as green spaces."
And the county's own planning documents support our action today. Master Plan 2010 states that, "The Towson urban center is envisioned to be a vibrant commercial center, supporting a variety of uses, with a strong commitment to green space and a focus on pedestrian amenities." As far back as 1992, the Towson Community plan called for "amenity open space along the streets and alleys." With today's announcement we begin to turn plans into action.
As we are moving forward, it is worthwhile to review how we've gotten to this point. Recognizing the need to add open space to the Towson core, the county has been in good faith negotiations with Shell Oil for more than two years. We have always made it clear that the county intended to pay fair market value for the property and we also made it clear how important this property was as we strive to improve the quality of life for Towson residents. For the county and Shell, price has never been the issue.
What has been at issue is the extent of Shell's liability for the environmental clean up on this site. To protect county taxpayers, it is imperative that Shell Oil continue to have that liability. It is their responsibility! Shell has been unwilling to accept that, insisting that the County purchase the property "as is" and assume future financial risk. That is unfair to County taxpayers and simply unacceptable.
Many of you probably saw that last week Shell released its profit report for the second quarter. During that time, Shell's profits jumped 40 percent and its net profit through the second quarter rose to 7.32 billion dollars from 5.24 billion the year before. The company's total sales increased to 83.1 billion dollars. There is nothing anti-business about expecting a very profitable oil company to be a responsible corporate citizen.
It is not just Baltimore County that has been unable to reach an agreement with Shell on this property. Over the years, several private investors have approached Shell about purchasing this site for private development. Every one of those attempts ran into roadblocks.
Today I am announcing my request of the County Council for authorization for the County to begin condemnation proceedings to secure this property for a park in the Towson core. With condemnation, the county will pay fair market value for the property, and the liability for future clean up will remain where it belongs, with Shell Oil. Baltimore County will include a provision in the deed restricting the use of this property to park and recreation use in perpetuity.
Parks are wonderful community assets, and the acquisition of the Shell site and its transformation from a blight on Towson to a valuable open space (PDF)amenity is an important step forward in Towson's renaissance. Remember that it was not until the County filed code violations against Shell for the abandoned gas station, that Shell tore down the station and cleaned up the site.
The renaissance that began in Baltimore County in the fall of 2002 is more than the bricks and mortar of the police stations, community centers, parks, and schools we have built. It is the renewed spirit of community that makes our neighborhoods stronger. It means knowing that the tremendous public and private investment of the past three and a half years will continue to be matched with the energy and enthusiasm of people determined to see their neighbors and their neighborhoods thrive. This is true in Towson and across Baltimore County.
Together, we have accomplished a great deal, and this action today continues to move our renaissance forward.
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