Republicans In The News
Most rezonings satisfy Perry Hall activists
Date: September 3, 2008
Publication: North East Booster
Date: September 11, 2008
Publication: The Jeffersonian
Author: Linda Garman Weimer,
Construction limits for Forge Road to be negotiated
Despite a defeat on his No. 1 priority, a Perry Hall civic leader said he is generally satisfied with the zoning approved by County Council last week.
Zoning maps for the entire county were approved for the next four years. In effect, each of the seven councilmen decided the issues for his own district, since they all acceded to one another's decisions.
David Marks, president of the Perry Hall Improvement Association, said he was "generally satisfied" with the results in which density increases were approved in 17 out of 27 cases that the association had an interest in.
Some 25 of the 27 issues were in the 5th councilmanic district, represented by Vincent Gardina.
A tally of the 27 changes, generally requested by property owners, showed the civic group a clear winner on only five. But the group looks at the outcomes in a broader way, Marks said.
"In many cases, the most extreme zoning was not granted, so, frankly, we consider them victories too," Marks said.
Further, the association won covenants with the owners of four properties that will limit the impact of denser development, he said.
Covenants are legal agreements that are attached to deeds. In the four agreements achieved by the group, uses such as fast food and adult entertainment are barred, and landscaping and architectural standards required.
On the issue the association made its major cause, the apparent loss is not as bad as it looks, according to Marks.
Councilman Vincent Gardina placed "business local" zoning on a 20-acre parcel at Belair and Forge roads in place of a restricted commercial zone.
The new zoning would allow a larger tenant, such as a department store, instead of the current limit of 55,000 square feet, typical of a grocery.
"Councilman Gardina assured us he would work with us in the development of that land," Marks said the day after the Aug. 26 council vote.
"We will take him at his word," Marks said. The property is owned by Southern Land of Franklin, Tenn., which specailizes in upscale retail centers.
Opposition to a big-box retailer at the site had also been voiced by three homeowners groups along Honeygo Boulevard, soon to be extended near the Forge-Belair intersection.
However, Gardina had argued that the previous commercial zoning would lead to strip centers with occasional vacancies, like those seen at Perry Hall Square, about two miles to the south.
While voting for the denser zoning, Gardina said he could still control uses at the property, and would not allow a home center or discount retailer.
In other issues, the improvement association secured covenants on 1 acre on Baker Lane owned by Rosedale Federal Savings and Loan; on 1.4 acres on Belair Road opposite the soon-to-be-replaced Perry Hall Library; on the 1.5 acre library property itself, and on 0.2 acres on the east side of Belair Road just north of Minte Drive.
"The covenant agreements generally prohibit businesses such as fast food restaurants, liquor-dispensing establishments, and adult entertainment; they require the preservation of older trees and planting of replacement trees, prohibit parking in front and require new structures to be made of brick," Marks wrote in an e-mail.