Due to the conditions of the roads and the impending snowfall, tonight’s meeting of the Generals Highway Council of Community Associations is canceled. Stay warms.
Richard Falk, President GHCCA
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Due to the conditions of the roads and the impending snowfall, tonight’s meeting of the Generals Highway Council of Community Associations is canceled. Stay warms. Richard Falk, President GHCCA GHCCA members: The meeting with Planning and Zoning originally scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on January 26 in the Chesapeake Room of the County offices on Riva Road has been postponed 1 week. It will now be held on February 2. Reminder: GHCCA meeting Tuesday, 7:30 P.M. at the schoolhouse behind historic Baldwin Hall. Join your neighbors and be part of keeping our community great.
2. More on the mobile Billboard issue at Generals Highway and Old Generals Highway. Also: The first of the bimonthly meetings with Planning and Zoning Officer Larry Tom will take place NOVEMBER 10, 2009 at 3PM at 2664 Riva Road in the Heritage Complex. You are all welcome to attend ! The meeting will be discussed at our GHCCA meeting later that evening. GENERAL’S HIGHWAY COUNCIL OF CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS We’re Talking! On 9/16, The Coordinating Council of the Growth Action Network of which GHCCA is a member, met with P&Z officer Larry Tom, Carole Sanner and Chris Soldano. The objective of the meeting was to establish an ongoing citizen dialog with P&Z, which already holds monthly meetings with builders and developers. . County Council meetings 9/21. Bill 64-09, the General Development Plan, was eligible for vote but amendments were proposed, many from P&Z having to do with editorial or technical changes. 8 amendments presented by Councilmen involved changes to the land use map. Although P&Z did not approve of such individual land use changes on principal, all 8 were passed, and are now part of the bill. When amendments are passed and included in the bill, it becomes a new bill subject to another public hearing. The next hearing will be on Monday, 10/5, at which time more land use change amendments are expected, some of which will likely be on General’s Highway. Individual changes in the land use map constitute a first step in applying for rezoning, and in fact make rezoning easier. It is important for GHCCA to be aware of unacceptable amendments so that we can offer testimony against Bill 64-09 when it again comes up for public hearing. Comprehensive Re-zoning will occur in December and January. Any property owner may apply.
This is a test. Circle the correct answer: State authorities have recently responded to questions on the fate of the Crownsville hospital site with: a. A final decision will be made within the month. b. The original field of 10 has been reduced to 4 c. No selections have been made d. It’s back to the drawing board e. All of the above If your answer was (e) “all of the above”, you are correct. The future of this 500+ acre site is, according to a well-placed source, “one of the best kept secrets in Maryland”. One of the proposals was made by “Community Services Center at Crownsville, Inc.” a non-profit corporation looking to oversee, facilitate and provide multiple therapeutic disciplines on the site, from public and private organizations and agencies. Further information can be obtained from CSCC 9 Central Avenue Glen Burnie, MD 21061
A new organization on the block.
Kincey Potter and Bob Gallagher are forming a local chapter of The Maryland League of Conservation Voters, the State’s “political voice for the environment.” The local chapter will bring that voice to Anne Arundel County. Objectives of the local chapter include:
Educating the citizens of Anne Arundel County. Minutes of meetings: A reminder: Minutes of GHCCA meetings are posted on Elaine Nagey’s www.aroundcrownsville. com
Next GHCCA meeting: October 13
See you on October 13 at 7:30, in the schoolhouse behind historic Baldwin Hall. Richard Falk President, GHCCA Here’s the latest on issues concerning your home and neighborhood –
GENERAL’S HIGHWAY COUNCIL OF CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS In these hot, mid-summer doldrums, the next GHCCA meeting promises to be concise. The agenda is:
5. Reminder of important meeting of County Council. August 17, 7 PM devoted to bill #64-09 adopting the GDP. The consultants who prepared the controversial fiscal impact analysis will testify. GHCCA Meeting, July 14, 2009 Parking Issue at Lures Restaurant In a related issue, someone suggested that there should be a NO PARKING sign along the road in front of this property, because the present situation – with cars parked along the road shoulder – is dangerous for bike riders. 50/50 Challenge Brenda Reiber, of the County Executive’s office, talked about the county’s 50/50 Challenge, by which residents are encouraged to use recycling bins for at least half of all material they discard. This is important in order to extend the life of our landfill. The Generals Highway corridor is up to 42% recycling, which is better than most other parts of the county. From GHCCA President Richard Falk As a basis for the General Development Plan (GDP), the county commissioned a fiscal impact analysis (FIA) by an outside consulting firm. The firm, TischlerBise, (for which former Planning and Zoning officer Joseph Rutter works) submitted a report which in a nutshell concludes that new growth pays for itself and increased development will reward the County with fiscal benefits. Joan Turek, PhD, a federal government economist, and member of the AA County Planning Advisory Board (PAB) recently challenged the validity of this important planning tool. In a document sent to the PAB she points out the flaws of the commissioned analysis, and suggests its conclusions would be reversed if more realistic assumptions were used in the model. For instance, our waterways, so important to the economy and lifestyle of our county, have all received failing grades. It should be obvious that significant funding will be required for remediation, a significant portion from the County. But environmental costs were not considered at all in the analysis. She then takes on other assumptions used in the analysis, and shows, by reference to published articles and other governmental examples, their weaknesses. Too extensive to review in detail here, I refer you to the article – available on the website of our affiliated organization, the Growth Action Network, http://www.growthaction.net/. (use the search function for fiscal impact). The importance of all this??? What direction do you think the politicians will steer the county if they are led to believe that increased development will yield more revenue??? What if the assumptions used for the analysis are, as per a recognized economics expert, FALSE! Development will not be cost effective, and the County, already in financial difficulties, will pile up more expenses in support services. The General Development Plan’s next stop will be approval by the County Council. It is imperative that our Council members are well aware of the controversy in the fiscal underpinnings of this document. The GDP should not be a mandate for unfettered development. At the June meeting of the GHCCA, officers and representatives discussed the following issues:
For more information please read the minutes of the meeting. Continue reading Proceedings of the June 2009 GHCCA Meeting The next meeting of the Generals Highway Council of Community Associations is Tuesday, June 9 at 7:30. Once again the meeting will be behind Historic Baldwin Hall in the little schoolhouse. This is your chance to get the inside information on issue affecting how you live in Crownsville. Here’s the agenda Continue reading Get out to the Next GHCCA Meeting |
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