The blowhards on the editorial board of the Baltimore Sun continue to advocate for the Lutherville Station project promoted by Mark Renbaum. ( “How Promoting Transit Around Baltimore Easier said Than Done,” October 22, 2023 ) The editorial board suggests that the opposition is guided by racism, classism and bias. This is an all-too-common argument used by progressives when they don’t like the logic or arguments of their opponents.
I don’t remember the Sun condemning the people of Perry Hall when they objected to the building of apartments at the old Sears’ Store site at the Whitemarsh Mall. Did the editorial board accuse certain residents in Bel Air when they opposed additional apartments in that town? It would have been almost comical if the Sun condemned the residents of East Towson of racism when they opposed the Red Maple condominium project on East Pennsylvania Avenue. Yet they feel entitled to throw out these “charged” words against the residents of Lutherville/Timonium without even attempting to hear any side of the story other than Renbaum’s.
The concerns of the opponents are heard in many parts of the County when larger development projects are proposed. School impacts are one of the primary concerns, and critics of the County’s development process complain that adequate public facilities legislation is a paper tiger with no teeth After the first wave of new residential development took place in Towson, the elementary school boundaries were “adjusted” and a few years later Hampton Elementary School received a group of “learning cottages,” indicating that the school was overcrowded. The irony there being that the school had just received a renovation a few years earlier that should have addressed future population needs. A companion problem exists for athletic fields in the Lutherville/Timonium area. We do not have enough fields to accommodate all the boys’ and girls’ sports events and practice activities.
Despite the Sun’s hope that all of these apartment dwellers will use transit, there is a better chance that the automobile will be their predominant means of transportation, which means that the roads will become even more congested. Light rail usage, for the system as a whole, is down over the past ten years, not up. Other parts of the infrastructure, such as storm drains, water lines, etc., could also face capacity challenges, and the residents question whether the County will exercise proper oversight in addressing these concerns.
While I’m at it blowing off steam, let me circle back to past criticism of the Master Plan. Sometime before the end of the year, probably in December, the County Council will need to approve the Master Plan document. As I have written in past newsletters, this Master Plan proposes three “core retrofit areas, or nodes” in an area between West Ridgely Road and Padonia Road, along the corridor occupied by the Light Rail line. The Master Plan recommends high density residential development, along with commercial, institutional and office development in these three nodes. In my opinion, these nodes could radically alter the character of the area if this plan is approved as currently written. So, I advocate for all residents to write Councilman Kach (council3@baltimorecountymd.gov ) and urge him to eliminate the three “nodes” proposed for the Lutherville/Timonium area.
Eric Rockel
Vice President, GTCC