Some Lutherville residents on Wednesday applauded the Baltimore County Council’s decision the night before to rezone a Ridgely Road property for single-family housing, potentially scuttling the developer’s plan to build there as part of a controversial project known as Lutherville Station.
The decision came as the council voted on 389 zoning requests across seven county districts Tuesday, ending the yearlong process known as the Comprehensive Zoning Map Process. The CZMP occurs once every four years and lets residents, council members and officials request rezoning on any property in Baltimore County.
The council, at Councilman Wade Kach’s request, voted Tuesday to zone a property next to a light rail station in Lutherville for single-family housing, which caps the number of apartments that can be built at 16 units per acre and bars buildings higher than 60 feet. Kach, a Timonium Republican, had previously said he wanted residents and the developer, Mark Renbaum, to reach a compromise. Residents had fiercely protested the proposal.
“We are currently reviewing last night’s downzoning decision by Councilman Kach and the implications for the project,” Renbaum said Wednesday via spokesperson Rick Abbruzzese. “On its face, the downzoning appears to be an unreasonable limitation to a state transit-oriented development under House Bill 538. Lutherville Station is the first real test case for this important legislation.”
The project could still go forward if the state approves a state transit-oriented designation (TOD), and Renbaum has asked the county to help expedite the approval process for Lutherville Station. The project must receive local council support to be considered as a TOD, which allows denser housing if it’s within 0.75 miles of a transportation hub, according to the state Department of Transportation. Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., Council Chair Izzy Patoka, and Jake Day, the Maryland secretary for housing and community development, all said they support Lutherville Station becoming a TOD.
Kach acknowledged that Renbaum’s proposal could still move forward, albeit at a “scaled back” size.
“By rezoning (to single-family homes), the number of allowable multifamily units will be smaller than the alternative of leaving the zoning intact, despite continued reservations regarding school overcrowding and traffic should the project be approved,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “However, I remain willing and able to listen to any alternative proposal regarding this site that is capable of reaching a consensus, between the community and the developer, that could then be the subject of a Planned Unit Development.”
Baltimore County faces state pressure to approve more development as Maryland experiences a 96,000-unit housing shortage, a third of which is concentrated in the Baltimore area. Last spring, the General Assembly passed a state law that will allow denser housing projects to bypass local jurisdictions if they meet certain criteria, such as being located near public transportation. Baltimore County must also build 1,000 affordable housing units by 2027 to comply with a federal agreement to correct decades of housing discrimination.
The Lutherville Station project was the subject of intense opposition from area residents, who argued that it would overrun the neighborhood with traffic and noise that public facilities can’t accommodate the plans.
Lutherville resident Kathleen McGee called Kach’s decision to block Renbaum’s zoning request “fabulous.”
“I’m really glad it was downzoned,” she said Wednesday. “I’m very suspicious of Johnny [Olszewski] and this guy. I’m skeptical, because every time they get denied, it seems like they do something to give him more concessions.”
Olszewski said last fall that he supported Renbaum’s efforts to repurpose the property as part of a county planning strategy to redevelop aging properties, as does Patoka. The planning board voted to approve Renbaum’s rezoning request earlier this year.
Another Lutherville resident, Daniel Symonds, said he objected to Renbaum’s plans to include a parking lot, citing congestion on nearby York Road.
“That tells you right there that it’s a charade, a fantasy,” Symonds said. “The majority of people can’t use the light rail to get to work.”
Ashley Richardson, a Realtor in nearby Timonium, said she also applauded Kach’s decision, calling it a “positive for the community.”
Council members wield almost unfettered power over projects in their districts, however, a practice known as councilmanic courtesy. Critics say the policy leaves members susceptible to pressure from developers and allows projects to proceed even if they conflict with county planning practices. Last spring, the council shot down a series of proposals Olszewski put forth to encourage development, arguing that they should have final authority over land use.
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