Residents to Planning Board: Curb Development

Residents in the communities of Paradise, Maple Avenue and Kenwood Avenue told the planning board Tuesday night they don't want to see more development in their neighborhoods.

The Tuesday night hearing was held by the Baltimore County Planning Board, the governing body that reviews all changes made to the county's Comprehensive Zoning Map. The re-zoning process happens every four years. The meeting at Lansdowne High School was the public hearing for the first council district. 

Roughly 40 residents spoke and dozens more were in attendance. In Catonsville, three zoning changes were met with opposition.

1. Residents of the Kenwood Gardens Condominium Association put in a petition to downgrade four acres of land on Kenwood Avenue from office to residential. The property is the site where Whalen Properties has plans to build a . The property is across the street from the condos.

Resident Gail Dawson said the land would be better used for residential development.

"The use of the land for an office building would add more congestion to Kenwood," Dawson said. Four people spoke in favor of the zoning change to residential and more than 30 people stood up as each person spoke.

2. Two residents on Maple Avenue spoke out against two parcels of land that are south of and adjacent to the street. The land at the southern end of Maple Avenue where it dead ends was recently transferred from the for open space through an agreement set up by Neighborspace of Baltimore County.

Residents are concerned about the potential for those 11 acres, along with 16 acres land on the west side of Maple Avenue and east of Hilltop Place to be turned into green space or a trail that could attract more people to their community. Under the new zoning, the land would be zoned for environmental enchancement.

"We are concerned about the potential for people trespassing on our private property and strangers walking through our neighborhood," Maple Avenue resident Eileen Leaman said.

3. Residents in the Paradise community spoke in opposition to the proposed zoning changes for Belle Grove Road. The property owner would like change the three acres from a low zoned residential density to a higher zoned one, which would allow a greater number of units to be built per acre on the land.

Property owner Carl Kozoil spoke in favor of his change, while five residents of the Paradise community spoke against it. According to one of the speakers, more than 60 residents signed a petition against the zoning change.

Resident Jimmy Laughlin said the history of the South Belle Grove property dates back to the 1850s and is one of the few open spaces left in the densely populated Paradise area.

After the board reviews the proposed changes, it will rule on each request in May. The recommendations will then be sent to the Baltimore County Council. Another round of public hearings will be held in June before the council votes on the changes. The council must make final decisions by September.