Tired of Shoveling Snow? Why Not Read the New Master Plan Second Charrette Committee Notes?

                                                                  Photo: Anne Stuzin. 

Committee notes from the second RP master plan charrette (Jan. 8-9) have been posted as PDF documents to the master plan metablog page, which is here. Residents may read the documents and then post their thoughts and comments to the charrette topic forums, which may be accessed through the metablog page or at the RP master plan forum list page, here.                                                                   

To e-mail the charrette committees to volunteer (or for any other reason), go to http://rolandpark.org/MasterPlanMetaBlog. Go to the table in the righthand column.

To access the eight charrette forums, go also to http://rolandpark.org/MasterPlanMetaBlog. The list of forums is down the left side. Here you will also find the committees' summary reports from the first and second charrettes.

To catch up on master-plan reading material and to be kept abreast of the latest developments and dates, go here: http://rolandpark.org/MasterPlan.

— Doug Munro

Feb. 14, 2010

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Roland Park Area Media Hit of the Day

For full local-area media hit list, click here.

Roger L. Ervin , the 2007 Tuxedo Park rapist, has been sentenced to life plus 93 years, according to the Mar. 6 Baltimore Sun. Ervin, who in 2007 had been out of prison for four years after a 1985 burglary, assaulted, raped and robbed the 59-year-old victim in her house. DNA evidence notwithstanding, Ervin maintains his innocence. Here is Tricia Bishop's report (3/6/10).

"A Tuxedo Park man, described as a good Samaritan, was mugged in a rare attempted robbery in the low-crime neighborhood near Roland Park while walking his dog March 1," reports the Mar. 4 Baltimore Messenger's Larry Perl. In a crime that stunned locals, the man was severely pistol whipped while taking his dog for a late-night walk. Read Perl's story here (3/6/10).

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Master Plan Media Hit of the Day

For a full master plan media-hit list, go here.

"Roland Park's master plan discussions have already yielded one idea of note: a traffic circle at Roland Avenue and Cold Spring Lane," says the Baltimore Messenger's Larry Perl, Jan. 13. (Click here.) Perl continues, however, that master plan Transportation Committee chair Matthew Fitzsimmons concedes that traffic circles are "foreign to many Americans" (1/19/10).

What, first with defending the Roland Park fire station before municipal leaders on Jan. 7, and then with undertaking a two-day planning charrette bonanza Jan. 8-9, Roland Park had a busy time last week, reports Kathy Hudson in the Jan. 10 Baltimore Messenger. "With a well-delineated plan," says Hudson, "the [RP] historic area will be poised to continue its tradition of foresighted community planning." Hudson's piece is here (1/12/10).

The Roland Park area master plan made it to no. 2 on the Dec. 22 Baltimore Messenger list of top 10 stories of 2009. "In November," says Larry Perl, "the community undertook its most far-reaching project yet — to draft a master plan for Roland Park in conjunction with Baltimore City's comprehensive rezoning efforts." Read Perl's story here (12/29/09).

Kathy Hudson in the Dec. 2 Baltimore Messenger points out that the Roland Park area master plan charrette competed remarkably effectively against other family-favorite events that Saturday: the St. David's church holiday bazaar and the Friends School Hollyfest. Here article is here (12/3).

Says Baltimore Messenger Editor Larry Perl, Nov. 24, the first RP area master plan community forum raised "more questions than it answer[ed], but that was the point." While a number of topics were discussed, says Perl, green space and historic preservation appeared particularly high on the agenda. It's here (11/24).

"Saturday’s first charette about the Roland Park area master plan was a great way to go into Thanksgiving week," says Kathy Hudson in the Nov. 23 Baltimore Messenger. It demonstrated "a strong sense of community, where public debate is welcomed." Read Hudson here (11/24).

The Baltimore Messenger's Larry Perl reports, Nov. 11, that the Roland Park master plan is gearing up and that it will be completed with the backing of the city government. "Hoping to gain more control over traffic and development, the neighborhood hopes to create its own city-backed master plan," says Perl. Read the whole story here (11/15).

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Roland Park General Media Hit of the Day

For full "Roland Park in the media" list, click here.

"Governor O’Malley’s 'Enough already!' remarks Wednesday night, urging Marylanders to be patient, brought perspective and quieted quick criticism" about the response to the blizzard of 2010, says Kathy Hudson in the Feb. 11 Baltimore Messenger. It is here (2/12/10).

"FOG is a big problem with city sewers. FOG stands for fat, oil and grease," says Kathy Hudson in the Feb. 9 Baltimore Messenger. Click here to read Hudson's report on the city's Feb. 4 presentation to the Roland Park Civic League (2/10/10).

Writing in the Feb. 9 Baltimore Messenger, Kathy Hudson wishes that snow plowing around here had been as efficient as that in Baltimore County. Nonetheless, she points out that this is a "record-breaking snowstorm and the city has limited resources and a huge job," continuing that there is nothing to stop us taking up shovel and blower ourselves. Read Hudson here (2/10/10).

Kathy Hudson in the Jan. 13 Baltimore Messenger opines on the incongruence of a sharply increased property-tax assessment and the threatened removal of Roland Park's fire truck no. 25 to the Hampden fire station. Click here (1/19/09).

"I will do better," said city Fire Chief Jim Clack, apologizing for not having had his department inform RP area Councilwoman Sharon Middleton about the ongoing rotating closure of the Roland Park fire station. Defending the policy, however, Clack said that rotating closures are a strategy to stave off the permanent closure of various stations in the city. With a departmental budget shortfall soon to climb to $13 million, Clack has no other option, he says. Clack was speaking to the Roland Park Civic League's Jan. 7 meeting. Read Larry Perl's Jan. 8 Baltimore Messenger report on the meeting here (1/12/10).

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Last Days of the Marianist Building

For Dorret Oosterhoff's photo essay on the demise of the Marianist Building, click here. (To be taken to the general story, click the photo above.)

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Roland Water Tower Preservation Group

New group hopes to preserve, rehabilitate currently dilapidated neighborhood icon. (Click picture for web page.)

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Proposed Paving of Median Strip at Gilman

Proposal would reduce or eliminate 440 or 250 feet of green-space median for left-turn lane on Roland Avenue (click photo). _____ Should the median be paved? Sep. 2009 RP survey results are here.

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RolandPark.org Preservation Portal

RolandPark.org has created a new portal for all local area matters concerning preservation and development. The portal will also serve as an access point to archived material on preservation. It may be found at http://rolandpark.org/PreservationDevelopment.

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Sustainability/Green Space Portal

As if the preservation portal were not enough, RolandPark.org has also created a new portal for sustainability and green-space stories. As with the preservation portal, it will also serve as a library for archived material. Why not visit the new portal at http://rolandpark.org/SustainGreen.html?

Looking for the Roland Park Sustainability Initiative pledge form? Download it here.

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RP Roads & Maintenance Corp. Needs Plat Reps for 2010

The Roland Park Roads and Maintenance Corp. — Roland Park's covenant enforcement and maintenance group — is looking for plat reps for all plats for the period starting January 1, 2010. Architects, landscape architects and designers, lawyers and residents who have done major renovations and can read an architectural plan are all desirable additions to the board. For more information contact Ann Lundy at annlundy@verizon.net or Kathleen Truelove at ktruelo@jhmi.edu.