2017 4th of July Parade in Roland Park

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Come celebrate the 4th of July at the Annual Roland Park Parade, from 10-12 on Tuesday, July 4. The parade will start in front of the library with a reading of the Declaration of Independence and some words from our elected officials. Then we will parade down Roland Avenue behind the local fire truck to the intersection at Upland Road. There will be ice pops and water for everyone, and the firetrucks might even hook up a hose to the hydrant to spray us all. The Roland Park Presbyterian Church will open its doors to offer us bathrooms and air conditioning for those who need to cool down. Their children’s group will be selling drinks and snacks. Please join us in your red, white and blue regalia and decorate your bikes, strollers and dogs!

Please send your favorite snapshots from the event to rpcommunication@rolandpark.org so we can commemorate the event on our website.

Please Contact the Mayor on the Overlook PUD Bill

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From the Civic League President:

Although we were hopeful, on Monday the City Council approved the PUD Bill for the Overlook at Roland Park development. It took less than 2 minutes and there was no discussion. Now the bill goes to Mayor Catherine Pugh to sign or veto- she can sign it at any time. So once again, we ask you to stand up for our community and take action!
Here is what we need you to do every day until the Mayor meets with our RPCL President Hap Cooper. Please make this a part of your everyday routine for the next week or two! The Mayor counts the number of contacts, so let’s make our voices heard, every day. This can make a big difference!

ACTION:

  1. Call the Mayor at 410-396-3835
  2. Email the Mayor at mayor@baltimorecity.gov
  3. Tweet the Mayor at @mayorpugh50
  4. Fax the Mayor at 410-576-9425

Some suggestions to choose from as to why you are against the Overlook PUD bill (choose whatever appeals to you and feel free to add your own ideas/concerns!):

  1. The traffic congestion and accidents at the Falls/Northern intersection make it one of the worst in the City. More development in that intersection is dangerous.
  2. The process did not include your neighborhood. Why weren’t we included?
  3. The process was rushed so the surrounding communities were not informed/not enough time to evaluate and react. The traffic study came in 15 minutes before it was voted on. Why the hurry?
  4. The City Councilman (Yitzy Schleifer) seems to be rewarding one of his largest donors instead of representing his constituents. Why is he putting his constituents behind the interests of one business?
  5. Neighborhoods first, developers second. Stand up for us, the voters.

Thanks for your continued support! We are counting on the Mayor to stand up for this neighborhood, which means so much to this City.

Community Gathering for Overlook PUD – June 19th 7:30 AM

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COMMUNITY GATHERING TOMORROW MORNING June 19th 0730 Northern Pkwy and Falls Road.

Following is an urgent message from Hap Cooper, President of the Roland Park Civic League

Dear Roland Park Neighbors,Good Evening–I hope everyone is enjoying Father’s Day! Join us tomorrow morning at a mega-neighborhood gathering at NP & Falls to send an URGENT message to the Mayor!

Those of you who drive through the congested intersection at Northern Parkway and Falls Road probably know that the City Council will pass a bill tomorrow afternoon permitting the development of a 148-unit out-sized apartment highrise at that F-rated intersection–which is at 114% of capacity on the way to 120%.

For those of you concerned with potential overcrowding in the Roland Park Elementary/Middle School–children in this new development would be sent to RPEMS.

Only a small percentage of neighbors were consulted about the project and the adjacent communities of Roland Park and Mt Washington were not contacted at all. So join us by 7:30a tomorrow morning at Northern Parkway and Falls to send a message to the City that neighborhoods matter. Process matters.
The Mayor will have the bill on her desk as early as tomorrow evening, as it’s been fast-tracked and rubber-stamped through City Hall. We must convince her that a large majority of the surrounding neighborhoods oppose the bill until we can assess the impact of the development on our communities.

If it’s the right project for that intersection now, it will still be right in a month or two when we all understand how we’ll be affected. SEE YOU TOMORROW.

Urgent Call to Action – Rezoning for Overlook at Roland Park

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Dear Roland Park Neighbors,
All hands on deck. We need your help in the next four days. ASAP please!

A major high-rise housing development is set to be approved by the City Council on Monday, June 19th. The development is called Overlook at Roland Park, and often referred to as Belvedere 2. A freshman City Councilman, Yitzy Schleifer, has worked closely with the developer to fast track this project through City Hall. It will be located at one of the busiest and most dangerous intersections of the City, Falls Road and Northern Parkway.

Mt. Washington and Roland Park, the two largest neighborhoods adjacent to the property, were not included in the process, only the two small neighborhoods above the proposed development (North Roland Park and Poplar Hill). In the past week, the Mt. Washington Improvement Association and the Roland Park Civic League both voted against the development, primarily because of the lack of knowledge. The majority of residents in North Roland Park and Poplar Hill have signed petitions opposing the project. We must stop the rezoning process, called a PUD, until all affected communities have time to study the project. If the project is as good as the developer says it is, then it will be just as good in 60 days after we have all had a chance to understand what the project actually is.

If you want more details about the project, go to the website www.stopthepud.com. Also, please see the attached press release from the Roland Park Civic League.
Here is what we need you to tell our elected officials-
1. Tell them your name and that you are a city resident
2. Ask them to put the PUD legislation on hold (Officially Bill 17-0049)
3. Tell them that the affected neighborhoods need time to learn more.
4. A sample email might include Dear Mayor Pugh, I am a resident of North Baltimore and I am asking that you slow down the PUD zoning for the Overlook at Roland Park so that the communities affected have a chance to learn about the project. Adding a large high rise housing unit at one of the busiest and most dangerous intersections in the city deserves a careful look. Please give us the chance to learn more. Sincerely, _________

Here is who we need you to tell-
1. Call, email, fax and/or tweet Mayor Catherine Pugh: mayor@baltimorecity.gov 410-396-4900 or 410-396-3835,  @mayorpugh50,  Fax #410-396-3798
2. Call, email, fax and/or tweet Council President Jack Young: CouncilPresident@baltimorecity.gov, 410-396-4804 @prezjackyoung Fax #410-539-0647
3. Call, email, fax and/or tweet Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer:  Isaac.Schleifer@baltimorecity.gov 410-396-4819 @councilmanYitzy Fax#410-396-6800
4. Sign the online petition at change.org

It will take all of us to get this done, please step up and share with others!

Letter from RPCL to Sharon Green Middleton Opposing the PUD for Overlook at Belvedere

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At the monthly meeting of Roland Park Civic League Board for this past Thursday, June 8, various stakeholders spoke about the proposed Overlook development near the intersection of Falls Road and Northern Parkway.

A representative from Blue Ocean Realty, the developer proposing the 132 unit, six-story tower spoke at the meeting, as did Hunter Cochrane, organizer of  https://stopthepud.com/ opposing the development. After a general discussion on the topic with comments and questions from residents of Roland Park and Mt. Washington, the board voted to take a position opposing the development.

On Friday June 9,  Roland Park Civic League President formally expressed the opposition in a letter directed to City Council Member Sharon Green-Middleton, and copied to Mayor Catherine Pugh, City Council President Jack Young, State Delegate Peter Hammen, and City Councilmembers Mary Pat Clarke and Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer.

A copy of the letter is available here: RPCL Letter to City Councilmemner Sharon Green-Middleton et al Opposing Belvedere 2 PUD

Letter from RPCL to DOT regarding Cycle Track

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The following letter regarding the Cycle Track has been sent to Mr. Frank Murphy, Acting Director of the Baltimore Department of Transportation.  The original formatted letter can be found at this link.

 

Mr. Frank Murphy, Acting Director
Baltimore Department of Transportation
417 E. Fayette Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

RE:  Roland Avenue Cycle Track                                                                      June 6, 2017

Dear Mr. Murphy,

From March 2016 until May 2017 the Roland Park Civic League’s Cycle Track Committee (“CTC”) studied the Roland Avenue cycle track between Northern Parkway and Cold Spring Lane—as did your own Department of Transportation.  The CTC held fourteen committee meetings, two public meetings, and solicited the input of an outside engineering consulting firm. At the conclusion of the process, the CTC submitted to the RPCL Board and the broader community  a comprehensive year-end report that included the following consensus statement: “Either restore curbside parking with a wider, safer bike lane and slower traffic, or partner with the community to create a complete street that works for everyone.” 

After discussion at the Civic League’s Annual Meeting last month, the membership in attendance voted 55-31 to adopt an alternate position statement to be communicated to your department as follows:

“[R]estore curb side parking immediately and completely on Roland Avenue and continue the work of the committee to achieve the other objectives (included in the year-end report).”

The RPCL Board requests that the DOT implement the above motion as soon as possible while continuing to work with the community to develop a safer “complete street” on Roland Avenue.  We appreciate the DOT’s on-going commitment to our community and to making our streets safer for everyone! We look forward to working with you to resolve this issue.

Sincerely,

Robert H. Cooper III (Hap)

President, Roland Park Civic League

CC: Mayor Catherine Pugh, James Smith, Sharon Green Middleton, Mary Pat Clarke, Veronica McBeth, Graham Young, Nikia Mack, James Decker

Annual Meeting Minutes– May 2016

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Annual Meeting Minutes– May 2016

(note: Annual meeting minutes are reviewed and approved at the following year’s annual meeting, and posted once approved.)