State Delegate Candidate Forum – Sunday March 11

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Please plan to attend two 41st District Candidate Forums in the run up to the primary election on June 26. 2018.

The first forum, for State Delegate Candidates, will be held on Sunday, March 11, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Bolton Street Synagogue, 212 W. Coldspring Lane. Delegate candidates committed to attending so far include Dalya Attar, Anthony Bridges, Dr. Richard Bruno, Del. Angela Gibson, Del. Sandy Rosenberg, and Sean Stinnett. More information is available on the Facebook event page – please RSVP and share with your neighbors: https://www.facebook.com/events/442372882845964

The second forum, for State Delegate AND State Senate candidates will be held on Sunday, April 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. and the Public Safety Training Facility/Early Voting Location, 3500 Northern Parkway. More details will be forthcoming.

 

Join the RPCF Spring Celebration on Friday, April 20th!

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April 20, 2018, 6:30-10:00 p.m.
The Women’s Club of Roland Park
4500 Roland Avenue

Click here to Buy Tickets Now

Support Roland Park’s Green Spaces

Featuring live music, neighborhood “celebrity” bartenders, fine food and beverages

Plus a Wine Auction!

Tickets $75/per person

The Roland Park Community Foundation(RPCF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1986 to preserve, maintain and improve the parks, streams, squares, trees, and other green spaces in our community.

Questions? E-mail foundationoffice@rolandpark.org, or call 410-464-2533.

Roland Avenue Update-BCDoT Letter 1/23/18

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A letter was received this week from the Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDoT) after five meetings attended by Civic League (RPCL) representatives during fall of 2017 on the subject of Roland Avenue. Please consider attending the next regular monthly Board meeting of RPCL on Wednesday evening February 7, 2018 (7-9PM) when the contents of this letter will be discussed. Note-temporary location of RPCL Board meetings is No. Baltimore Mennonite Church, 4615 Roland Avenue (entrance on Oakdale).

BCDOT-Letter-1_23_18

For more background see: Fall Update 2017 and Cycle Track Committee page

Roland Park office hours during the holidays

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Please note that the Roland Park Civic League office will be closed from December 25th through January 1.

For contact information, visit https://rolandpark.org/contact/contacts-addresses/ 

 

 

Discussion Concerning Temporary Signs

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From Hap Cooper, President Roland Park Civic League

I would like to personally apologize if the recent Roland Park News conveyed to you the impression that we wish to interfere with your First Amendment right to free expression. We support and encourage respectful dialogue without exception. In fact, we ourselves planted a temporary sign welcoming people of all backgrounds to our community that still sits next to the permanent “Welcome to Roland Park” sign on University Parkway.

An attorney and resident of our community formally requested that the Civic League circulate the Baltimore zoning laws prohibiting long-term use of temporary signs. We failed to anticipate that doing so could be interpreted as opposition to the content of many of these signs. For that, again, we are truly sorry.

I spoke with Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis this morning and confirmed that signs containing political opinions may stay up indefinitely. So we would like to publicly encourage our community to continue to express themselves in ways that promote awareness and discussion–especially relating to tolerance and inclusivity.

Tomorrow night (12/6) at 7:00p, we will be conducting our regular monthly community meeting at the North Baltimore Mennonite Church at 4615 Roland Avenue. Feel free to attend to express your views.

DEC 2017 agenda

Excerpt Roland Park News

Pedestrian Safety on the Falls Road and Cold Spring Corridor

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On November 7, RPCL representatives and two members of the Landscape Committee attended a meeting held at Poly to discuss concerns over traffic speed and pedestrian safety on the Falls Road and Cold Spring corridor. The meeting focused on improving pedestrian safety on Falls Road and DOT representatives gave a presentation on the planned installation of a new crosswalk linking the shops and bus stops on the east side of Falls Road to the school campuses on the west side. The new crosswalk, expected to be installed in summer 2018, will be surrounded by three 12-foot-wide medians.

Please visit rolandpark.org for future updates on this project and subscribe to the Roland Park list-serv.  To contact the Landscape Committee, email landscape@rolandpark.org.

Trees still available for Roland Park Residents – UPDATE

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UPDATE 11/15/2017:

Additional trees looking for new homes, to be  planted on personal property. If you are a resident who pays full fees, you are eligible for a new tree.  Not only is the tree free but we’ll plant it for you. The remaining trees available for planting this fall are listed below.  Please see this file for full descriptions and photos.  All of these trees need a sunny location on personal property.

[2 quantity] Nuttall Oaks

[2 quantity] Chinquapin Oaks

[1 quantity] White Oak

[1 quantity] Sweet Birch

I am also taking requests for trees during the 2018 planting season.  Please contact Kate Culotta

For more details.  krculotta@msn.com or landscape@rolandpark.org

Previous post follows….

Thank You Roland Park residents for your generous turn-out for new trees in Roland Park.

Those of you who requested ornamental trees should have had trees delivered Saturday October 21, 2017  along with stakes and twine.  Tree Descriptions and planting instructions were emailed.  Please let Kate Culotta (krculotta@msn.com) know if you did not receive the email or unable to open the PDF.

Thank you to those who requested street shade trees.  Tree planting by K&C Groundworks was completed on Wednesday the 25th.  The new trees look great.

There are a couple more tree still available via our program for a new home.

Betula lenta [Sweet Birch or Cherry Birch]  

Two beautiful Sweet Birches are available.

Medium sized, long living shade tree.  Native to Maryland.    Bark is dark and shiny.  Mature trees may shed bark in horizontal strips.  Sweet Birch trees are source of flavoring for Birch Beer and can be tap for sap like a Sugar Maple.  Twigs give off a sweet wintergreen smell when up close or when crushed.  Leaves are oval and serrated along the edges.  Flowers in April-May with long yellow catkins that hang down before leaves appear in the spring.  Fall foliage is bright yellow.  Considered one of the better fall colors among Birches .  Best in well-drained  soil in sun to part shade.

 

 

Quercus alba  (White Oak)

I also have 2 White Oaks.  These are some of the largest trees in Roland Park when mature, but it will be many decades before they reach full size.  I’m looking for a sunny spot on personal property (not in the verge) with room to grow.

A lovely slow growing shade tree that can grow to very large size.  50’-80’ Tall x 50-80’ wide with a wide spreading rounded crown.  The White Oak is a great candidate for a shade tree, best planted within your property rather than in the verge..  It is drought, clay and poor soil tolerant, once established.  Yellow-green catkin flowers emerge shortly after leaves in the spring.  Acorns develop mid-summer (3/4”) and serve as important wild life food source.  Leaves are dark green 4-9” long with deeply rounded lobes.  Fall color is dark red to brown.  “Alba” refers to its light ash grey bark.  2 qty 15 Gal.

 

I also have one Chinquapin Oak Tree.  It is a lovely Oak with  small, sweet and edible acorns.  I have only one and it is currently a small sapling.  Best planted in a sunny spot on personal property.

Please contact Kate Culotta to reserve your tree.  krculotta@msn.com

Also, if you’re interested in a free fruit tree for your yard.  TreeBaltimore is offering a free fruit tree give away Saturday October 28 10 am – 2 pm at the Rawlings Conservatory at Druid Hill Park.

Roland Park Tree Program

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Several years ago, Roland Park resident Al Copp started a program to increase and improve the aging tree canopy in Roland Park. Working with Baltimore City, the Roland Park Civic League and the Community Foundation, Al established a program to plant free trees in the neighborhood. Sadly, we lost Al Copp to illness earlier this year, but at his request the program continues. I am happy to announce that the Roland Park Landscape Committee, working with Baltimore City and the  Department of Forestry, has been able to secure additional trees to plant in Roland Park.

A selection of “street trees” as well as lovely ornamental trees has just arrived and are available, for FREE, to Roland Park residents who pay full fees. If you are not sure if this applies to you, please contact Beth Adams in the Roland Park office. If you haven’t paid full fees but are willing to do so starting with the current billing cycle, you can apply for a tree.

The “street trees” are a selection of hardy shade trees, mostly maples and oaks that stay within the spirit of the original Olmstead Plan. Selected because they are native to Maryland and tolerant of our soil and climate, these trees will add beauty and interest to our streetscape. These trees are for planting in the verge, the grassy area between the street and sidewalk. They could also be planted on your personal property but within sight of the street so that, as the tree matures, its canopy can be viewed from the street. The verge can be a tough place for a tree, with parking, pollution, trash and neglect. If you have a spot on your personal property near the street for the tree, it may live a longer, fuller life.

I was also able to secure a selection of ornamental trees for planting on personal property. These trees, mainly Redbuds and Pink Dogwoods, are smaller in size when mature and are better for adding beauty to your property rather than trying to survive as a street tree. These trees are also FREE to full dues paying residents.

To apply for a tree or receive additional information, please email Kate Culotta krculotta@msn.com. I will send you information with pictures and descriptions of available trees. Supplies are limited and will be filled in the order they are received. A member of the landscape committee will need to approve the planting site before your order is confirmed. Once approved, street trees will be planted by our landscape contractor K&C
Groundworks. Ornamental trees can be picked up or delivered and will come with planting instructions.

All new tree owners must agree to care for the new tree. All new trees must be deeply watered each week, whether by nature or by hand, for the first 2 years until they are established. Trees need to be kept mulched, weeded and trash free. If you live in deer browsing area, protect tender tree trunks and lower limbs from damage. Trunk wraps, temporary wire fencing and other items to protect landscape from wildlife are available from any home and garden retailer. Living among the trees is one of the best things about living in Roland Park. I hope to receive many inquiries and plant a lot of trees!

Inquiries:
Roland Park Landscape Committee: Kate Culotta krculotta@msn.com

Roland Park Office Manager:Beth Adams office@rolandpark.org (410) 464-2525

RPCL joined a Request for Judicial Review of the Overlook at Roland Park PUD

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On July 21st, 2017 Hap Cooper and Chris McSherry met with Mayor Catherine Pugh to ask her to veto the PUD legislation that was passed by the City Council to allow the construction of the Overlook at Roland Park. The mayor was not willing to do that and she signed the legislation that same day. We were disappointed because we viewed her as our first and last avenue to change the course of this proposed development.

The neighbors who will be most affected by the construction of that apartment building have filed a lawsuit asking for judicial review of the process used by the City Department of Planning and the City Council in approving the PUD, and the RPCL joined the petition for judicial review, so the matter is not settled yet.

The legislation was proposed by freshman City Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer immediately after he was sworn in to the City Council. He had rushed the PUD legislation through the Planning Department and the City Council at such a record pace that the RPCL was not aware of the details of it until the eve of it passing the City Council.

Although PUDs are supposed to be used for the benefit of the community, this one wasn’t even reviewed by Roland Park or Mount Washington, two adjacent communities that will be significantly affected. We lobbied aggressively to delay the legislation so that we could weigh in on the proposed development, but no one in the City Council was willing to push that for us. The City Council has a tradition of “Councilmanic Courtesy”, whereby land use legislation in a particular council member’s district will not be questioned or resisted by other council member.

In light of the City Council’s tradition of deferring to the member in whose district the development stands, there was no actual review of this proposed PUD. We are hopeful that the Circuit Court will overturn the legislation because the Planning Department failed to notify the surrounding communities and failed to consider the impact on them and because the City Council failed to exercise the required “quasi-judicial review.”