Council to take up village center redevelopment
Wilde Lake changes at heart of controversy
By Derek Simmonsen
dsimmonsen@patuxent.com
Posted 5/22/09
The County Council next month plans to take up the sensitive issue of redeveloping Columbia’s village centers.
Kimco Realty Corp., which owns six of the nine village centers, submitted a proposal last year to change the process by which the centers are redeveloped. The proposal was considered by the county Planning Board as Zoning Regulation Amendment 102 and goes to the council as Council Bill 29.
The bill will be introduced June 1 and a public hearing is scheduled for June 15 at 7 p.m. in the Board of Education board room, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City. Additional public hearings may be scheduled depending on the public’s interest, said County Council chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty.
The bill would change a unique provision that has been enforced since the creation of Columbia in the late 1960s that keeps businesses from seeking a zoning change in Columbia without first gaining permission of The Rouse Co.
General Growth Properties Inc., which purchased Rouse, now fulfills the role as the “gatekeeper” of development. The bill would eliminate General Growth as the gatekeeper and allow companies to directly petition the county for zoning changes.
The county Planning Board deadlocked 2-2 on whether to approve of the measure. The board members who voted against it said they felt the issue was being rushed and they had many unanswered questions, including why village centers thrive or die, whether residential should be allowed and how much, and whether other approaches would work better.
Kimco last year proposed a controversial redevelopment of the Wilde Lake Village Center, the oldest in Columbia, that would raze buildings to build a mixed-use project with 500 upscale apartments, retail shops and offices.
Those interested in testifying on the bill can sign up electronically via the County Council Web site at www.howardcountymd.gov beginning June 2. The text of the bill is also available through the council Web site.
Kimco Realty Corp., which owns six of the nine village centers, submitted a proposal last year to change the process by which the centers are redeveloped. The proposal was considered by the county Planning Board as Zoning Regulation Amendment 102 and goes to the council as Council Bill 29.
The bill will be introduced June 1 and a public hearing is scheduled for June 15 at 7 p.m. in the Board of Education board room, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City. Additional public hearings may be scheduled depending on the public’s interest, said County Council chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty.
The bill would change a unique provision that has been enforced since the creation of Columbia in the late 1960s that keeps businesses from seeking a zoning change in Columbia without first gaining permission of The Rouse Co.
General Growth Properties Inc., which purchased Rouse, now fulfills the role as the “gatekeeper” of development. The bill would eliminate General Growth as the gatekeeper and allow companies to directly petition the county for zoning changes.
The county Planning Board deadlocked 2-2 on whether to approve of the measure. The board members who voted against it said they felt the issue was being rushed and they had many unanswered questions, including why village centers thrive or die, whether residential should be allowed and how much, and whether other approaches would work better.
Kimco last year proposed a controversial redevelopment of the Wilde Lake Village Center, the oldest in Columbia, that would raze buildings to build a mixed-use project with 500 upscale apartments, retail shops and offices.
Those interested in testifying on the bill can sign up electronically via the County Council Web site at www.howardcountymd.gov beginning June 2. The text of the bill is also available through the council Web site.
user comments (0)
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement