Candidates eye downtown development

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Opponents Alex Hekimian and Phil Engelke can agree on at least one issue: Revitalizing Columbia’s older villages should be a top priority.

“The village center concept is a very important theme right now,” said Hekimian, who heads the watchdog group, Alliance for a Better Columbia.

The two face off this month for a seat on the Columbia Association board of directors representing Oakland Mills, replacing outgoing Barbara Russell. Residents in four villages will elect CA board representatives April 26.

Two villages’ representatives are running unopposed, and the terms for representatives from four villages expire next April.

Built to be the focus of neighborhood life, Columbia’s village centers now struggle to stay vibrant as stores close and lots remain empty.

In Oakland Mills, a revitalization push is under way, and a long-vacant gas station lot is slated for development as an office complex.

To Engelke, the way to bring life back to the aging village centers is to draw young people — like his 31-year-old daughter — to Columbia by enhancing the urban environment, such as having more street festivals.

“Columbia is ideal, but we have to re-engineer it a bit,” said Engelke, who serves on the Oakland Mills village board.

Engelke said the zoning must change to be more flexible to bring new residents and businesses to the villages. Last month, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced plans to rework the zoning, details of which have yet to be released.

The village center’s connection to the redevelopment of downtown Columbia is also sure to be a major issue, candidates said.

“Every village that touches the downtown will see traffic coming and going and everything else,” said incumbent Cynthia Coyle, of Harper’s Choice.

Coyle said a plan should be in place for the downtown redevelopment, so villages can ensure their voices are heard.

Coyle’s opponent Lynda Maxwell said Columbia will continue to grow, and the CA, the villages, county government and developers should “work together to make this a change that is positive and beautiful.”

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com

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