Adam Meister's scribe spreads his innate enthusiasm for all things Baltimore--and, in particular, the political inner workings of his beloved hometown.

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Baltimore sustainability plan meeting with Sheila Dixon

Water bills and the water bill woman

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Keep The Park In Roland Park

4 comments

August 20, 9:31 AM

by Adam Meister, Baltimore Politics Examiner

I ran from North Avenue to Northern Parkway and back on Monday. That run takes you through some very rough areas and some wealthy areas. When I hit the southern part of Roland Park I started to notice signs planted in people's front yards. There are three versions I remember: "Keep the Park in Roland Park", "Save the Park in Roland Park", and "Keswick No". I ran up Roland Avenue toward Baltimore Country Club and the number of signs only increased.

So what has made the people of the Roland Park area so sign crazy? The Baltimore Country Club located off of Roland Avenue in the heart of Roland park wants to sell most of their 30-acre property (that is mostly open green space) to Keswick Multi-Care Center. Keswick wants to build a senior center there.

Before I give my opinion about this I would advise that you read these articles and opinion pieces:

Keswick Multi-Care Center sets sights on city council approval for $195M project
Keswick: Roland Park project to generate 160 new jobs
Various links to related articles can be found here.
The Greening of Roland Park
Open space fight roils Roland Park
Big senior center remains a bad fit
New York Times: Club’s Plan to Sell Land Shatters a Baltimore Neighborhood’s Serenity

It is true that the land is privately owned and that Keswick has offered to pay a large sum of money for the land. It is also true that if Baltimore Country Club wanted to to build something on the scale that Keswick is proposing that they would have to receive a planned unit development ordinance from the mayor/city council. So the land is currently not meant to be used for what Keswick is proposing, they would have to get special permission. In Baltimore you can not just buy a piece of land and build a large building there, you need city approval. In order to get city approval you must get neighborhood approval or sneak it past the neighborhood. The neighbors clearly do not want this and the mayor and city council need to pay attention. Councilwoman Sharon Green Middleton supports the community on this matter.

I think there are better places in Baltimore that this project could help develop. This project is not going to help develop Roland Park. Roland Park is pretty much a complete neighborhood that does not need any major tweaks. I think it would be great if Keswick offered the owners of the Madison-Park housing project on North Avenue that money and built the senior center in Reservoir Hill. Now that would help develop Reservoir Hill and the surrounding area.

I think it is great that residents of Roland Park are getting behind an issue that involves preservation of green space. I hope that no matter what happens that they become vocal proponents of park projects and activities all over Baltimore and especially at nearby Druid Hill Park.

If all else fails Roland Park should consider threatening to secede.

For more info: Roland Park.

Topics: Secession , Parks , Sharon Green Middleton , Roland Park

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Comments

I name names- Who gave money to pro-slots groups

3 comments

December 1, 12:01 PM

For the last few months I have been talking about how the pro-slots people would raise a lot more money than the anti-slots people. The Sun reports that this is exactly what happened. Below is a list of entities that gave more than $3000 to... Read More
Topics: Slots , Peter Angelos

Baltimore sustainability plan meeting with Sheila Dixon

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November 30, 11:37 PM

Check out this bureaucratic chart. We sure do have a lot of departments and offices. The office of sustainability is part of the department of planning. It is new and somewhat ambiguous. Below is an email I received last week... Read More
Topics: Sheila Dixon , Office of Sustainability

Water bills and the water bill woman

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November 29, 4:16 PM

Water bills infuriate many citizens of Baltimore every 3 months or so. A water bill is one of the most frustrating aspects of Baltimore city living. The water billing process is mysterious and for some it seems to be random. If... Read More
Topics: Jack Young , water bills

The Confiscated Assets for Neighborhoods (CAN) grant program bill

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November 28, 12:27 PM

The following email from Bill Henry is floating around cyberspace. I thought I would share it: "I am writing to ask you to support my Confiscated Assets for Neighborhoods (CAN) grant program bill, which is currently being considered by the City... Read More
Topics: Bill Henry

Miscellaneous Thanksgiving thoughts

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November 27, 2:26 PM

There is supposed to be a massive redevelopment project at the Rotunda in Hampden. It has not started yet though. The developers are not worried about the 800 employees of nearby Zurich leaving. If I was a potential retailer who was looking for space... Read More
Topics: Slots , developers

A sad trip back to my 92Q article

2 comments

November 25, 5:08 PM

Yesterday when I was about to pick up my trash can in the alley behind my house I saw something that made me flashback to the 92Q piece I wrote last week. I saw a kid who was at most ten years old walking quickly down the alley. He would randomly stop... Read More
Topics: drugs , Reservoir Hill , 92Q

Could Stephanie Rawlings-Blake end up Lieutenant Governor?

3 comments

November 25, 8:26 AM

There is a rumor going around that states that Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown is being considered for a spot in the Obama cabinet. If he is selected then Governor Martin O'Malley must pick a person to replace him. On the Baltimore Sun message board... Read More
Topics: Martin O'Malley , Stephanie Rawlings-Blake , Peter Franchot

Ben Cardin emails me back about the bailout after two months

5 comments

November 24, 11:00 AM

At the end of September I wrote Senator Ben Cardin about voting against the trillion dollar bank bailout. On Friday night his office finally wrote me back. The email is below. The email has a lot of words but basically says nothing. Nebulous... Read More
Topics: bailout , Ben Cardin

Section 8 rentals in your neighborhood

9 comments

November 22, 9:43 PM

Many home owners in Baltimore can not stand section 8 renters. Section 8 renters are notoriously horrible neighbors who trash their houses and cause all sorts of disturbances. I know this is not the politically correct thing to say but it is true.... Read More
Topics: developers , section 8