Baltimore County wants to foster more mixed-use projects

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 11, 2006 by James Mosher

Baltimore County officials plan to work with property developers on more future mixed-use projects that involve public transportation, the government's planning director said recently.

The Metro Centre at Owings Mills, a $220 million ongoing project expected to take as long as 15 years to complete, was cited as a prime example by Arnold F. "Pat" Keller III, who heads the county's Office of Planning. These kinds of developments will play a key role in the program of County Executive James T. Smith Jr. should he be re-elected to a second term on Nov. 7, Keller said.

"The county is interested in working with property owners to develop mixed-use centers such as the Owings Mills Metro Center which includes office/residential/retail and public uses," Keller wrote in an e-mail. "Going forward in furthering the county executive's Renaissance Program the county will work with property owners to achieve mixed-use development."

Two Baltimore County-based entities - Owings Mills-headquartered David S. Brown Enterprises Ltd. and Willard Hackerman, president and chief executive officer of Towson-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. - are the main builders on the Owings Mills venture, which includes a community college building and a public library as well as office, restaurant and retail space. A phone call placed to a Brown executive wasn't returned by press time.

Keller made the statements following a presentation last Thursday to the county's Planning Board. The expansion of light rail and bus services on state government's Red Line was addressed by Daniel Pontious, regional policy director of the Baltimore City-based Citizens Planning and Housing Association, and Rev. Ezio Ross, a Baltimore County clergyman who heads the Woodlawn Community Education and Development Association.

One of the major points made by both men is that transit projects need to be better coordinated with economic development. Both said they saw transit as a way to boost commerce by creating "town centers" and "urban villages."

"It can bring developers into an area by creating amenities," Ross said, following a 15-minute review of transit projects in cities such as Boston, Denver and Los Angeles.

Transit establishes routes, something vital to fostering trade, they noted.

"A sense of permanence is important to economic development," Pontious said.

The Red Line is expected to create a transit corridor starting in Woodlawn and running through Baltimore City and out to Dundalk on the eastern side of Baltimore County, the presenters said, although the state Department of Transportation Web site labels it a 10.5- mile project that will only go as far as Fells Point/Patterson Park. The portion to be addressed within the next few months by state and local leaders is a section that will run from Woodlawn to Canton, Pontious and Ross said.

Keller, who is secretary of the Planning Board, told board members he envisions the Red Line upgrading the county's economic potential. The new configuration will connect existing systems such as Metro Subway and MARC train lines, planners say.

"The Red Line could bring significant change to Baltimore County," Keller said.

Government agencies need to work "pro-actively" with communities in order for potential to be fully realized, Pontious and Ross said. Transit projects have generated public opposition because of safety fears, with some residents expressing concern that crime will increase if government offers inexpensive rides to all manner of people.

Ross, who also serves on the Governor's Advisory Commission on the Red Line, said some projects have been accompanied by a drop in crime, and he expects the Red Line to be one of those.

The presenters also called upon community members to be involved.

"Communities must be at the table in order to benefit" was the third important lesson learned through surveying transit projects nationwide, Pontious and Ross said.

The Washington, D.C., transit system was pointed to as a model by Pontious and Ross but the Red Line will not come resemble it because of costs, among other things, they said. Some federal government money is expected to be used for building the Red Line. Federal transportation authorities are far from giving a blank check to transit, Pontious said.

"The feds are looking more and more at cost effectiveness," he said.

Cost differences are substantial, the presenters said. Bus lines would be the cheapest, they said. Surface light rail would cost $50 million per mile while tunnel light rail is estimated at $250 million per mile, Pontious said.

Crucial decisions will be made in the coming months as state officials, led by Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan, begin crafting an "environmental impact statement" that will serve as a construction outline. The statement will take in more than just trees and pollution, Pontious said.

"Environmental impact is writ large," he said. "It's important that people be involved because of the variety of issues the statement will consider."