News
from The Sparks-Glencoe Community Planning Council
Important
Hearing and Meeting Dates>>
Wind Turbine Comments>>
Growing Home Campaign - Plant
a Tree in Your Yard and Save $10>>
Did You Know...>>
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Important
Hearing and Meeting Dates
Wind tower hearings are open to the public, and will
be held at the Jefferson Building, 105 W. Chesapeake
Ave in Towson. Letters can also be emailed to
the Planning Board at
bweaver@baltimorecountymd.gov
or mailed to Baltimore County Office of Planning, 105
W. Chesapeake Ave, Towson, MD 21204. Current regulations
proposed by the County would allow a 150 foot tall wind
turbine as of right, meaning that no hearing would be
held. Since these towers would be as tall or taller
than cell phone towers, it would be appropriate to regulate
them in a somewhat similar manner. Cell towers
must go through several rounds of hearings. We
think one hearing should be held prior to erection of
a wind turbine to allow neighbors and surrounding community
members to express any concerns about the location of
a turbine near them.
The public hearing for proposed cell towers on Belfast
Road will be continued at 9 am on October 14th, also
at 105 W. Chesapeake. Letters can be mailed to
Mr. William Wiseman, Baltimore County Zoning Commissioner,
Jefferson Building, 105 W. Chesapeake Ave, Room 104,
Towson, MD 21204.
The Board of Appeals hearing on the CZMP rezoning
request was held on Sept. 15, 9 am. This is a request
to upzone a parcel included in Sparks-Glencoe's successful
petition to downzone property in the 2008 CZMP cycle.
SGCPC raised concerns that the property is part of an
area appropriate for Resource Preservation zoning, because
of its proximity to Prettyboy Reservoir, the Gunpowder
Falls, and Gunpowder Falls State Park. Current
zoning upholds the County's Master Plan goals of protecting
environmental resources and restricting development
in watershed areas. The request would undermine
the integrity of the comprehensive zoning process.
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Wind
Turbine Comments
Comments on Amendments to the Baltimore
County Zoning Regulations Regarding Wind Turbines
The Sparks-Glencoe Community Planning Council is
dedicated to preserving the natural resources and rural
character of northern Baltimore County. Obtaining
electricity through wind power has both benefits and
disadvantages. Environmentally, wind turbines
help by supplying “clean” energy, but they are harmful
to birds and bats. Financially, turbines may help
the owner by lowering his energy expense, but they may
hurt his neighbors by detracting from the value of their
property. Other negative effects of turbines,
including aesthetics, shadowing, noise, and safety concerns,
can lessen the neighbors’ enjoyment of their property.
The rural character of our area would be marred by a
proliferation of these industrial-looking towers.
The proposed amendments to the County zoning regulations
do not adequately protect the community from the negative
consequences of wind turbines.
Most importantly, wind turbines should not be permitted
as of right in a rural conservation zone. A special
exception hearing should be held to provide community
members with the opportunity to express their concerns
about a project, and to determine whether the turbine
could be built in a way that would minimize the harmful
impact on the surrounding community. The County’s
Department of Environmental Protection and Resource
Management should also certify, as part of the hearing
process, that the location of a proposed turbine would
not endanger wildlife, or otherwise harm the environment.
A special exception hearing would allow concerns
such as noise, shadowing, and potential safety hazards,
to be addressed. Rather than specifying a minimum
lot size which guarantees a right to build a turbine,
a special exception hearing could ascertain the proximity
of neighbors to the proposed site, and it could be determined
whether and where a turbine could be built that would
not adversely affect the neighbors. It is conceivable
that someone who owns one acre in a remote location
would not disturb any neighbors by erecting a wind turbine
on his property, but someone with 25 acres who wants
to put a turbine near his property’s edge would disturb
a neighbor next door. It would be better to take
such considerations into account during a hearing process
than to attempt to set one standard for all situations.
During the hearing, the turbine manufacturer’s recommendations
for safety issues and other operating information should
be produced by the property owner to ensure that minimum
setbacks and other standards are followed. Safety considerations
and noise levels will vary with turbine models; rather
than specifying one setback for all cases, the requirements
of the various models can be taken into account during
the hearing.
The same level of scrutiny should be applied to wind
turbine proposals as is applied to proposals to build
cell towers. Both wind turbines and cell towers
have an industrial appearance that does not blend in
with the rural landscape. While cell towers may
directly benefit the surrounding community, individually
owned wind turbines would provide electric power only
to the owner. Cell towers are required to go through
several hearings prior to approval. It would be
inconsistent and inappropriate to allow wind turbines
to be erected with no hearing process whatsoever.
A 150-foot tower would alter the character of a rural
area; it would loom over neighboring properties and
create an eyesore. Members of our community have gone
to great lengths to protect the natural beauty of the
area. Some have participated in programs funded
by the government to preserve their property in its
natural condition. It would be inconsistent to allow
such an industrial type of intrusion into an area that
was deemed worthy of publicly funded protection.
In sum, wind turbines may be a helpful alternative
energy source. However, one person’s right to
pursue such options should not detract from his neighbor’s
enjoyment of his property. Stricter control is
needed to protect the rural character of northern Baltimore
County and the interests of the surrounding community.
Respectfully submitted,
The Sparks-Glencoe Community Planning Council
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Growing
Home Campaign - Plant a Tree in Your Yard & Save $10
The Growing Home Campaign, the national award-winning
tree planting program for homeowners, begins its fourth
year this spring. Regional expansion of the Growing
Home program to include Baltimore County, Baltimore
City and Harford County enables over 1.6 million residents
to learn more about selecting and planting trees to
beautify their properties, save money and improve the
environment.
The Growing Home program is an innovative public-private
partnership between Baltimore County, Baltimore City,
Harford County, 50 local retail nurseries and garden
centers, and homeowners to increase the tree canopy
in our region by offering homeowners comprehensive education
about planting trees and a cash incentive, the $10 Growing
Home Tree Coupon redeemable toward the purchase of a
qualifying tree with a retail value of at least $25.
Homeowners can obtain the $10 Growing Home tree coupon
from the Growing Home brochure, which is widely available
at county and city facilities, and the Growing Home
Campaign website www.growinghome.info. Information
about the value of adding trees to one's property and
within existing neighborhoods, guidance about site considerations
and tree species selection, and instructions about tree
planting and maintenance is also available in the brochure
and at the website.
The Growing Home Campaign's goal is to plant 10,000
new trees on residential land in the Baltimore region.
Studies show that the best opportunities for increases
in urban tree canopy in the area are available on private
land. Planting on residential property is crucial
to successfully increasing the Urban Tree Canopy in
the Baltimore region.
Educational material and coordination for the Campaign
is funded in part by a Chesapeake Bay Program Small
Watershed Grant. The Campaign is coordinated by Baltimore
County Dept. of Environmental Protection & Resource
Management. For more information about the program visit
www.growinghome.info or contact Diana Cohen at 410-887-4488
Ext 287.
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Did You
Know...
•
Maryland created the Smart Growth program to
direct new growth away from rural areas and into more
urban areas with existing infrastructure to support
the growth. A new study has found that the program
did little to prevent suburban sprawl.
•
Study Calls Maryland Smart
Growth A Flop
By Lisa Rein, The Washington Post
An innovative policy to fight suburban sprawl catapulted
Maryland into the national spotlight a decade ago and
became then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening's principal legacy.
Read More>>
•
That our reservoir system was impaired? The beautiful
Gunpowder Falls River system which winds it way from
Prettyboy Reservoir to Loch Raven Reservoir tracking
the NCR trail has phosphorous levels that are too high
and must be reduced. The Maryland Department of Environment
has declared the Prettyboy and Loch Raven Reservoirs
are impaired by 50% and in violation of the Federal
Clean Water Act.
When development occurs, there is more storm water runoff
flowing from increased impervious surfaces such as rooftops,
driveways, and roads. This causes increased sedimentation
in the Gunpowder and its tributaries. The sedimentation
carries phosphorus from development into the Gunpowder
and ultimately into the Loch Raven Reservoir.
Phosphorus from residential development comes from three
sources:
• lawn fertilizers
• pet wastes
• improperly maintained
septic systems
Protecting land in the watershed from additional development
will reduce the growth of pollutants and help protect
these vital water supplies.
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Sparks-Glencoe Community
Planning Council
PO Box 937
Sparks, MD 21152
Email: info@sgcpc.org
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