Robert E. Meyerhoff's rural estate in northern Baltimore County can be turned into a museum to display the philanthropist's collection of post-World War II art, under a zoning law approved by the County Council last night.
The home - on the 250-acre Fitzhugh Farm on Blenheim Road near Loch Raven Reservoir - will be open to the public after Meyerhoff's death, according to one of his attorneys.
The legislation, co-sponsored by six of the seven council members, allows museums on land designated for agriculture as long as the facility is open to the public and houses a collection worth $20 million or more. Several other restrictions, including a limit on capacity, were included in the measure, which was approved 6-1 by the council.
Councilman T. Bryan McIntire, a north county Republican representing the 3rd District, was the only member who did not support the museum designation.
Meyerhoff's postmodern collection, including works by such artists as Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns, is valued at "well over" $300 million, said Robert A. Hoffman, one of Meyerhoff's attorneys.
But some residents have told council members they don't want the extra traffic that the museum would bring or the precedent of permitting the land to be used for something other than farming.
Others said they are upset about the exception being made outside of the county's rezoning process.
"The people of the 3rd District have no say in this," said Carol N. Shaw, a Fork resident, adding that she didn't think most nearby residents knew about the discussion on the museum designation at last week's council work session or could attend the midday meeting. "It doesn't allow for sufficient public comment."
By last night's meeting, Shaw said, it was a "fait accompli."
She said that the county's rezoning process - now under way - would have been a better way to determine whether a museum should be allowed in the area.
McIntire, the sole opponent on the council, said: "I have to vote the wishes of my constituents. It's their neighborhood, their lives that will be impacted, not mine."
"It's been one thing after another," he said of the Jacksonville area, close to Meyerhoff's estate. "When the museum came along, it was one thing too many."
Several other preservation and neighborhood groups, including the Long Green Valley Association and the Valleys Planning Council, have voiced opposition to the measure.
"A precedent has been set," said Carol Trela, a board member of Long Green Valley Association.
"We all know what this does to zoning," she said. "It weakens it."
Several council members have said they felt Meyerhoff's art collection being made publicly available was important enough to warrant legislation.
In response to community concerns, McIntire and Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, a Pikesville-Ruxton Democrat and the council chairman, introduced amendments to limit the hours and use of the farm as a museum.
The legislation specifies that the museum hours would be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., that the facility only be open to the public six days a week, and that the number of parking spaces would be capped at 65. The measure also limits the number of patrons allowed at any time to 125.
Meyerhoff, 84, a former homebuilder and developer, lives on the sprawling estate, which is home to a thoroughbred horse farm.
He and his wife, Jane, who died in 2004, had announced their intention to give their art collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The Fitzhugh Farm museum would be operated by the National Gallery.
Several art experts, including the directors of the Baltimore Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art, urged council members to make an exception to allow the museum because the art collection was so valuable to the public.
In a letter to council members, Earl A. Powell III, director of the National Gallery of Art, wrote: "By passing this legislation, the council will ensure that this artistic treasure remains in Baltimore County at its rightful home on Fitzhugh Farm."
In other business, more than 100 members of Baltimore County Communities for the Homeless, an advocacy group, filled the council chambers to lobby for more affordable housing and a permanent west-side shelter.
laura.barnhardt@baltsun.com