The seven-member Baltimore County Council unanimously passed a bill Monday, Oct. 17 that will have a three-fold impact in how planned unit developments can be approved.
Before the bill passed, a PUD proposal could be approved only if it showed a community would receive an environmental or land-use benefit, a capital improvement to a nearby county facility or volunteer fire department, new economic development opportunities or new senior or work force housing.
"For PUDs to truly work, you have to have real public benefits," said County Council member Tom Quirk, the primary sponsor of the bill along with Councilman David Marks, who represents District 5, which includesTowson andPerry Hall.
The public benefits can come in many forms, such as a donation to a local fire department from the developer or the construction of a "green building."
Under the bill, senior housing will no longer be considered a public benefit, said Quirk, who represents District 1, including Catonsville and Arbutus.
The council chose to strike a portion of the bill at the last minute that would have removed work force housing from being considered a public benefit, Quirk said.
"Why do we need to stimulate work force housing? We have plenty of work force in Baltimore County," Quirk said before the session. "And we have plenty of homes that are affordable."
In May, Quirk introduced a measure to revoke the Thistle Landing PUD, a proposal by Dimitri's LLC calling for 10 single-family townhouses on less than two acres behind Dimitri's International Grille, 2205 Frederick Road. In addition to environmental concerns, Quirk said the claimed benefit of work force housing — homes for people who meet income requirements — made no sense given that the homes would sell for more than $300,000.
The County Council initially passed the measure unanimously, but a bill was introduced to reverse the vote weeks later.
The bill, which included amendments to the PUD process, passed 6-1 with Quirk dissenting.
"From the Dimitri's PUD, that did put work force housing in the spotlight and made the whole council question if this is, in and of itself, a public benefit," Quirk said.
The bill also classifies developments in the county's revitalization areas as a public benefit, Quirk said.
"That will help stimulate private investment to go in the areas that need it the most," he said.
According to the Baltimore County Department of Planning website, the county provides assistance to 13 commercial areas around the county, including Arbutus, Lansdowne, Catonsville and along Baltimore National Pike.
The Commercial Revitalization Program, according to the website, provides low-interest loans, tax credits, architectural services, streetscape improvements, grants for district-wide improvements and regulatory assistance.
In Arbutus, the revitalization area stretches down Southwestern Boulevard from its intersection with Leeds Avenue to Tom Day Boulevard.
The revitalization areas in Lansdowne are along three sections of Hammonds Ferry Road. The largest section begins at Clyde Avenue and extends to between Fifth and Randall avenues. The other areas are a stretch south of Lansdowne Road and the area of the intersection with Hollins Ferry Road.
Catonsville's three revitalization areas include:
• The area on Baltimore National Pike, except for the area around the entrance and exit ramps for Interstate 695, from just west of Geipe Road to just east of Charing Cross Road.
•Tthe area on Frederick Road from Beaumont to Arbutus avenues and the area around Frederick Road between Bloomsbury and Mellor avenues to just south of the Baltimore County Election Office.
• The area on Frederick Road in Paradise between Prospect Avenue and Briarwood Road.
Quirk cited Frederick Road as an example of an area becoming successful because local people reinvested in the area.
"There's a lot of businesses (along Frederick Road) that under traditional zoning could never happen," he said. "The way we can revitalize older business areas is the flexibility that the PUD provides."
Quirk noted that the revitalization areas in Arbutus and Lansdowne could also benefit from the change proposed in the bill.
His bill's third component deals with donations a developer makes to the community.
Under the bill, a donation to NeighborSpace made by the developer could be considered a public benefit.
In light of concerns voiced about the donation not helping those most impacted by the development, Quirk noted one of the first lines in the bill.
"In the bill itself, it talks specifically that this would be for use by community residents. So it is localized. It's for community residents," Quirk said.
He noted that a donation to NeighborSpace, which serves all of Baltimore County, for a development in Catonsville could not be used to support a NeighborSpace project on the eastern part of the county.
"We're trying to help preserve more open space within the Urban Rural Demarcation Line," Quirk said.
The URDL separates Baltimore County into two sections. Inside the URDL is the only place a PUD can be used. The area contains 90 percent of the 816,000 people who live in Baltimore County, according to the website of NeighborSpace.
"(This bill) is continued reform," Quirk said. "We have a council that clearly recognizes that the PUD is a very good tool. It's a flexible tool, but we want to make sure that we're using it in the best way possible.
"This helps strengthen the PUD."