housing and urban planning

Zoning board approves revised and reduced setback variances for the development of town houses on site of Crittenton House, a former home in Hampden for unwed mothers

In response to community concerns about concentration of affordable housing in some areas of Howard County and citing a desire to "improve residential properties in mature neighborhoods," the County Council has introduced new legislation that takes a three-pronged approach to addressing affordable housing issues.

If a new charter amendment goes through, members of the Harford County Council will no longer vote on zoning appeal cases, as they have done for decades.

HABC willing to work with residents and employees to smooth transition to private ownership

SARC, Harford County's resource for victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse and stalking is undertaking a campaign to design and build a model facility based on research that dignifies survivors and provides them with a welcoming, secure environment. The new facility will allow them the ability to regain their independence with self-determination.

A plan to sell Baltimore's public housing high rises to private developers has left us residents concerned about guarantees of our rights, oversight of maintenance, loss of union jobs and the loss of our homes.

The $300,000 grant will allow for the demolition of the 14 vacant buildings along the shopping strip, but Brenda McKenzie, president of Baltimore Development Corp., said officials haven't decided which buildings will be razed and which will be preserved.

Annapolis Mayor Mike Pantelides, who won office last fall by just 59 votes, has faced criticism on multiple fronts during his first months on the job.

The city is seeking development ideas for a 16-acre group of properties close to the Old Town Mall, an East Baltimore shopping strip that has been the target of revitalization efforts on and off for more than 40 years.

Charles Village Civic Association, in an effort to find good businesses to fill the many vacant storefronts in the area, is talking to a market research company called Spot Mojo, which specializes in that sort of thing and would help them identify potential businesses.

The Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation on Tuesday approved a developer's exterior renovation plans for the conversion of an historic former home for unwed mothers into apartments.

Josephine C. "Jo" Miller, a civic activist who was a member of the League of Women Voters for 50 years and a Baltimore City Zoning Board watchdog for the Citizens Planning and Housing Association, died March 22 of esophageal cancer at her Roland Park Place home.

Within the last five years, Shantress Wise said she has been forced out of one home by a developer, was evicted from another apartment after losing her job, and lived in two homeless shelters.

Controversial plan to develop Hampden townhouses on site of former home for unwed mothers goes before Baltimore City zoning board. Neighbors and City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke oppose developer John Brooks' proposal.

One year ago, local activist group Housing Our Neighbors stood with the 14 residents of a tent city in the heart of downtown Baltimore and watched as a city bulldozer demolished tents that had housed people for years. This approach to homelessness and tent cities is both misguided and ineffective. We know what works to end this crisis: a model called "housing first," coupled with policies that increase the supply of affordable housing, health care, jobs and livable wages.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Wednesday he expects Baltimore to be a model for a new program, which will turn over thousands of units of public housing to private and nonprofit developers.

Federal program won't begin to make up for the loss of affordable housing

The Baltimore Housing Authority's plan to sell 22 of its 28 apartment and townhouse complexes drew dozens of concerned tenants and workers Wednesday to a City Council committee hearing.

Hundreds of girls wearing purple shirts walked laps around the circle in front of Seton Keough High School to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a nonprofit that advances treatment and prevention of catastrophic diseases in children.

You may still be able to reserve space at the annual River Hill High Student Government Association yard sale March 22.

The city mustn't pass up the chance to rehab thousands of low-income public housing units

An analysis by the Urban Institute found a yawning gap between the number of low-income renter households and affordable units available in every jurisdiction in the country.

Union officials warned Thursday that as many as 200 maintenance workers and building monitors at Baltimore's public housing properties could lose their jobs under a plan intended to infuse the buildings with private money.

Marriottsville's Chapelgate Presbyterian Church presented preliminary plans for a new sanctuary and town house development on the church's property to the Zoning Board and community members Wednesday night in one of the first steps of a new zoning process designed to give developments a chance for approval outside of the once-a-decade comprehensive zoning review.

Baltimore's Housing Authority is selling 40 percent of its public housing to private developers. Here are the complexes scheduled to be sold.

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City is selling nearly 40 percent of its public housing to private developers under a national model designed to raise millions for upgrades and maintenance, Commissioner Paul T. Graziano said Wednesday.

"The Drowsy Chaperone," a musical show-within-a-show, will be presented by the River Hill High School Theatre Arts Department March 6-9.

The city vetoed plans for a proposed open-air beer garden across from Cross Street Market in Federal Hill Tuesday, but one of the owners says it'll still be open by Oktoberfest.

Another proposed Community Enhancement Floating zone development is coming on the heels of Simpson Oaks, according to the county's Department of Planning and Zoning. In Marriottsville, Chapelgate Presbyterian Church has plans to request CEF zoning approval for a church expansion, construction of town houses and other enhancements to its 61.8-acre property.

A Federal Hill group's appeal to create an open-air beer garden across from the Cross Street Market was denied by the city's zoning board after hours of testimony by neighbors and the group's lawyer Tuesday evening.

Courtney McKeldin, daughter-in-law of former Gov. Theodore McKeldin and a well-known public servant in her own right, will step down Tuesday, Feb. 25 as Baltimore's longest serving zoning commissioner. We profile her.

Eight-year-old Troy Douglas was planning to meet up with friends and relatives to play laser tag for a cousin's birthday party Wednesday, his family said.

Neighboring residents of a planned development that would build 204 single-family homes on 67 acres of undeveloped land in west Columbia are requesting that the developer reduce the density of the property.

Emma Halley, a junior at Glenelg High School, was a winner in the 2013 National History Day competition.

A new county bill, however, could make it legal for stun guns, or "electronic control devices," to be sold alongside other weapons in Harford.

Frito-Lay, Inc., is moving forward with plans to expand its Aberdeen plant and hire 100 more employees, which would make the Hickory Drive facility one of the company's largest sites nationwide.

With several new housing developments planned around the historic district, some residents are drawing a line. Disrupt the charm of the old town, they say, and Ellicott City's appeal could suffer, too. They're starting a petition drive to ask the county not to have a stake in building and renting housing units in the historic district.

Cuts in federal housing subsidies and rising rents threaten to leave thousands of state residents without a roof over their heads

As the Howard County Council looks ahead to 2014, the last year its current members will serve together as they have since 2006, the body's two top leadership roles are coming full circle

Comparisons between Obamacare and Britain's National Health Service are misguided

More than 300 residents flocked to a village board meeting at the Other Barn in Oakland Mills this week to oppose the Howard County Housing Commission's $39.5 million purchase of the Verona Apartments located near the village center.

In its 33rd year, the prominent Edgewood restaurant Giovanni's might be moving elsewhere in Harford County, if its owners can sell their property to an adjacent church.

Four of the eight seats on the Annapolis City Council will be contested during Tuesday's city election.