Current Events in our Association Area Listed chronologically with most recent item at the top.
2022// April 27
The Old Court-Greenspring Improvement Association, Inc.
Annual Meeting was held on April 27, 2022 by ZOOM.
OCGS Annual Meeting Minutes
Meeting held on April 27, 2022 via ZOOM
The meeting was called to order by Mical Wilmoth Carton at 7:30 pm.
Present were:
Mical Wilmoth Carton
Deborah Baer
Louis Baer
Leisha Bell
Larry Carton
Jeffrey Dansicker
Ronald Diener
Suzanne Diskin
Betsy Dixon
Alex Evans
Jeremy Evans
Linda Feiges
Sheldon Forchheimer
Stuart Forchheimer
William Fox
Jon Yoffe
Louis Friedman
Phyllis Friedman
Cindy Grumm
Dave Grumm
Ursula Hawkins
Steve Hurwitz
Lisa Abrams
Robin Kaplan
Janis Kramer
Wendy Lane
Rebecca Leaf
Ayme Lederman
Molly Lippman
Gail Liss
Ron Magarick
Jodi Moskowitz
Cheryl Moss
Martin Raffel
Calla Samuels
Judy Schlossberg
Richard Schlossberg
Erika Schon
David Schwartz
Joanne Warres
Thomas Baum – Hidden Waters Farm
Joe Shaffer – Hidden Waters Farm
Ed Levendusky – The Courts at Hidden Waters
Tyler Hagen – COS for Del. Belcastro
Carlos Gonzalez for Councilman Patoka
Delegate Jon Cardin
Norma Ann Bosley for Del. Dana Stein
Eve Kressin Steinberg of Beth Tfiloh
[One attendee was listed as Rachel’s iPhone 4S and another by just a phone number. If you attended and wish to be acknowledged in these Minutes by full name, please drop a note to <ocgshoa@aol.com>.]
Election of Officers:
Officers proposed for 2022 – 2023:
President: Ayme Lederman
Vice-President: John Yoffe
Secretary: Rebecca Leaf
Treasurer: Joanne Warres
Newsletter Editor: Larry Carton
Board Members at Large:
Deborah Baer
Betsy Dixon
Phyllis Friedman
Jeremy Evans
Wendy Lane
Cheryl Moss
Richard Schlossberg
Erika Schon
Mical Wilmoth Carton, Past President
Approved unanimously by those in attendance.
Baltimore County Rule 8 was presented for approval.
This empowers current Officers and Board Members at Large to speak on behalf of OCGS before County Agencies and Courts of Appeal on behalf of the Association if issues arise that need attention. Approved unanimously by those in attendance.
President’s report, Mical Wilmoth Carton:
Le Ciel – Old Court Gardens – is now being developed as a 3-house development. Hidden Waters Farm and The Courts of Hidden Waters are now being developed. Other than that, it’s been a pretty quiet year.
Treasurer’s Report, Joanne Warres
Request to reduce dues for one year because the treasury is sound. Authorize PGCC Dues and D&O Insurance payment.
Old Business:
- Old Court Crossing walking path
- Hidden Waters Farm
- The Courts of Hidden Waters
- Dues payment for membership in the Pikesville-Greenspring Community Coalition, Inc. was approved unanimously.
- Payment of Directors & Officers Insurance for the current year was approved unanimously.
- Larry Carton has filed the required 990N form to maintain non-profit status for OCGS.
New Business:
60th Anniversary celebration? OCGS was incorporated in March 1962 so this is our 60th year.
Guest Speakers:
Ed Levandusky of Caruso Homes shared a presentation about the Courts at Hidden Waters. Estimated delivery end of 2022. Prices not released yet, starting from mid-900s.
Tom Baum of Hidden Waters Farm shared that all the animals except the cattle had arrived at the farm. Expected 25-30 cows at first, then to double the number. Animals rotated through farm – organic regenerative farming method. Will have 2 types of chickens – 250 layers that produce eggs in a mobile hen house and meat chickens. Meat chickens ready in early June. They will publish a newsletter about farm activities. 7 acres for produce at front of property surrounded by deer fence. Will sell produce, need permit. Plan to grow honey. Have 30 hives at back of property. Will voluntarily conduct traffic study, though not required. They looked at site lines at entrance and took some trees down where they created issues. Not revisiting chicken slaughter on-site. No grain crops – not economic on such a small farm.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm
_________________________________________
2021 // April 21
The Old Court-Greenspring Improvement Association, Inc.
Annual Meeting was held on April 21, 2021 by ZOOM.
OCGS Annual Meeting Minutes
Meeting held on April 21, 2021 via ZOOM
The meeting was called to order by Mical Wilmoth Carton at 7 pm.
Present were:
Larry Carton
Mical Wilmoth Cartcn
Ron Diener
Dave Grumm
Cindy Grumm
Betsy Hess
Janis Kramer
Molly Lipman
Eugene Lipman
Ayme Lederman
Martin Raffel
Joanne Warres
Jonathan Yoffe
[One attendee was listed by phone number only. If you attended and wish to be acknowledged in these Minutes, please drop a note to <ocgshoa@aol.com>.]
Election of Officers:
Current officers have all agreed to continue in their positions:
President: Mical Wilmoth Carton
Vice-President: Ayme Lederman
Secretary: Larry Carton
Treasurer: Joanne Warres
Board Members at Large:
Phyllis Friedman
Betsy Dixon
Paul Leand
Jon Yoffe
Approved unanimously by those in attendance.
Baltimore County Rule 8 was presented for approval.
This empowers current Officers and Board Members at Large to speak on behalf of OCGS before County Agencies and Courts of Appeal on behalf of the Association if issues arise that need attention. Approved unanimously by those in attendance.
President’s report, Mical Wilmoth Carton:
Mical said that it was a relatively quiet year for OCGS.
Old Court Crossing on Old Court Road is built out at this time. There are a remaining 14 lots that have not been developed though they may be built out in the future. We have invited residents of this community to join us as they are within our boundaries.
Old Court Gardens, adjacent to Greenspring Ave., has now been settled. There are 3 building lots for sale at this location. So far as we can tell, they remain unsold at this time. But the issue is finally resolved, though not as we would have liked.
Thankfully 2801 Old Court Rd. has been sold to a private family with no development planned. The existing house has been rehabilitated and the new owners are now in residence. We look forward to having them join us at future meetings!
The Courts of Hidden Waters is scheduled to begin development this coming summer with 24 building lots anticipated. The property is being developed by LaTerra Homes whose founder, Thomas Baum, is hoping to begin construction in June 2021. His firm will also be taking control of the 110 acres of farmland to the east of the development. They plan to begin an active farming operation located along Old Court Road “for the purpose of researching new farming methods with emphasis on sustainability and the environment with the goal of defining best practices for farming in the 21st century”
Treasurer’s Report, Joanne Warres
Our membership has remained steady throughout the year. We’ve had few expenses and our funds are adequate to meet current and foreseeable future needs.
Old Business:
Dues payment for membership in the Pikesville-Greenspring Community Coalition, Inc. was approved unanimously.
Payment of Directors & Officers Insurance for the current year was approved unanimously.
Larry Carton has filed the required 990N form to maintain non-profit status for OCGS.
New Business:
The water line is being extended to residences along Glencliffe Circle. This is being done at this time because many of their wells were identified as having high salt content. The Shapiro property (now developed as Old Court Crossing) was downzoned in its entirety to DR1 during the 2020 CZMP so no further development will be possible on any of the property beyond the currently approved plan.
Our immediate past president, Valerie Binder, recently moved out of our community and into Springwell, an independent living community in Mt. Washington.
It was reported that a “neighborhood clean-out” was held on April 10th on the property bordering the SE corner of Old Court Road and Branchwood Court. Six neighborhood residents helped the Schon’s clean the woods at this location, and their help was greatly appreciated. We hope to hold a similar event this coming Fall to help the Schon’s maintain the corner.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8 pm.
— — — — — — — —
2020 // April 22
Old Court-Greenspring Improvement Association, Inc.
Annual Meeting scheduled April 20, 2020
Cancelled Due to COVID-19 “Stay at Home” orders
A vote being held by email, it was voted that current officers
will continue through April 2021 when it is hoped we will
be able to hold our next OCGS Annual Meeting.
President – Mical Wilmoth Carton
Vice president – Ayme Lederman
Treasurer – Joanne Warres
Secretary – Larry Carton
Board Members at Large:
Valerie Binder, immediate past president
Ron Diener, past president
Phyllis Friedman
Paul Leand
Jon Yoffe.
— — — — — — — —
2019 // April 11
Old Court-Greenspring Improvement Association, Inc.
Annual Meeting Minutes, April 11, 2019
Held at 3117 Old Court Road, home of Valerie Binder
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 pm. Present were:
Mical Wilmoth Carton, President
Larry Carton, Secretary
Joanne Warres, Treasurer
Leisha Bell
Valerie Binder
Ron Diener
Phyllis Friedman
Cindy Grumm
David Grumm
Paul Leand
Gene Lipman
Molly Lipman
David Warschawski
Rachel Warschawski
Jon Yoffe
Guests:
Carlos Gonzalez, representing Councilman Izzy Patoka
Taylor Oakley, sales representative for Beazer Homes
Taylor Oakley shared the following information about Old Court Crossing, the new development currently being built by Beazer Homes on the property previously known as the Shapiro property:
32 houses will be built
17 houses have already been sold.
6 houses were “closed” the end of March and are currently occupied.
Beazer hopes to complete sales by this fall.
There was a discussion about the possibility of a new sidewalk being put in place adjacent to Old Court Road along the development. Taylor said there will be a crosswalk from the entrance to the development, south side of Old Court Rd, to the existing sidewalk on the north side of Old Court Rd. along the Stevenson Crossing development.
The Shapiro’s are not building 14 lots previously approved for this development at this time. These houses would have been to the east of the current development. In the “original” plan for the development, a sidewalk was planned to go along Old Court Rd. to serve residents of these 14 houses. Since these houses are not being built, no sidewalk on the south side of Old Court Rd. at this location.
David & Cindy Grumm live on the southeast corner of Old Court Road at Lightfoot Drive. Their property abuts the storm water management pond serving the new development. David has talked with Brian Knauff of Beazer Homes, and Brian said he would be willing to meet with David to discuss water issues in the Grumm’s backyard that have arisen since the pond was put in place. But there has been no contact with Brian Knauff since last October. The Lipman’s, next-door neighbors to the Grumm’s, have had water issues as well, which have been resolved at this time. But the Grumm’s continue to have water problems which began when the pond was first constructed. Taylor Oakley said she will contact Mr. Knauff and ask him to follow up with the Grumm’s.
Carlos Gonzalez, who joined us on behalf of Councilman Izzy Patoka, said that County personnel are responding when the Councilman’s office reaches out for help on behalf of District 2 residents. Jon Yoffe asked that Carlos thank the Councilman’s personnel on his behalf for helping to get County and City Water Department attention to a water problem that currently exists on Saxony Court.
Gene Lipman would like Old Court Road to be repaired or repaved once Old Court Crossing is built out. It is unclear how this will be handled, whether by the builder, the County or the State.
Molly Lipman asked if the earth that is currently piled up on the development property will be moved. Taylor said that it will be moved. She also said that the ponds that are holding water now will also be partially filled in with the earth currently stock piled for use during construction.
Cindy Grumm asked if the development will have any amenities (community meeting room, etc.). Taylor said the development is too small to support these.
Larry Carton said that OCGS will be soliciting membership from new residents of Old Court Crossing, and Taylor said she will be happy to give applications to their new residents as houses are sold.
David Warschawski asked where new residents are coming from. Taylor responded that Beth Tfiloh is definitely a factor. About 90% of their new buyers are coming from the nearby area. Only 1 or 2 are from out of state.
President’s report, Mical Wilmoth Carton:
We have continued to be involved in issues dealing with Old Court Gardens adjacent to Greenspring Ave. The would-be developers are trying to obtain additional variances, and we are working closely with Greenspring East members and the County Dept. of Environmental Protection and Sustainability regarding the developer’s request for additional variances on this property in the hope the current request will be denied.
We anticipate development of the Courts of Hidden Waters by Bozzuto Homes to begin some time this summer, though this may be delayed until some time early in 2020. There has been minimal work on the property to date, but we’re sure that will change soon.
We would like to thank Councilman Izzy Patoka’s office for attention to a water issue on Saxony Court. There appears to be a leaking water valve resulting in water collecting in the Court. Izzy’s office responded quickly to a request for help from Jon Yoffe after Jon was unable to get the attention of anyone at the County. County folks have been out to assess the problem. They have identified it as the leaking water valve, which is owned by Baltimore City, and they have notified City Water Dept. personnel. Jon noted that City Water workmen have also been out to assess the leak, and he is thankful for the attention this is finally receiving.
We would like to give yet another shout-out to one member who has donated $500 to us for a 3rd year. We really do appreciate her support!
Old Business:
A motion was made by Jon Yoffe, with a 2nd by Rachel Warschawski, to approve payment for PGCC membership for the current year. Passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Jon Yoffe, with a 2nd by Rachel Warschawski to approve payment for D&O Insurance coverage. Passed unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report, Joanne Warres
Joanne reported that OCGS is solvent and in a very good financial position at this time. Joanne added that membership dues payments are being received on track with last year .
Joanne filed the Maryland Personal Property Tax form on January 13, 2019. No payment was necessary. & Larry Carton will file the Federal Non-Profit Form 990-N before its due date of April 15, 2019.
Slate of officers for 2019 – 2020
A motion was made by Gene Lipman, with a 2nd by Ron Diener, to continue all current officers for the coming year. Passed unanimously.
President – Mical Wilmoth Carton
Vice president – Ayme Lederman
Treasurer – Joanne Warres
Secretary – Larry Carton
Board Members at Large:
Valerie Binder, immediate past president
Ron Diener, past president
Phyllis Friedman
Paul Leand
Jon Yoffe.
Rule 8 was reviewed for approval. A motion was made by Jon Yoffe, 2nd by Phyllis Friedman, to approve Rule 8 for all officers and Board Members at Large. Passed Unanimously.
New Business:
There was a brief discussion about “nextdoor.com,” an internet group where neighbors can share notices, recommendations for services, etc. With no one present interested in receiving more email, it was agreed to not pursue this for our community.
Ron Diener said that, of the 7 houses along Glencliffe Circle, 4 houses are having problems with high salt content in their wells, and one is having a bacterial problem with their well water. Residents have talked with Mike Field of Baltimore County about these problems. The homeowners are currently preparing a petition that the County extend City water to their properties. There is a water line 200′ from Glencliffe so this is possible. 51% of homeowners need to sign their petition, and they expect to receive signatures from 6 of the 7 homeowners.
The County has offered Ron $25,000 toward installation of a reverse osmosis water system, but Ron would like to have City water instead, as would most of his neighbors.
Ron Diener — 4 of 7 houses have high salt content in well water. One has bacterial problem with water. Have gone to the County and talked with Mike Field, Baltimore County.
Larry Carton noted that the water well problems can be used to lower house assessments. He offered to help anyone wanting to dispute their assessments if issues such as water problems are present.
Mical noted that 2020 will begin a new CZMP (Comprehensive Zoning Map Process) cycle.
Meeting adjourned — 9 pm
— — — — — — — —
2018 // April 11
Old Court-Greenspring Improvement Association, Inc.
Annual Meeting Minutes, April 11, 2018
This meeting was held at the home of Phyllis Friedman, 19 Hambleton Court.
Present were:
Residents:
Valerie Binder
Larry Carton
Mical Wilmoth Carton
Ron Diener
Betsy Dixon
Louis Friedman
Phyllis Friedman
Cindy Grumm
David Grumm
Robin Kaplan
Abe Kronsberg
Paul Leand
Amy Lebowitz
Jack Lebowitz
Ayme Lederman
Raymond Wacks
Rachel Steinberg Warschawski
Anne-Claire Tejtel
Joanne Warres
Jon Yoffe
Alan Ziman
Susan Ziman
Invited Guests:
Maury Bass, Stevenson Crossing
Neville Jacobs, PGCC
Jan Kaplan, GS East
Lori Kilberg, GS East
Jennifer Langford, Bozzuto Homes
Izzy Patoka
Justin Silberman, with Izzy Patoka
Evelyn Zulver, GS East
Current officers were introduced.
Hidden Waters
Jennifer Langford, representing Bozzuto Homes, was introduced. Ms. Langford presented plans to develop the easternmost Hidden Water acreage as presented at a Baltimore County Concept Plan Conference on April 10th. Bozzuto is planning to develop this property with 24 single family homes as permitted under current DR1 zoning. Each house will be configured differently, and properties will vary from about 1/2 acre to almost 1 acre in size. The new development will not be gated. Bozzuto prefers to use the existing gravel path as it’s entrance / egress for the development with no plans to connect to Eden Roc Way. The Baltimore County Planning Department has asked that the plans be reconfigured so that no backyards are facing Old Court Road. They have also asked to have the entrance to the development moved to be directly across from Paladia Way, and they have asked that Eden Roc Way be connected to a road within the new development. The rear of the property will remain undeveloped.
Discussion following this presentation made the following points:
Existing neighbors do not object to houses backing up to Old Court Road if they are sited far enough away to be unseen from the road as requested by Bozzuto Homes.
Existing neighbors do NOT want Eden Roc Way connected to any roads within the new development, both for safety and aesthetic reasons.
Existing neighbors do not want the entrance / egress road to the new development sited across from Paladia Way and very much prefer that the existing entrance road to the property be used as requested by Bozzuto.
OCGS will send a letter above the president’s signature requesting that the Department of Planning allow the current plans as presented by Bozzuto Homes to be built.
Ms. Langford said that she is trying to locate a place for a Community Input Meeting (CIM) so that the development plans can move forward. { CIM scheduled to be held at Baltimore Hebrew on Tuesday, May 8th, 7 – 9 pm. Community attendance is vital to ensure that a development compatible with existing development is permitted.}
President’s report:
Mical Wilmoth Carton reported on activities since last year. She and Larry Carton have been assisting residents of Greenspring East in dealing with a proposed development adjacent to Springbriar Lane on land that was left undeveloped in the 1960’s when Old Court-Greenspring was built out. Greenspring East residents are trying to influence any possible development above their houses as the property under consideration as Old Court Gardens, adjacent to Greenspring Avenue, will affect run-off from steep hills above their houses as well as affecting traffic along Greenspring Avenue if this development is approved by Baltimore County.
OCGS has reviewed plans for the Shapiro property which is currently under development, and this plan was discussed as it is currently being configured. Only 32 houses are planned for construction at this time, even though the 2009 development plan was approved for 46 houses. There is some concern that the owners will request approval for a DR2 plan on the remaining undeveloped acreage, and OCGS is prepared to again request DR1 zoning on the remaining undeveloped acreage on this property when the 2020 CZMP is convened.
Mical Wilmoth Carton has attended a number of PGCC Traffic & Safety Meetings as Co-Chair of this Committee. PGCC met with both SHA and Baltimore County Transportation in November 2017, and she and David Feldman, PGCC co-chair, met with County and SHA representatives separately within the past month to follow up on the November meeting. Since Old Court Road is a State numbered highway we mostly deal with them, but it was noted at the County meeting that all lights along Old Court Road have been upgraded to LED’s providing more light at night. SHA will be relining Old Court Road eastbound at Greenspring Avenue to allow for more left-turning cars to stack before the light. This should be done this spring.
It was also noted that one very generous member of our community has added to our treasury with a $500 check in 2017, and again this year. We really appreciate her support!
Treasurer’s Report:
Joanne Warres reported that we are solvent at the moment, though we would strongly encourage non-dues paying residents to join with us in making a $50 payment each year so that we are in a position to deal with community issues as they arise. (Only dues paying members are entitled to vote on issues before us and to serve as OCGS Officers and Board members. All residents of our community receive two newsletters a year by US Post, and all residents who provide their email also receive email notices from time-to-time.)
Joanne reported that 2018 Directors & Officers Insurance Coverage has been paid, and a Motion was made, seconded and unanimously voted to continue membership in PGCC. Joanne has filed our Maryland State Personal Property Tax report, and Larry Carton has dealt with filing the required Federal 990-N form to continue our 501(c)4 tax exempt status for 2018.
Election of officers for 2018 – 2019:
All serving officers have agreed to serve for another year. No nominations from the floor being offered, a motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously to approve the following as officers and Board Members for the current year:
President – Mical Wilmoth Carton
Vice president – Ayme Lederman
Treasurer – Joanne Warres
Secretary – Larry Carton
Board members at large:
Valerie Binder, immediate past president
Ron Diener, past president
Phyllis Friedman
Betsy Dixon
Paul Leand
Jon Yoffe.
Baltimore County Rule 8 was reviewed. A motion was made, seconded, and approval was unanimous to have all Officers and Board Members represent OCGS positions before County Hearings if necessary for the coming year.
Old Court Gardens:
Lori Kilberg reviewed the requested Old Court Gardens 3 house development. OCGS is involved because the 3 lots under request are undeveloped lots which were left landlocked and undeveloped when Old Court-Greenspring was developed in the 1960’s. Access to these lots is only possible by using a Baltimore County access road put in place to allow reconstruction work on a stream-head some time ago. The stream in question feeds into Moore’s Branch and, although it does not have trout, it feeds an active trout stream which means that both the Maryland Dept. of the Environment and the US Army Corps of Engineers are involved in approving this development request along with Baltimore County.
The land in question sits above Greenspring East single family homes on a very steep hill. If the development is approved, there will be a guardrail cut onto Greenspring Avenue on a curve to allow access to the property. Neighbors are primarily concerned about increased run-off from both construction and the developed properties once construction is completed. Greenspring East neighbors are working with both Jim Patton, engineer, and Carroll Holzer, attorney, to try and affect the County’s approval of this development. OCGS has been aiding in this, and a small contribution to legal fees was made by OCGS in early 2018. The neighbors have now filed a Petition request with Baltimore County, asking to hold a formal Zoning Hearing, and their financial requirements have increased exponentially. They met with us at this meeting to explain their situation, and to ask if OCGS could help finance their petition to the County. Their anticipated expenses for this petition will be about $6,000. A motion was made and seconded to approve a one-time $1,000 contribution toward this effort. It was approved without opposition.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Larry Carton
— — — — — — — —
2017 // April 20
Old Court-Greenspring Improvement Association, Inc. Annual Meeting Minutes, April 20, 2017
This meeting was held at the home of Phyllis Friedman, 19 Hambleton Court.
Present were:
Residents:
Larry Carton
Mical Wilmoth Carton
Ron Diener
Betsy Dixon
Sara Evans
Phyllis Friedman
Paul Leand
Ayme Lederman
William Orlove
Joanne Warres
Jon Yoffe
Invited Guests:
Mandee Heinl, representing Councilwoman Vicki Almond
Ari Mittleman, Stevenson Ridge-Halcyon HOA
Mark Nichols
Actions taken on behalf of OCGS:
Officers were elected for April 2017 – March 2018:
President: Mical Wilmoth Carton
Vice-President: Ayme Lederman
Secretary: Larry Carton
Treasurer: Joanne Warres
Board Members At Large:
Valerie Binder, Immediate Past President
Dr. Ronald Diener, Past President
Phyllis Friedman
Barbara Leand
Paul Leand
Jon Yoffe
Actions taken:
***Baltimore County Rule 8 was approved unanimously.
***A change to our home office listing with the State of Maryland from Karen Teplitzky to Joanne Warres was approved unanimously.
***Director & Officers Insurance Policy 2017, payment was approved unanimously.
***Continued membership in Pikesville-Greenspring Community Coalition, Inc. (PGCC) was approved unanimously.
Reports:
Mical Wilmoth Carton, President:
Information to be included on the OCGS website should be forwarded to If anyone would like to take over maintenance of the website, they are encouraged to volunteer.
As a member of the PGCC Traffic & Safety Committee, anyone with traffic issues should forward them to . A meeting will be held with the State Highway Administration and Baltimore County representatives this Fall and it would be helpful to have issues for discussion in advance of this meeting.
PGCC is setting up a meeting with community residents for June 4th to discuss Smith Avenue pedestrian issues. Information to follow by email.
Larry Carton, Secretary:
All residents of the Old Court-Greenspring area receive printed newsletters twice a year. All other contact is by email.
Membership: The Old Court-Greenspring Improvement Association, Inc. (OCGS) is a volunteer organization with paid & unpaid members. Every resident is a member by virtue of geography. Dues payments are voluntary for individual members ($50 per year). They are gratefully received and go toward paying D&O Insurance, PGCC membership, and the cost of printing and mailing the newsletter twice a year.
Homeowners credit postcard: Every 3 years Larry checks Maryland state property assessments for every house in our area. In 2016 he mailed postcards re. homestead credits being available to those homeowners in our area who have not claimed this credit and who appeared to be eligible to obtain it.
Last year’s activities: Larry attended 9 meetings on behalf of OCGS and 4 meetings for PGCC on different issues. Several of these meetings related to the Comprehensive Zoning Map Process (CZMP) issues related to Hidden Waters and the Shapiro property.
CZMP Decisions: Both Hidden Waters and the Shapiro property have retained their existing zoning designations. Hidden Waters has DR1 zoning, and Shapiro has DR2 density. The approved building plan for the Shapiro property expires in August, 2018. The current plan, if built, will be built to DR1 density.
Joanne Warres, Treasurer:
Joanne reported on the financial health of OCGS. The 2016 Maryland personal property tax form has been filed. Our current membership renewals are coming in at this time.
OCGS Newsletter and Federal Tax Filing, Larry and Mical Carton:
The Spring 2017 Newsletter was prepared and mailed in March 2017.
Federal Form 990-N, filed electronically only, has been done for 2017.
Current activities:
Baltimore County Charter Commission, Phyllis Friedman:
Phyllis gave a brief report on the Baltimore County Charter Commission which is now reviewing the current Baltimore County Charter. A volunteer group is meeting every other week to review the existing Charter in order to update it. At the end of the review, recommendations for change will be submitted to the County Council for approval or dismissal. John Gontrum is District 2 representative in this endeavor.
7603 Greenspring Avenue Variance Requests, Mical Wilmoth Carton:
There are 3 land-locked building lots, currently referred to as 7603 Greenspring Avenue, which are adjacent to the 2801 Old Court Road property. These are located behind houses at the end of Springbriar Lane which is how they are related to OCGS. The current owner has requested variances to develop one of the lots. If approved, this will result in a guard-rail cut along Greenspring Avenue, a culvert being constructed over a stream to allow access to the lot in question, and increased water run-off on properties below this lot which are within the Greenspring East community. At present the variance requests continue to be under review by Baltimore County Environmental Protection & Sustainability Office (EPS). We are assisting residents of Greenspring East in opposing development of this environmentally sensitive area.
Hidden Waters, Phyllis Friedman:
Phyllis reported on a meeting held on April 19th with Nancy Hackerman, attorneys and possible builders for a new development proposal which will require a Planned Unit Development (PUD) in order to go forward. A development plan was presented for a 32 single-family house development now being proposed for this property.
Discussion:
Mandee Heinl noted that a restricted PUD allows increased density over DR1. It gives the community much more control than a zoning change, and whatever density is approved through a restricted PUD cannot be increased later. A PUD agreement, which includes a site plan at the time it is submitted, is voted on by the County Council and cannot be changed once approved.
Phyllis: Thinks the development is “tight” with 32 houses. We do not want variances which may limit the number of houses possible. The current proposal includes 6 houses with one-half acre lots, and the rest on quarter-acre lots.
Mandee: Bozzuto wants to build a high-end community. The developer is currently focused on lot sizes.
Ayme & Sara: Don’t want a cut-through onto Eden Roc for cars, but access to a walking path on the new development would be nice.
Ayme is to reach out to residents of Eden Roc and Saxony Court and solicit comments on this current proposal.
Choices for this property are to deny a PUD, which will limit development to 24 houses and deny the community input into what is developed. We can come to an agreement for a PUD which will see the property developed. Or we can hope there is no significant change in our elected officials and gamble that the property remains undeveloped and zoning requests at future CZMP’s do not result in significant zoning changes.
Following this discussion, Ari Mittleman and Mark Nichols put forth the possibility of a solar farm on the Hidden Waters undeveloped acreage. Mandee said that a County Council meeting the evening before determined that no solar farm arrays will be approved by Baltimore County until legislation is approved for this.
Meeting adjourned 9:10 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Larry Carton
— — — — — — — —
2017 / January 22
For the benefit of OCGS property owners, the Secretary has compiled an analysis of updated Maryland SDAT property assessment values for all properties within our boundaries. Hopefully property owners who plan to appeal their current (2017) property assessments will find this information helpful.
OCGS residents whose 2017 SDAT information indicated their property was their primary residence, but the owner had not filed an application for the Homestead Tax Credit, were notified by postcard to visit the Maryland Department of Assessments & Taxation (SDAT) website for more information and the Homestead Tax Credit application form.
— — — — — — — —
2016 / August 30
Councilwoman Almond followed the recommendations of the Baltimore County Planning Board and has kept existing zoning in place for all of Hidden Waters. Zoning on this entire property remains at DR1 density (1 house per acre). Sadly, this means that it is almost certain that a PUD (Planned Unit Development) application will follow shortly.
Zoning on the Shapiro Property, CZMP Issue 2-010, remains unchanged at DR2 density (2 houses per acre) as well.
Our thanks to everyone who has supported the OCGS positions on these issues. & Our special thanks to those who have contacted Councilwoman Almond and to those who have posted yard signs on our behalf. Signs will all be picked up on Wednesday, August 31st by mid-afternoon if they have not already been removed.
Please check our website often (URL info below) for updates on these and other neighborhood issues. Our Fall newsletter will be sent by US Post to OCGS members by the end of September. These will also be posted on our website, so check in often if you are interested in what’s going on in our neighborhood.
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2016 / August 12
“Save Hidden Waters” signs have all been replaced, and added to throughout the community, as neighbors and friends have requested these signs to show their support for the OCGS request that Hidden Waters, CZMP Issue 2-029, be rezoned to RC8 (Environmental Enhancement) to both limit development and maintain at least a bit of the scenic views along Old Court Road.
Community representatives have had a number of meetings with Baltimore County personnel over the summer, most recently on August 11th with Councilwoman Vicki Almond, reinforcing justification for our request to downzone this important property that serves as important “open space” within our community.
The next event regarding this issue will take place on August 30th, at 6 pm, when the County Council meets in special session to announce CZMP decisions throughout Baltimore County. We will share the outcome of “our” decision once it is announced.
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2016 / July 13
“Save Hidden Waters” signs put in place in mid-June have been removed as follows:
**Eastbound from Hambleton Court to Falls Road along Old Court Road with two exceptions
**The corner of Sugarcone Road and Greenspring Avenue.
**Previously signs were removed from the corner of Glencliffe and Old Court Road.
We understand that a white truck with a circular emblem on its side was used to effect the removal of these signs.
This is Theft! All signs were posted on private property with permission.
Any camera footage showing these signs being removed would be appreciated.
If we go to the expense of reposting these signs, we ask that our friends and neighbors keep a lookout for anyone who might be removing them.
A collage of some of the signs previously posted is shown below:
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2016/June 21st
There will be a meeting of the Baltimore County Council to hear CZMP comments for all District 2 issues:
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Sudbrook Middle School
4200 Bedford Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21208
Speaker sign-in begins 5 pm
Meeting begins 6 pm
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AT THIS MEETING to further impress the County Council members that we are serious about our request to rezone Hidden Waters, CZMP Issue 2:029, to RC8.
We need both speakers and residents and supporters in the audience!!!!! Please join us if you can!!!!!!
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2016/Apr/6
Subject: OCGS annual meeting:Meeting was held on April 6, 2016 at the home of Valerie Binder, 3117 Old Court Road.
Agenda:
Election of Officers: Slate elected by acclamation:
President: Valerie Binder
Vice President: Mical Wilmoth Carton
Secretary: Larry Carton
Treasurer: Joanne Warres
Members at Large: Ron Diener, Past President
Lois Diener
Paul Leand
Phyllis Friedman
Joanne Warres, Treasurer, reported on current dues collection and membership. Her report was approved by acclamation.
Approval of Expenditures:
Annual dues to the Pikesville-Greenspring Community Coalition, Inc. — Approved
Director & Officers Insurance Policy — Approved
Maryland Personal Property Tax Return and Federal Form 990-N have both been filed for OCGS for Fiscal 2015. OCGS has no tax liability with either the State or Federal Government, but both forms must be filed annually.
Baltimore County Rule 8 was ratified by acclamation.
Status of CZMP zoning issues:
2:010 Shapiro property, submitted by PGCC:
District 2 planner has recommended zoning remain unchanged on this property. A number of PGCC and OCGS representatives will meet with him tomorrow to try and change his mind. The Planning Board will meet to discuss all CZMP issues for District 2 tomorrow evening. There is a rumor that the currently approved plan will be built out beginning later this year. If not developed by 2018, a developer can come in and request more houses on this property.
2:029 Hidden Waters, submitted by OCGS:
District 2 Planner agrees that this property should remain zoned as DR1. We meet again with Bozzuto Homes on April 27th.
Website and Email List:
OCGS has piggybacked on the PGCC website to this time. PGCC has moved their website, and we no longer have direct access to our files in order to make updates, etc. The email list has been transferred to a MailChimp account which seems to be working smoothly. Approval was given to obtain a domain name for OCGS HOA, and to create a new website under this domain. Funds were approved, up to $200, should this be needed for the new site.
Other issues:
Pikesville High School just announced that it has been awarded “Lighthouse” status. (April 4, 2016)
2801 Old Court Road / The Ridge at Old Court: Developer has contacted Paul Leand and requested support for a new 3 house development on this site. Variance has not changed. There has been no movement on development of this property.
The Baltimore County Department of Aging publishes a very helpful booklet with resources for the aging and those who help them. This can be downloaded at the following URL:
http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/Aging/communityres2016.pdf
Upcoming meetings:
*Baltimore County Planning Board Work Session, Room 104, 105 W Chesapeake Ave, Towson, MD.
5:30 pm, Thursday, April 7, 2016
*Baltimore County Council Hearing re. District 2 CZMP issues, Sudbrook Middle School
6:00 pm, Tuesday, June 21, 2016 (Sign-up to speak begins at 5:00 pm)
*Baltimore County Council CZMP Final Decisions, Old Court House, Towson, MD
6:00 pm, Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm
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2015/Apr/15
Subject: OCGS annual meeting:Meeting was held on April 15, 2015 at the home of Ron Diener, OCGS president, 10 Glencliffe Circle.
Our agenda was:
Election of Officers
Rule 8 motion
Treasurer report
irs tax exempt- 990N filing 2015
Md personal property return 2015
Our Ins coverage
Discusion:
Ridge at Old Court
Shapiro property
more participation
deer proposal
newsletters
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2014/Apr/7
Subject: OCGS annual meeting:Meeting was Apr 7, 2014 at our Treasuer’s home, 2910 OCR Joanne Warres.
The meeting was called to order. Sorry to report that attendance was sparse.
Discussed were:
*Our dues and financial position
*Rule 8 resolution
*Vote on continuing our insurance coverage
*Election continued our current officers
*Our 501(c)(4) status
*The status of the Ridge at Old Court development
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2013/Sep
Subject: The blog:I have been considering this running blog of information and have come to the conclusion that this blog in addition to the 2 yearly newsletter is too time consuming to maintain. I realize that the blog is accessible to both people outside our association and to members of OCGS who have not bothered to give me their email addresses, but if they have not supplied their email addresses I must assume they are not really interested in the information and would not read this blog anyway.
I do send out emails regularly to all members who have given me their email whether or not they are dues payers. Important information, that is information other than those items supplied to me by the county like crime alerts or trash collection dates, I include in the two yearly newsletters that go out to all OCGS members whether or not the member is a dues payer. I believe that OCGS sends out more info by email than the other 16 association of PGCC combined. I keep our association well informed of current events.
I believe that I can stop this running blog as I believe it is a duplicate of information I send out. If the members of OCGS disagree and tell me so, I will restart the blog. Larry Carton, secty
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2013/July/17
Subject: Hearings Office Remand:The HO has remanded our case back to the Planning Depts. A Development Plan Conference must be held and new development plans must be submitted by the developer. Once a decision is made, it will go back to the HO. See the order on our website.
The missing records were found. See prior note.
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2013/Jun/10
Subject: Bd of Appeals remand:Bd of Appeals orders the case to be remanded to the Hearing Officer for action. See order on our website.
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2013/May/30
Subject: Board of Appeals hearing after Circuit Court remand:The Feb 2013 Circuit Court decision remanded the court case concerning 2801 OCR back to the Md Board of Appeals with instruction to send it back to the county for review.
Today, at 9:30 am the Board of Appeals met to deliberate the Court’s decision. There were several members of OCGS Improv Assoc., and PGCC present as well as our attorney, Carrol Holzer. Only the developer was present for the opposing side. The 3 member Board of Appeals called no witnesses or acknowledged any people present at the deliberations.
The 3 members discussed that they had not previously held a de novo hearing but only looked at the record sent up by the ALJ. They did not feel they had the authority or expertise to make a decision on the court issue. They decided to follow the procedure ordered by the court and send the case back to the ALJ to return to the county for further action. One interesting development was that the court apparently lost all the files and exhibits and has been unable to locate them.
At present, the developer cannot get a final approval on his development plan, nor can he file a recorded plat which means, I think, that he can not get permits to build. Any thing he does without a building permit before final approval of his development plan is done at his own risk. He has moved ahead with his project by filing for stage 2 approvals and purchasing the property he needed to make sewer connections, but I do not think he can get stage 2 approvals until this issue is decided.
That is where it stands for the moment. We have no date at present for the hearing at the ALJ level. Nor do we know what the ALJ may do. He could try to decide the court issue himself or he could return the plan to planning board to look at the specific court issue or to just start all over again with the planned development. We will just have to wait and see.
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2013/Apr 24
Subject: OCGS annual meeting:The annual meeting was held at our president’s home (Ron Diener) at 7:30pm as advertised in our newsletter.
First action was the election of officers. There being no individuals opposed to the current officers, (or willing to stand for election), the current officers agreed to be re-elected to their positions for the following year.
A vote was taken to approve the Rule 8 resolution allowing certain people to testify before county agencies on behalf of the Association.
A treasury report was given and it was noted that only the same individuals year after year are repeatedly the active members. We can not seen to get younger or newer members to take an active role in our Association. We do not wish to simply disappear like some other association in our area and our goal of keeping our association area a nice place to live to be left to chance.
A report was given concerning the proposed develop at 2801 and the court case in which we were involved. We are awaiting the next move by the developer.
The meeting was adjourned at 9pm.
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2013/Jan 23
Subject: Court Decision on the Ridge at Old Court:The Circuit Court on Jan 16 issued a decision on the development at 2801 Old Court Rd (AKA The Ridge at Old Court). OCGS has opposed this development which originally proposed 8 houses and later was revised to 6 houses on basically 3 acres of build-able land. We had argued in court that the county had not taken into account the steep slopes under BCC sec.32-4-215 on this property before approving the development.
OCGS had argued this point at the CIM(community input meeting) required by the county in 2010, before the Hearing Officer at the first level administrative hearing in Jun. 2011, the Board of Appeals in Mar. 2012, and the Circuit Court in Nov 2012. The Circuit Court finally agreed with our argument in Jan 2013. The development approval has been remanded to the county.
The developer has several options. Anything from appealing the Circuit Court decision to the Court of Special Appeals, to offering a building settlement to OCGS and PGCC and several other options in between. It is unlikely the developers will walk away from their investment.
A complete copy of the decision will be posted on this website shortly under – Information on Proposed Changes in Our Association Area.
We hope that this decision will be a warning to all developers that if a development does not meet with the approval of the community and its standards, it will be opposed.
Please remember that this case will continue somewhere depending on the developers decision. When dues notices are issued in Mar 2013, we ask all homeowners to join OCGS and if possible make an additional donation to our treasury.
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2012/Dec 24
Subject: Homestead Tax credit – non dues payers:At the urging and assistance of the executive director of PGCC, the Secty of OCGS made a 35 postcard mailing to OCGS members who had not paid dues and/or not provided email addresses and who, according to the public Md State assessment and taxation records, were eligible but had not filed for the tax credit. Provided on the postcard was the lnternet link to the application. This was done as a member service.
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2012/Dec 22
Subject: Homestead Tax Credit:Maryland offers homeowners a tax credit on their yearly tax bill if the bill is on their principle residence. However, Maryland requires a homeowner to file for this credit because too many people were filing on a second vacation home, rentals, etc. (Also because a number of tax payers would over look the required filing to obtain this credit in my humble opinion.).
On Dec 12 an email was sent to all members of the OCGS Improv Assoc. who had provided their email address while paying the yearly dues.
On Dec 22, the secty of the assoc. personally reviewed the Md Dept. of Assessment and Taxation data base for those OCGS members who had provided email addresses or had paid dues even if an email address was not supplied.
The secty individually notified those members who had not filed for the credit according to the Maryland data base by repeat email or by telephone and provided the necessary form to be filed by Dec 31.
Those members who had not paid dues or had not provided an email address or telephone number were not checked as to their tax credit status. A quick sample check indicated that a number of members in this category had not applied for the credit. (About 5% estimated.) Too bad.
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2012/Nov 14
Subject: Baltimore County Circuit Court Hearing:Heard before Judge Susan Souder
Concerning the proposed development at 2801 OCR (the Ridge at Old Court): OCGS has opposed the development of 6 houses on 3 build-able acres .
The Circuit Court hearing was held on Nov 14, 2012 at the Baltimore County Court House in Towson. Only the attorneys were allowed to speak. The issue argued orally before the Court was that the degree of the steepness of the slopes prohibits construction at this site. The issue being that County development regulation 32 prohibits development were property slopes have an incline of 25% or more. Judge Souder had prepared carefully for this Hearing. She was of the opinion that some of the proposed houses were near or on these slopes. Development regulation 33 requires that slopes have a method of moderating damage incorporated into the development plan before it is approved, most often as a forest buffer zone. Our argument before the Court was that the County approved the development plan only using development regulation 33, and without consideration of regulation 32. (As noted by Judge Souder, the forest buffer for this development is not anywhere near the steep slopes on this property.) The County would have had to issue a variance if the development plan before the Court had been properly considered under regulation 32. This had not been done. We expect a decision within 2 to 8 weeks.
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2012/Aug 22
Subject: Accident reports and rumble strips at OCR and Lightfoot:Accident reports thru 2011 have been received and will shortly be placed on our website.
In addition, your representative at the Traffic and Safety Meeting requested rumble strips to slow traffic and enforcement of the pedestrian crossing at OCR and Lightfoot Dr. We have now received notice that a review of the pedestrian crossing on MD 133 at Lightfoot Drive, for Beth Tfiloh School has been completed. SHA will submit a work order to the Maintenance dept to have rumble strips installed and the pedestrian crossing markings refreshed. Let me remind drivers, if a pedestrian is about to cross the road at this crossing and you fail to stop to allow pedestrians to cross, you will receive a $400 ticket if the police are present.
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2012/Jun 7
Subject: CZMP hearing:Your representative attended the County Council CZMP meeting at Pikesville High School. We were in favor of downzoning the 50 acre property East of Lightfoot Dr and on the South side of OCR known as the Shapiro property to DR-1. It is currently zoned DR-2. The building plan approved in 2009 was at a DR-1 density. But if the building plan is not acted upon or if the property is sold to another developer, then a new plan could be based on DR-2 allowing double the number of houses already approved.
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2012/May 31
Subject: Traffic and Safety Meeting:Your representative(and other members of PGCC) met with State and County traffic officials and representatives of several legislators. OCGS approved of the speed rumble strips placed on OCR near park school. OCGS suggested that similar strips be placed on OCR near Beth Tifila . OGS also asked for the accident reports for 2009 thru 2011 so that they could be placed on the web site. The OCR and Greenspring intersection was discussed and the State promised to replace the shrubbery at the corner, the cell phone tower and fix the broken sewer lid on the nw corner of OCR.
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2012/April 17
Subject: 2801 Decision – OCGS to appeal:The officers of OCGS decided to appeal to the court level the appeal board’s decision to allow the development at 2801 (the Ridge at OCR). The officers determined that sufficient funds and reserves existed to appeal this decision. OCGS believe the proposed development is not consistent with the existing developments in our area.
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2012/ Mar 29
Subject: CZMP (Comprehensive Zoning Map Project):The county held the CZMP meeting at Pikesville High School at 7PM.
PGCC had asked for the property at (AKA the Shapiro Property) to be down zoned to DR-1. The current approved building plan is within DR-1 zoning but should this plan not be implemented or if the property is sold to another developer who returns with another plan then it is possible with the current zoning in place that double the number of houses could be built. This would far exceed DR-1. It would also place pressure on the Hidden Waters property to be upgraded for zoning or be developed if the current approved building plan was changed.
The OCGS representative was on the zoning committee of PGCC as this property was in our Association area. He was allowed to speak for 2 minutes before the County Planning Board to ask for approval of the down zoning.
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2012/ Mar 22
Subject: Board of Appeals decision on the Ridge at Old Court (2801 OCR):The BOA issued its ruling on the request to over turn the county approved plan to allow 6 houses to be built on this property. As are most decisions at this level, the appeal was turned down in favor of the builder.
We believe this approval is ridiculous. While the property has nominally 8 acres at DR-1, only 2.5-3 are build-able. Having 6 houses on this small area will not be compatible with housing in the area nor is it in keeping OCR as a scenic byway.
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2012/ Feb 1
Subject: Annual meeting 2012:The OCGS annual meeting was held at Karen Teplitzky’s (our Treasurer) home on 5 Saxony Ct at 7:30 PM Feb 1, 2012.
Ron Deiner (President) gave a report concerning the state of our suit against 2801 OCR. A hearing decision on our appeal is pending.
Karen Teplitzky (Treasury) gave a Treasury report and reported the amount of dues received and the balance of our bank account. Discussed were Paul Leand’s donations as well as donations in excess of dues by a number of our members. A review of our legal fees with 2801 were discussed.
Larry Carton (Secretary) asked for a vote on paying annual 2012 dues to PGCC, a vote on Rule 8 ( allows officers and others to testify at hearings, zoning, etc as representatives of OCGS), and authorization to pay our Officers and Director’s Insurance. All three were voted in the affirmative.
Elections took place. Ron Deiner remains President, Valarie Binder remains VP. Joanne Warres was elected Treasurer and Karen Teplitzky took the position of assistant Treasurer. Larry Carton remains Secretary.
The Officers and Directors authorized the new Treasurer and assistant Treasurer to complete whatever paper work is necessary to transfer banking powers.
Mical Carton will assist Joanne in setting up accounting software for OCGS.
Also discussed at the meeting were the deer problem, the continuing traffic problems especially at the Greenspring intersection, other possible development, zoning, and open space.
The meeting was adjoined at 9PM
These notes of the meeting are attested to as correct and complete by the Secretary, Larry Carton and will be added to our website.
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2012/Jan 18
Subj: Hearing Deliberations for 2801 OCR:The deliberations began at 9am. Present for 2801 were the developer and an attorney associate from the representing firm. Present for OCGS were Mrs. and Mr. Leland and one member from Greenspring East. Deliberations took about 1/2 hour. Only two issues were considered by the 3 hearing officers. One was compatibility of the development with surrounding properties and the other was the steepness of the slopes. The hearing officers dismissed both issues. A formal decision will be issued and OCGS will have to decide whether or not to pursue the issue thru the court system. In truth, in the development process, the only time the community gets to speak and really has a chance to voice any complaints is durning the CIM and those complainants voiced only have some small chance of being considered. Statistics show that most complaints will be disregarded by the county and the developer will prevail.
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2012/ Jan 13
Subj: Newsletter for Winter 2012:The newsletter and enclosures were completed and mailed out today.
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2011/ Dec
Subj: Dues and Annual meeting date for 2012:The Officers and Board members consulted by email and phone over several weeks about the need to raise dues in light of our heavy legal expenses and when we could arrange our annual meeting for 2012. By consensus, dues where restored to the previous amount of $50 per year to help restore our treasury and to fund further legal proceedings if necessary.
A meeting date of Feb 1, 2012, 7:30pm at our Treasurer’s home was decided upon and notification will be sent out to all homeowners with the newsletter.
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2011/Nov 12
Subj: 2700 OCR update and 2805 Grasty Woods Lane saleWe learned that the property at 2700 OCR was sold for $280K a couple of weeks after the auction reported in our Nov 3 note.
The house at 2805 Grasty Woods Ln ( just above the beltway on Greenspring), consisting of 2.42 ac, 1698 sq feet structure, assessed for $377k, sold for $227k on Nov 3 at auction.
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2011/Nov 10Subj: Hearing on the Ridge on Old Court Rd (aka 2801 OCR):There were close to a dozen OCGS residents at the Appeal Hearing for the proposed development at 2801 OCR. This hearing involved only the attorneys who state their cases for or against the ALJ Hearing decision. No new evidence is allowed to be submitted. No witnesses are called. The Attorneys sum up their client’s positions and they will be allowed to submit their arguments in detail in writing prior to Dec 16. Another hearing will be held which is open to the public where the public can watch the deliberation of the 3 judges on the items challenged. This will probably take place in early 2012. Then a decision is issued and 30 days is allowed for either party to go into circuit court to contest the appeal decision.
OCGS protested 6 items of the ALJ from the original Administration Hearing. For example, the compatibility of the density of the housing based on contiguous properties was challenged; the fact that the county did not consider that slopes on the property exceeded 25% degrees; and, the fact that the county will not take over the management of the storm water pond were some of the challenges raised.
Based on statistics, the Appeals Hearing generally finds in favor of the developer. The next step for the community is to file in district court. This would require the purchasing of the transcript of the original Administrative Hearing. An expensive proposition when added to other costs involved.
At our annual meeting to be held in the first quarter of 2012 (date not yet set), it is expected that the Board will restore the $50 amount for yearly dues, and a request will be made for additional funds from our members above the annual dues amount.
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2011/Nov 3
Subj: Notice of Appeal Hearing:Email was sent to all OC/GS members who have supplied email addresses, concerning the upcoming Appeals Hearing on the property at 2801 OCR. The Hearing will be on Nov. 10 at 10am. OCGS is opposing the building of 6 houses on basically a 3AC footprint.
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2011/Nov 3
Subj: Property values:On Oct 28, the property at 2700 Old Court Rd was auctioned. The assessed value according to county records was $325,300 total for land and house. The land was 2.286AC in size. The property failed to sell with a final bid of $275,000 which was rejected by the owner. The property is zoned DR1, has a water connection (but not connected) and septic tank.
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2011/Jul 19
Subj: WEB training:Those association members who were interested in establishing a WEB page for their own association attended a training class for using WordPress. A template page has been established and the attendees were shown how to enter information. Their WEB page would be hosted by PGCC. Go to to see the PGCC home page and the links to associations. OCGS representative was in attendance.
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2011/Jul 16
Subj: PGCC annual social:PGCC had its annual social where non coalition associations were invited to mix with PGCC association members and lobbied to join. Officers were introduced and several politicians or their staff were present. OCGS representative was in attendance.
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2011/Jul 11
Subj: PGCC exec meeting:Discussion revolved around the up coming CZMP (rezoning process). Several proposals were made concerning possible rezoning requests. OCGS representative was in attendance.
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2011/Jun 27
Subj: Hearing Officer Hearing Decision for 2801 OCR:The judge found for the developer and against the community. Six houses will be allowed to be built on effectively 2.5 acres of land if the decision is not appealed.
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2011/May 26
Subj: Hearing Officer Hearing for 2801 OCR:Your President Ron Diener, your secretary Larry Carton , as well as the President of PGCC Neville Jacobs, a member of Greenspring East HOA, as well as 4 other OCGS members and homeowners also attended the hearing which ran from 10am to 5:30pm with a half hours lunch break. This was a surprising turn out.
The main issues presented were: a. the compatibility of the housing design (including yard requirements) and lot size with existing develop on OCR, b. the runoff management of storm water and possible inability to connect to a storm water line in Greenspring East HOA; the building of a 15+ retaining wall for the proposed storm water pond and the county’s refusal to take over its management; the possibility of having to construct a 35 foot deep 15+ wide trench (with BLASTING thru rock) to lay a pipe to channel north runoff water to the south required storm water pond; c. the failure to document and take into account the 25% slope into the properties on Spring Briar by either the county or the developer.
If the hearing officer rules fully in favor of the developer, then we will have 6 houses, each 2 stories high shoved closely together with no yards on 2 1/2 acres along OCR, a storm water pond with 15 foot high walls and a 35+ foot depth holding water above the houses in Greenspring East and with possible flooding of the Greenspring East pond, the possible loss of the existing tree covered forest conservation space, and no developer responsibility for the development after 1 year.
Whether or not the hearing examiner rules in our favor, in my opinion, the decision will be appealed to the courts. At that time it will be OCGS and Greenspring HOA members responsibility to decide if we continue to oppose the development thru the courts with it attendant costs if no settlement can be reached. (It is unlikely to be a settlement on either side.)
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2011/May 18
Subj: Traffic and Safety Meeting:Your OCGS representative, along with representatives from other associations, met with State and County representatives to discuss issues in the PGCC area. The main issue concerning OCGS is the hiding of the control cabinet for the traffic light at the OCR/GS intersection and the shrubbery at the telephone monopole site.
Also discussed was a left hand arrow for those people going east on OCR and wishing to make a left hand turn to go north on GS, The OCGS representative opposed any left hand light at that location.
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2011/ April 29
Subj: 2801 OCR Hearings:The hearing took place on April 28 from 10am-4:30pm and April 29 from 1pm to 4:30. Additional hearing to be held on Thursday May 26 from 10am until done. Our engineer will be giving testimony. Residents who are concerned about this development should come to the hearing. OCGS is very concerned about runoff and drainage and the waste water management pond that does not meet county requirements for county maintenance management. Email will be sent out to all OCGS residents who have supplied email addresses before the next hearing just as we did for the first hearings listing time place and room number. Greenspring East will also attend the hearing as a number of their members are also affected. A request will also be made for funds to replenish our money accounts.
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2011/April 17
Subj: 2801 OCR Hearing: Hearing Date is April 28. Email will be sent out to all OCGS members who have provided email addresses.
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2011/Feb 23
Subj: 2801 Hearing Officers Hearing scheduled for Feb 24:The HOH has been postponed until April or May.
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2011/ Feb 22
Subj: PGCC CAP 2020:OCGS officer attended County Council meeting which adopted the PGCC Community Action Plan and attached it to the County Masterplan.
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2011/ Feb 21
Subj: OCGS Annual meeting:Our annual meeting took place at Ron Dieners at 7:30pm. A report by our president on 2801 OCR was given. Discussion of the Shapiro property ruling last year was discussed. Treasurer report was given by email. Election of Officers was done. Ron Diener was persuaded to retain the office of President for 1 additional year. Erika Schon had requested that if a replacement could be found she would like to resign her VP position. Valerie Binder accepted the position of VP. Rule 8 resolution was put forth and voted upon. Dues amount were discussed and will be raised next year due to legal costs. The meeting adjourned at 9pm
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2011/Feb 15
Subj: Newsletter and dues requests:Newsletter and due requests were sent out. Newsletter copy put on website.
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2011/Jan 20
Subj: Acting President:Our current President, Ron Deiner, has asked to resign due to health issues at our next annual meeting.
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2011/Jan 19
Subj: County Council Meeting:Larry Carton, secty of OCGS IMP Assoc. and a member of the PGCC CAP committee, testified before the County Council asking for the Council to approve the Community Action Plan (CAP) for the East-Pikesville/Greenspring area. This is the next to the last step for the Plan to become part of the 2020 County Master Plan.
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2010/Nov 9
Subj: DPC hearing for 2801 OCR:Notice was sent by email to all OCGS association members (who have provided email addresses) about the DPC (Dev Planning Comm) hearing concerning the property at 2801 OCR. OGGS will also send a representative or more to the hearing on Nov 17.
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2010/Oct 7
Subj: Planning Board Hearing:The Secty of OCGS appeared before the Planning Board as a member of the CAPS committee to give testimony in favor of accepting and approving PGCC’s submittal of the 2010 update for the 2020 County Master Plan.
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2010/Aug 27
Subj: Community Action Plan (CAP)On Sept 1, OCGS will be at the CIM (Community Input Meeting)on PGCC’S proposed CAPS that will be held at Ohed Shalom at 7:30PM. It is an open public meeting to offer comments on the PGCC plan to the county about what we would like to see done in our community for the next 10 years. It also has a accident report for the entire CAPS area which may surprise you. The complete draft of the CAPS can be found and down loaded by going to < http://pgccinc.org/ > and selecting the CAP tab.
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2010/Aug 23
Subj: Donation to the Police (PCRC)OCGS has donated $100 again this year to the police.
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2010/ May 25
Subj: Accident reports, CAPS (Community Action Plans) meeting, etc:Since the last report, your representative has attended 3 PGCC Executive meetings, 2 PGCC board meetings, 3 CAPS meetings and a meeting with SHA and county roads reps.
After a mere two years we have been able to secure accident reports for 2006 thru 2008 (the latest report available) for OCR. It has now been uploaded to our web site under Accidents. OCGS will comment on the statistics at a future time. Briefly, you must combine the 2 reports to come up with the total of accidents along OCR (aprox 52, including 4 involving school buses) from Stevenson Rd (MD129) to Falls Road (MD 25) from 2006 thru 2008. It does not include accidents at the intersection of Seven Mile Lane or Lightfoot Dr. and it includes some portions of OCR out side of our association area. Note also that the accidents listed are only those accidents where the police responded and made a report. For example, people who run into deer and do not call the police to report the collision are not included in the accident report even if they had property damage to their vehicle.
The CAPS meetings concern the future of our community. It is our vision of what we would like to see, or not see, happen in our community and it becomes part of the county’s 2020 master plan if adopted by the county council. After the many county agencies review the plan there will be a CIM (Community Input Meeting) for all people in the CAPS plan area. This meeting is required and held by the county. At present we think the CIM will be in Sept.
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2010/ Feb 25
Subj: Continuing news:Since Dec 9, 2009 the OC/GS secretary has attended 4 meetings and completed one section of the PGCC area Master Plan for Baltimore County with the PGCC Community Action Plan committee.
The Deer Coordinator has received only 2 calls regarding dead or struck deer and reported both to the proper county agency to meet the necessary statistic for signs and road protectors. There have been more dead deer seen by the Coordinator, but if the homeowners where the deer are lying are not interested in reporting, then neither is the coordinator.
OC/GS is still waiting for the state to supply accident statistics for OCR and for the OC/GS intersection.
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2009/Dec 9
Subj: Contribution to Attorney fund re 2801 OCR:OCGS officers voted to contribute to an attorney fund to modify the development plans on 2801 OCR. PGCC also voted, after OCGS requested funds, to contribute to the fund.
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2009/Nov 25
Subj: PCRC Donation:OCGS officers voted to donate $100 to the Police Community Relations Council for our district
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2009/ Nov 13
Subj: Highway Safety Meeting:OCGS and other associations met with County and State officials to discuss traffic and safety problems in our area.
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2009/ Nov 5
Subj: CIM for 2801 OCR:Officers of OCGS attended the Community Input Meeting (CIM) held under County authority to hear and comment upon the pending development plans on 2801 OCR.
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2009/ Nov 1
Subj: Unscheduled OCGS Officer meeting:The OCGS officers met to discuss committing funds for possible retention of legal representation concerning the possible development of 2801 OCR.
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2009/ Oct 6
Subj: Concept Plan Meeting 2801 OCR:Ron Diener, Pres OCGS, and some individuals from Greenspring East attended the concept plan meeting about 2801 OCR in Towson. OCGS may send out email if a community input meeting (CIM) is held by the developer and county.
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2009/ Sept 4
Subj: General update and testimony on Bill 61-09 (speed cameras):The OCGS rep who is also on the PCGG CAP 2020 (Community Action Plan) committee has met 3 times with other members since Jul 16 to discuss what our community wants the county to do in our area and put in the CAP 2020 Plan. The plan will be sumbitted to the community for discussion by public meeting held by the county sometimes before Feb 2010 (the next 6 months).
The Secretary of OCGS submitted comments on County council bill 61-09 concerning speed camera use in school zones. OCGS expressed that it was infavor of the bill and if passed, OCGS will lobby for a camera at Beth Tfolah and Park School locations.
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2009/July 16
Subj: Shapiro Hearing Decision:Received the Hearing Officer’s Decision on the proposed Shapiro Property. Copy in .pdf format under “Proposed Changes in Our Neighborhood” under Shapiro Property.
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2009/July 8
Subj: Property Tax Discount:In a slight of hand, Baltimore County has put the year rather than the day on the tax bill making seem that the bill must be paid by the 9th rather than the 31st to receive the max discount. Reading the back of the bill, you still have until the 31st for the max discount.
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2009/June 26
Subj: Shapiro Property Hearing:The Hearing Officer’s hearing (the last step before building permits are granted) was held at 9:00am June 26 in Towson. The hearing lasted 4 hours. OCGS was represented by Larry Carton secty. He gave both oral and written testimony and cross examined 3 of the petitioners witnesses. OCGS mainly objected to the density of the project as well as its incompatibly to other homes in the immediate area. Homes in this development will be on less than .5 acre and will be small houses. We do not think this development will be advantageous to home values in the area. We are also concerned about the forest buffet that will be used to shield this development from view. OCGS does not feel that it will be adequate.
We learned two other interesting items: The road will be widened to 5 lanes in front of the proposed entrance into the development which is directly across from Steven Crossing and just east of Beth Tfioh. The traffic study company said that the proposed lanes will safely handle cars even if they are going 60MPH.
Second, the State reported that traffic DROPPED on OCR from 2004 thru 2007 by 4%. After some thought by OCGS, we can only guess that this drop was a result of the completion of the widening of 695 and the closure of the Beth Tfioh lower school. As OCGS knows, the school will reopen in Sept 2009, the beltway is becoming more and more congested and OCR is being used as a bypass. OCGS expects the traffic to again increase well over State predictions creating a major safety problem.
As no county agencies had objections to the proposed plan, it is expected that the development will get the go ahead to build 47 units.
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2009/May 24
Subj: NB lane Greenspring Ave:Unconfirmed report that Verizon will move underground lines this week with the new lane project to be completed by the end of June.
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2009/ May 19
Subj: Hearing Officer’s Hearing – Shapiro Property:The May 21 HOH was postponed. New hearing date June 26 at 9am.
The DPC notes have now been posted on our web site.
OCGS, Stevenson Crossing, Hemsley rep, Stevenson Commons rep met with State Highway concerning the safety of the proposed access to the project. The SHA indicated that they had not received sufficient info from the developers to determine if the proposed access point was safe and until that was done no decision could be made as to whether or not a permit would be issued.
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2009/ May 6
Subj: 2009 Annual meeting:The 2009 Annual Meeting was held at Karen Teplitzky’s home in Eden Roc Ct. The following items were discussed: 1. Election of Officers: Ron Diener was elected Pres, Erika Schon Vice-Pres, Karen Teplitzky Treasurer, Larry Carton Secretary.
2. Treasurer report was given by K Teplitzky. The association has sufficient funds for any purpose for which we may need them. The Assoc. supplied documents to the Federal Govt. to continue our Non-profit status.
3. The members voted to continue membership in PGCC and to pay the dues.
4. The members voted to continue the insurance for the Association and Officers.
5. The members voted to keep the dues at the reduced amount of $35 for individuals. Other Member Associations dues will be reduced to $100 per year.
6. Rule 8 requirements: The assembled group voted to allow the Officers to give official testimony on any issues before any State or County Agency, etc.
7. Also discussed:
a. Deer problems and solutions. The appointment of Larry Carton as deer kill counter.
b. The Electric Coop now available to PAID members of OCGS.
c. The refusal of SHA to provide any further accident reports for OCR and the
OCR/Greenspring intersection.
d. The developments of the Shapiro and 2801 OCR property.
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2009/May 1
Subject: Shapiro property -tentative tentative agreement May 2009:
The OCGS Secty, who is also the PGCC representative and on the PGCC Shapiro Committee, received the Shapiro developer plans a few days before April 29 DPC (Development Planning Committee) meeting. The tentative agreement was received after the DPC meeting. He has not yet received the DPC responses. The Hearing Officer’s Hearing is scheduled on May 21.
After reviewing the tentative agreement and the plans, he informed the PGCC Shapiro Committee that the agreement as written was NOT acceptable to OCGS and that in his opinion there was insufficient time to rewrite, review, and submit a final agreement for approval before the May 21 Hearing. (Remember this has been going on for over 1 year.)
Therefore, OCGS informed the PGCC Shapiro Committee that we will reserve our right to oppose any and all aspects of the development, including the development in its entirety and to seek such further modifications as we feel are desirable and appropriate.
Individuals who are interested in the development and the impact on our association, or wish to give comment (testify) are invited to attend the Hearing on May 21 at 9:00am 111 West Chesapeake Ave Towson Room 106.
A copy of the tentative agreement will be placed on OCGS website under -Info on Proposed Changes – Shapiro Property – Tentative Agreement May 2009.
A copy of the reasons (not an inclusive list) for OCGS rejection of the Agreement will also be posted.
Please remember, OGCS was primarily concerned with the number of units planed (the density) and the view from OCR, a scenic route. These are the areas which we can actually have some input. The items that are under State or County control, like the placement of the outlet, we have only minor if any influence to modify.
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2009/Apr 16
Subj: DPC Shapiro property:OCGS has received notice that a Development Plan Conference is scheduled on April/29/2009 at 9:00am in Room 123, 111 West Chesapeake Ave, Towson Md 21204 for the property at s/s Old Court Rd N Lightfoot DR. Project is Old Court LLC Property AKA Shapiro Property. Proposal is for 66 SFDS (Single Family Dwelling Sites).
Based on this notice, it would appear that the developers and owners plan to move ahead with 66 single family units. It would appear that the tentative agreement which was never inked or recorded was just so much smoke. (See entry for Sept 28, 2008.) OCGS will oppose the development on any and every grounds possible if this is a 66 unit development. While we are not permitted to speak at this meeting as a right, we will be submitting our objections to the shape and size of the development in writing as a first step. Hopefully, the county departments involved already have made some decisions to change the proposed 66 unit development footprint and OCGS hopes it will be more like something we were willing to accept. I remind OCGS members that under the present zoning, 100 units could be built. We thought that an agreement had been reached to limit units to 46. This would have been equal to DR-1 zoning and a compromise that OCGS could accept. This appears not to be.
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2009/April 10
Subj: Electric and Gas C0-0p info placed on front page:Information concerning the electric and gas coop by the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce has been posted. You must be a member of the Chamber or a paid OCGS member to join thru OCGS.
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2009/April 2
Subj: PGCC Quarterly Meeting:
Your rep. attended the Quarterly PGCC Meeting. Of interest:
1. The commercial developer (Obrecht) has asked for a change in the covenants to eliminate 2 restaurant pads and put in another office building. The office workers to help support the commercial establishments currently open. The site would be leased by a financial group plus one additional client. Sufficient parking exists.
2. The site developer (Koren) has said the NB lane of GS Ave will be completed by the end of spring. (note: This conflicts with the information given at the SHA Traffic and Safety meeting.)
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2009/March 26
Subj: Format change, blog purpose:This running blog has undergone a format and editing change. A subject area has been added to help readers locate topics and my personal opinions and comments have been culled so that only facts are presented in this blog. I am considering (depending on how much work it would entail and software needed) a separate area outside this blog for comments/opinions from myself and any member of OCGS who wishes to comment or discuss activities in the area such as the traffic problems, deer problems, water, or development concerns so that OCGS members can have a dialog with each other. Maybe a listserve. Maybe members would get involved with the association.
Concerning this blog. I am not able to easily format font changes such as making “subj” bold and line spacing is very difficult. The program being used is Adobe Golive. While it is now outdated, it is the one I have and know how to use. Comments/suggestions can be sent to
The purpose of this blog is to allow members to see what services they receive from being dues paying members of OCGS. It is to show that the association does do something to benefit the community and that the association is active. It is to answer the question – What do I get for my dues?
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2009/ March 24
Subj: Deer coordinator:See the Traffic notes below- Larry Carton (OCGS secty) has been asked by the Traffic and Safety committee to coordinate dead deer reports. He will ask for reports of dead deer along OCR and will make sure the proper agency is informed to establish the necessary quota to have deer warning signs placed along OCR. Details will be included in the OCGS newsletter when issued. An email will also be sent out.
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2009/ March 23
Subj: PGCC traffic committee meets with SHA – Items discussed:1. The State will no longer provide accident reports as detailed as the 2003-2005 reports on this web site. Although OGCS has previously promised the State that any information from these reports would not be used in any legal action, the State said it would provide only a summary if asked. OCGS will ask. (Opinion- I believe that the number and severity of accidents has increased along OCR and especially the OCR/GS interchange. As previously reported, the intersection alone was above the average for accidents as of 2005. And knowledge of increased accidents would prompt pressure to be placed on officials to take action. I do not believe the State or County has the wherewithal or the funds to correct the problems.)
2. The NB lane of GS – The completion of this project is being delayed (by as much as a year-spring 2010?) by the discovery that Verizon fiber optic cables lay under the intesection and their replacement is required before further road construction can be completed.
3. The removal of GS NB left turn sign onto OCR west – the SHA determined after review that because NB traffic does not know that status of the light for SB traffic, the potential for increased accidents was too great. Thus the sign permitting “turn on blinking” red was removed. OCGS agreed with the danger assessment
4. Emergency power backup- Twice last year, the lights at OCR and GS Ave have been completely out due to power outages. While a disabled light at an intersection section requires ALL drivers to drive as if the intersection is a 4 way stop, unfortunately this does not happen. Last year OCGS asked if a back up power system that was being tested in other parts of the State could also be used here as this intersection is a major traffic area. We were informed that the State is aware of the problem and when the system becomes available, after school crossings and other priority intersections are equipped, OCR would be in the next in the priority level.
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2009/Feb 22
Subj: Left Turn signal OCR going North:Concerning the blinking red left turn arrow on the intersection of OCR and Greenspring Ave going north: the sign was taken down and instead a left turn arrow was placed on OCR going west for those people who want to make a left turn off of OCR going west and go south on Greenspring Ave. OCGS will determine the reason for the change and report it on this blog in March after meeting with SHA.
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2009/Jan 24
Subj:Old Pimlico and Falls Light, new school warning sign, ORC and Greenspring Traffic signal change:The light at Old Pimlico and Falls will be activated on Monday Jan 25. It will be blinking for 3 days before going into stop light mode. This will make the intersection safer and allow an easier left turn going north for those on Old Pimlico.
The State is going to put a ‘School’ sign on OCR going west on the hill turn before the school at Beth Tfiloh. The purpose is to remind drivers to slow to 35mph which is the posted speed limit. There is already a sign that shows a curve symbol and which advises a speed of 35mph right before the curve.
The State, by request of other near by associations, has also placed a sign on the light at the intersection of ORC and Greenspring going north. North bound traffic will be able to make a left hand turn onto OCR (west bound) if the red arrow is blinking AFTER STOP. OCGS Assoc. does not feel that this is a safe signal change.
The State will consider puting a left turn arrow signal going east on OCR for those drivers who want to turn and go north on Greenspring, presumably to get onto one of the belt way entrances. However the stacking capacity on the west side of OCR is only about 4 cars which may not make the signal feasible. This will be reviewed by the State after the completion of the currently planed intersection upgrade.
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2009/Jan 15
Your representative to PGCC attended the annual PGCC meeting. Political leaders or representatives present were Kevin Kamenetz, Judy Berman Delegate Dan Morhaim’s office, Bill Frank Maryland State Delegate, Steve Lafferty Maryland State Delegate, Jonathan Schwartz Delegate Jon Cardin’s office, and Dana Stein Maryland State Delegate. PGCC also had officals from the Planning Dept and State Roads in attendance. This meeting allows PGCC representatives to talk diectly to those people who can help our community.
The meeting was open to the public and notices appeared in the Jewish Times and Owings Mills Times.
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2008/Dec 4
Subj: Traffic signal Old Pimlico and Falls:As part of our benefits of being a member of PGCC, we are kept up to date on events in our area. This was referred to us from PGCC who received it from State Roads:
As part of our ongoing effort to keep you informed of highway improvements affecting District 42, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is constructing a new traffic signal at the intersection of MD 25 (Falls Road) and Old Pimlico Road. Weather permitting, the new signal should be activated in January 2009. Temporary signs will be installed at the intersection prior to signal activation to alert travelers to the signal and new traffic pattern.
The poles and lights are up and ready to be activated.
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2008/ Nov 5
Subj: New development proposed at 2801 OCR:2801 OCR sold for $1.1 million on Jun 23, 2008. This is a 7.7 acre lot. The Assessment and Taxation public files on the Maryland web site, reported the property was bought by a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) named Five M LLC.
A pre-concept meeting was held between the County and the possible developer and owner on Apr 23, 2008. This meeting is not open to the public. Records show that 6 to 7 houses are planned. This would be in accordance with the DR-1 zoning on the property. A pre-concept plan conference is an initial meeting to advise the potential developer regarding applicable County regulations.
If the developer chooses to proceed, then a Concept Plan Conference, a Development Review Committee meeting, a Community Input Meeting, and possible Zoning hearings follow. The CIM is where the community gets to speak unless the CIM is waived by the DRC. The same for any Zoning Hearings.
Note that the property now has access to water but not sewage. An accel/deccel lane maybe required.
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2008/Sept 30
Subj: Water lines to be installed on OCR east of Greenspring:OCGS received a call that at least one household scheduled to have a water line laid in front of the property did not have an indication that the property was also scheduled for a tap. The householder was advised to check the paper work received from the county and if it did not have a figure for a tap, and the county had not asked what size tap he needed, then he should call the County Water Dept immediately. He did and discovered that he was not scheduled for a tap and he had that changed. To add a tap after the line is laid is double or triple the cost than if the line is tapped during construction. You must be scheduled for a tap as well as the line if you expect to have water to your house. You still have the private cost of the line from the tap to your house but the line can be put in anytime. But, no tap, then extra delay and extra cost.
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2008/Sept 23
Subj: Zoning, Shapiro propety agreement, repaving OCR east, new north bound Greenspring lane, water line extension, accident reports 2006-2008, Quarry bus line:The following events have occurred or are occurring in our Association area:
1. The County Council did not change any zoning in our area. There had been 1 request for an increase in zoning density.
2. There is a tentative agreement to limit the number of houses to be built on the Shapiro property accross from Stevenson Crossing. While the property is zoned for DR2 the number of houses to be built will be less than DR-1 allows. Under DR-2 a total of 100 houses are allowed, 66 were proposed and 46 are now the agreed amount as well as set back from OCR and landscaping considerations. The agreement is not final until it is inked and recorded. Hopefully this will occur in the not to distant future saving our association from proceeding further to limit development.
3. OCR from Greenspring Ave to Falls Road will be repaved shortly.
4. Work is begining on the additional north bound lane of Greenspring Ave.
5. Work will begin on Sept 23 to extend the water line from Greenspring Ave to Grasty Rd.
6. The State Highway Dept has failed to supply accident reports for OCR after several requests. Therefore it has not been updated on our website. We will continue to ask for the reports and will have them up on our site as soon as they are received.
7. There is now a public bus line that runs into the Quarry to service the businesses. The residental area is opposed to the line and the MTA has indicated that it will review rider figures before deciding whether or not to discontinue service.
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2008/June 4
Subj: County Council meeting activities:The secretary of OGGS attended the county council meeting held at Pikesville HS and gave comments concerning the proposed zoning requests filed for properties in our association. This is the last step before the council decides on zoning change requests. Contact was also made with members of the planning board concerning other proposed developments in our association area that may or may not occur.
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2008/June 3
Subj: Shapiro property activities:Your representative attended a meeting of the Shapiro committee. In talks with the developer, we believe that the developer will be willing to reduce the size of the proposed development to meet DR-1 zoning instead of the higher zoning he now has. That would be a decrease of some 16 houses and would almost shield view of the development from OCR. A larger entrance has also been proposed. Both proposals would help reduce the traffic and make the development more in line with surrounding existing development. Talks still continue and we hope to get more FCE (forest conservation easement) to push the development even further back from the road.
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2008/May 14
Subj: Traffic issues, repaving OCR east, NB Greenspring lane:OCGS, as member of PGCC, met with Baltimore County and State highway officials to discuss several traffic issues. Of interest of OCGS: The repaving of the east side of Old Court Rd will be more of a patch job rather than a full repaving. The additional NB lane of Greenspring Ave will begin soon and hopefully be completed by Sept.
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2008/Apr 28
Subj: Shapiro development activities:Your PGCC representative, along with two other PGCC representatives from the Shapiro committee met with personnel from the Office of Planning to discuss the proposed development on the Shapiro property and the CAPS (Community Action Plan) which is part of the County’s Master-Plan 2010.
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2008/Apr 7
Subj: DRC BT meeting:Your OCGS secty attended the DRC (Development Review Committee) meeting concerning the request by Beth Tfiloh for variances on construction of the new parking lot. The Association was allowed to speak and we requested that, in accordance with the covenants that are in place, the landscaping be extremely dense and sufficient to buffer the parking lot from view from OCR which is a State scenic biway and a County scenic highway.
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2008/Mar 27
Subj: Shapiro development committee formed:Your PGCC representative met with other representatives from adjoining associations and formed a PGCC committee (composed of PGCC members and non-members) to discuss various concerns and what options are available to mitigate the impact of the proposed new development at OCR and Lightfoot Dr. (Concerns are protecting scenic views, SWM, traffic, access safety, and compatibility with surrounding housing).
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2008/Mar 13
Subj: Donating open space, proposed development on Shapiro property:The OCGS secty attended the PGCC quarterly board meeting. Of interest was the representative from NeighborSpace. This group accepts small parcels of property for use in perpetuity as open space. The OCGS association has the honor of having the first property in Maryland donated to NeighborSpace. It is a one acre wooded parcel off Branchwood Ct. If you are interested in keeping a piece of property undeveloped and get a tax deduction, please call the secty for information. There have also been several parcels in our association that have been donated to the Maryland Envirmental Trust.
The other major issue concerned the proposed 66 home development on OCR near Lightfoot Dr. OCGS is opposed to the proposed lot size (70 foot lots) and the affect to the scenic view of OCR. Traffic safety may also be a problem as the site lines are not good. The additional 700 daily average trips that could be generated by a development this size could exacerbate the traffic and safety problems.
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2008/Mar 6
Subj: CZMP public meeting:
The OGCS secretary attended the public Zoning Hearing (part of the CZMP-Comprehensive Zoning Map Process) at Pikesville Sr High School. The secty spoke for zoning issues in our Association area. PGCC also spoke for issues in our association as well as other areas found in the CAP (Community Action Plan) for our combined area and which has been adopted as part of the County’s Master Plan 2010.
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2008/Mar 5
Subj: CIM on Shapiro property:
The OCGS secty attended the public CIM (Community Input Meeting) at Summit Park Elementary School for the proposed development. The purpose of the CIM is to inform the public of the plans for the development and elicit comments. It is not to resolve possible problems. The most common comment was traffic and how it could possibly be improved. It was also stated that the 66 sfds(single family dwelling sites) would generate approx 660 adt (average daily trips), the lot sizes would be approx 1/4 acre, no house configuration has been decided upon, and the only entrance possible would be directly across from Stevenson Crossing. There was concern with storm water runoff especially on Lightfoot Drive. The CIM is only the second of many steps required before the project can move a head. The only place the community really has power is at the hearing officer hearing level which may be as soon as 6 months or a couple of years away depending on how fast the project moves.
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2008/Feb 26
Subj: Shapiro property meeting:
The OCGS rep to PGCC, along with other reps to PGCC from member associations, met in a private meeting with the attorney and engineer for the Shapiro property to determine what problems or solutions were available to ease the impact of the proposed development.
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2008/Feb 18
Subj: Road marking on OCR east:
The numbers from 1 thru 69 are painted on the street surface of Old Court Rd from Greenspring Ave to Falls Rd. They are markings to guide the future repaving of that part of OCR.
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2008/ Feb 11
Subj: 66 NEW HOUSES ON OLD COURT RD – Shapiro property:
A Community Input Meeting (CIM) will be held on March 5, 2008 at Summit Park Elementary School Cafeteria, 6920 Diana Rd, Baltimore, Maryland 21209. Time is 7PM.
The CIM will be open to the public and will be about the proposed 66 single family dewellings (SFDs) on the Shapiro property to be built on the south side of Old Court Rd, North east of Light foot Drive, and west of Greenspring Ave. The access road into the development will be directly across from Old Crossing Drive, just east of Beth Tfiloa.
This is the time and place where the developer and the county will listen to comments from the community. They do not need to follow the suggestions or complaints, but they must listen to them.
PS-While the county does not normally take into account traffic when approving new developments, it did in this case require a traffic study. According to prior traffic studies done in this area, each SFD will generate 10 additional trips per day or approximately 660 additional cars on the road sometime during the day. That should impact the traffic at the OCR/Greenspring intersection as well as the light where OCR and Stevenson meet as well as 7 Mile Lane light and Lightfoot Drive intersection.
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2008/Jan 28
Subj: Concept Plan Conference – Shapiro property:
The secty of OCGS attended the 9am Concept Plan Conference held by Baltimore County in Towson for the proposed 66 single family dewelling to be built on the south side of OCR across from Stevenson Crossing. The county informs the proposed developer of those items or conditions to be met in order for the proposed development to procede. No one else is allowed to speak or comment at this conference meeting. The Secty has a copy of the county’s conditions and recomendations. A CIM (Community Input Meeting) is required to be held. The developer and the county give surrounding residents a chance to speak on the proposed development. The date will be March 5 at 6:30pm. Location has not yet been confirmed. The secty will email all OCGS members who have provided email addresses about the meeting and final location selected. This meeting is when you,the public, get to speak.
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2008/Jan 24
Subj: OCGS annual meeting 2008:
The annual meeting of OCGS Improvement Association was held. Notices went out to all paid up members and recently paid up members who provided email addresses. (Actually, anyone who provided an email address was invited to attend although only paid members get to vote.) The current officers – Diener, Schon, Teplitzky, and Carton were reelected. The Pres and Secty were authorized to speak to any county/ state body on behalf of OCGS for the 2008 term. Discussed were – traffic on Greenspring/ OCR and the delay in building the extra NB lane on Greenspring, the pending development of 66 single family dewellings on the south side of OCR directly across from Stevenson Crossing on 48 acres of property, and other topics affecting our association. The secty hoped to be able to send out a newsletter in March to all households, paid members or not, giving more details and dues notices .
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2008 /Jan 15
Subj: PCGG annual meeting 2008:
The OCGS secretary and the OCGS Treasurer attended the annual PGCC meeting held at Baltimore Hebrew. Del. Steve Lafferty and County Council president Kevin Kamenetz also attended. Jeff Mayhew from the county office of planning and representatives of the development at the Quarry were also present.
If you want further information, you can certainly attend the OCGS annual meeting or become a representative for OCGS to PGCC.
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2007/Nov 27
Subj: Education volunteers:
The OCGS secretary, who is also the designated representative to the Board of PGCC (Pikesville-Greenspring Community Coalition – the umbrella neighbor association group of which we are a member) attended the quarterly PGCC meeting. Of interest was a request by a member of the NAAC (Northwest Area Advisory Council) to the Baltimore County School Board. The member, Arnold Potler, is interested in contacting community members who have the time, and the interest, to volunteer in any capacity in our neighborhood schools. Arnold is also Chair of the Education Committee of PGCC and President of Dumbarton Stevenson Improvement Association. Contact him at
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2007/Nov 13
Subj: DRC lot line adjustment:
The OCGS secretary, was present at the DRC (Development Review Committee) meeting held in Towson concerning a proposed lot line adjustment for property located in our association. The purpose of the request was to make certain lots more attractive for future sale. The proposed adjustment will not affect zoning or building density.
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2007/ Sept 25
Subj: NB lane Greenspring Ave:
There were several items discussed at the PGCC meeting that concerned OCGS including Zoning and a couple of traffic issues. The issue that is most pertinent to OGCS is the continued delay in construction of the additional NB lane for Greenspring Ave mentioned in previous notes. It seems that the project is on hold because of a watershed drainage problem. Until the problem can be resolved, no construction permit will be issued.
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2007/July 13
Subj: OCGS annual meeting 2007:
The OCGS annual meeting was held Jul 13. Attendance was very very sparse. Diener, Schon, Tplitzky, and Carton were reelected as officers for the coming year. One item discussed was the CZMP (Zoning of property) which begins in Sept. Several properties in our association area were discussed for possible requests for rezoning. If you missed the meeting, see our next newsletter for details.
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2007/June 27
Subj: Speed camera, NB Greenspring Ave lane:
On June 21 the Baltimore County held the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program Meeting. Basically this meeting was about traffic claming, traffic claming devices, and the process and rules underlying the current requirements. Your OCGS representative attended. One item discussed was speed cameras. The State Highway Administration (SHA) rep stated that – Speed cameras cannot be used at this time because — MD LAW — police cannot use automated speed enforcement without authorization from the state legislature. A pilot program is now underway in Montgomery Co. It became operational this year, but it will take time to get the report on the effectiveness of this study. Once the pilot program is concluded, the State legislature may (or may not) approve the use of speed cameras. Until then – can’t use them anywhere but for the pilot program.
Should this program be approved by the State, the OCGS rep will ask the membership to authorize a request to be made by OCGS for such cameras on OCR and on Greenspring where it crosses OCR.
We also had the chance to ask after the meeting about the delay in the additional NB lane for Greenspring Ave. We were told that the only thing holding up the project was a State Waste Water permit. There is some question about storm water run-off and how it can be handled if an additional lane is added. When the engineers are done, the work will proceed.
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2007/March 22
Subj: Latest Quarry update on signed leases:
The Fresh Market, Starbucks, BB&T, Natural Cleaners, Verizon, Walgreen’s, Jasmine Restaurant, Ciao/Carmine’s Restaurant
Office One building: Greenspring Surgery Center, Mid-Atlantic Neurosurgical, Life Bridge Lab, Kreiger Eye, Health Associates, Health Trends, Dr. Malinow & Oster, Ortho MD.
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2007/Feb
Subj: Traffic meeting with SHA, deer problem, OCR Greenspring high accident rate:OCGS participated with PGCC in a meeting with State and County Road officials concerning traffic problems in the PGCC area including problems along MD 133 (Old Court Rd)
Several issues became apparent:
- Concerning deer and the request for deer signs and road reflectors to warn drivers and frighten off deer when a car’s headlights are on- The State indicated that there were not enough incidents to meet the level to require signs or reflectors. It was discovered through discussion that the State only counts those incidents it handles. If the county or the SPCA made the report or picked up the deer, they did not report to the State nor did the State coordinate with any other agency or group. The State agreed to look into making arrangements with at least the county to coordinate statistics for purposes of counting incidents. If you have a deer accident or see dead deer, call State roads with your report and not the county or SPCA so that we can be assured we get a full accounting.
- Accidents: MD133 (OCR) at Greenspring Ave is a high accident intersection and the accident rate exceeded allowable limits for the State in 2004 and 2005 (no figures are available yet for 2006 and for any quarter of 2007. Traffic of course has increased since 2005 but that is for future counting, and we can assume the statistics would be even worse.( I will post a PDF of the accident report on this web site.) There were 15 accidents recorded for 2003-2005 for the intersection. If police were not involved, there is no count.
- By the way there were 41 accidents listed for OCR from Falls Rd to Park Heights Ave 2004-2005. (I will post a PDF.) However, it is noted that this 41 did not include an additional 6 more accidents which occurred at OCR and Greenspring and are on the other report. When I pointed this fact out to State Highway, they said it was a coding problem. So that comes to 47 accidents when you count those as well. This is on a 35 MPH road. Also there were only two vehicle-animal (deer) accidents for the 3 year period. OGCS questions this statistic. There were 2 deer accidents just the first quarter of 2007 alone. One, by one of our OCGS members, was reported to police so I expect it to show up in the accident report for 2007. The other, which occured in front 3004 OCR, caused car damage. The broken glass was on the road along with the deer.
The “exceeded allowable limits” means that if and when any work is done on intersections in our area, OCR at Greenspring will be given priority. It does not mean the State or county are planning to do anything. The State declined to put in battery backup power for the intersection or put in a red light camera. The battery backups are only in the test stage and require the lights in the intersection to be replaced by special expensive bulbs drawing less power. The State is not yet replacing those lights and there have not been enough injuries or deaths in the intersection to allow a red light camera.
4. The additional northbound lane to the beltway on Greenspring Ave is still scheduled but is currently delayed to at least the summer.
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2007/Jan/ 10
Subj: PGCC annual meeting – discussion of Quarry commercial area:
At the annual PGCC meeting held on Jan 9 at Baltimore Hebrew Cong on Park Heights Ave. there were two speakers concerning the Quarry. Mike Kotishion of Beazer Homes said that the building of private homes and the 5 condos buildings is anticipated to be completed in about 3 years. Tom Obrecht of Obrecht Properties LLC said that he anticipated that the commercial area would be completed in about 18 months. The area where the sales trailer is now located would become a small park and there would be pathways along part of the lake as well as a low fence for safety. No water recreation facilities are currently planned for the lake.
In the commercial area there will be a fresh food store, a Walgreens, a cleaners, a Verizon store, a BB&T bank, one Italian style restaurant among the 4 planned, and an Ice Cream store.
There will be 3 office buildings. One will be almost entirely filled by Sinai Life Bridge along with other medical offices.
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2006/Nov/27
Subj: Speed limit change on Greenspring Ave:
PGCC has informed OCGS that Baltimore County will reduce the speed limit on Greenspring Ave from 40MPH to 35MPH on or about Dec 12, 2006 (give or take a few weeks).
Please note that when this new speed limit is enforced by police, traffic points and fines will be higher than they were under the old speed limit if a motorist continues to travel at speeds in excess of 40MPH. The additional 5MPH will put speeders into a higher penalty category.
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Start: This will be a running blog of events in our area. Format and input may change without notice as the blog is revised. The blog will attempt to relay facts and not opinion. Comments can be emailed to
2007/Jan/ 10
Subj: PGCC annual meeting – discussion of Quarry commercial area:
At the annual PGCC meeting held on Jan 9 at Baltimore Hebrew Cong on Park Heights Ave. there were two speakers concerning the Quarry. Mike Kotishion of Beazer Homes said that the building of private homes and the 5 condos buildings is anticipated to be completed in about 3 years. Tom Obrecht of Obrecht Properties LLC said that he anticipated that the commercial area would be completed in about 18 months. The area where the sales trailer is now located would become a small park and there would be pathways along part of the lake as well as a low fence for safety. No water recreation facilities are currently planned for the lake.
In the commercial area there will be a fresh food store, a Walgreens, a cleaners, a Verizon store, a BB&T bank, one Italian style restaurant among the 4 planned, and an Ice Cream store.
There will be 3 office buildings. One will be almost entirely filled by Sinai Life Bridge along with other medical offices.
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2006/Nov/27
Subj: Speed limit change on Greenspring Ave:
PGCC has informed OCGS that Baltimore County will reduce the speed limit on Greenspring Ave from 40MPH to 35MPH on or about Dec 12, 2006 (give or take a few weeks).
Please note that when this new speed limit is enforced by police, traffic points and fines will be higher than they were under the old speed limit if a motorist continues to travel at speeds in excess of 40MPH. The additional 5MPH will put speeders into a higher penalty category.
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Start: This will be a running blog of events in our area. Format and input may change without notice as the blog is revised. The blog will attempt to relay facts and not opinion. Comments can be emailed to