Citing haphazard zoning, traffic problems and incompatibility between commercial and residential zoning on Joppa Road, leaders of the Greater Parkville Community Council say they have lobbied for a corridor study of the road for the last four years. But as such a study was kicked off by Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder and members of the planning office last week, Ruth and Ernest Baisden are questioning why they were not included on the advisory committee. "We were not given a legitimate reason why the council was not on this advisory group," said Ruth Baisden last week. Baisden has served as secretary of the Greater Parkville Community Council and recently was elected its president. She said there are approximately 400 individuals and 15 community groups that belong to the Greater Parkville Community Council that represents Parkville, Carney and Cub Hill. "The corridor affects the entire community. We have an opportunity to look at the area, make good decisions and avoid past mistakes," Baisden said. "It is very critical to have a good and fair advisory group."

Bartenfelder, and Gary Kerns, chief of community planning for the Baltimore County Office of Planning who will oversee the study with 6th District community planner Diana Itter, asserted the makeup of the 19-member advisory group is a fair representation of both the community and businesses that are affected by the corridor. "The Carney Improvement Association, the Woodcroft Association, and Cub Hill (Civic Organization), all members of the GPCC, are directly represented," Kerns said. "Therefore, the umbrella organization is represented. We feel they are are the local community representatives. That's who we invited to be on the committee." Kerns said there is no requirement for forming advisory committees and there is no process for choosing members, who are volunteers and not required to come. In the past, committees have always been formed by including a wide representation, he said. "The Councilman may have suggested a few. I don't believe so. I'm not sure," Kerns said.

According to a list provided by Bartenfelder's office, representing the community for the advisory group is Mike Rupp, president of the Carney Improvement Association; David Marks, president of the Perry Hall Improvement Association; Robert Carpenter, of the Woodcroft Association, and Carol McEvoy, a former planning board member and member of the Cub Hill Civic Organization. Marilyn Ryan, a Carney Elementary School PTA member, and Frank Kasick, a resident of Oak Crest Village, are also on the committee. Representing businesses for the committee are Mike McCormick, Associate Executive Director of Oak Crest Village; Sally Malena, landscape architect for Human & Rohde Inc. located in Towson, Michael Reynolds, owner of Perry Hall Lawn and Flower; Don Bollhorst of the Perry Hall Business and Professional Association, and Joppa Road property owners Nancy L. Hastings, who resides in Finksburg, Norman Slater, a resident of the 9600 block of Alda Drive, and John Berg, who resides in the 4000 block of Joppa Road. John Gontrum, an attorney from Romadka, Gontrum and McLoughlin, who often represents developers, is also listed as being on the advisory group as well as Planning Board member Dorothy Foos, Department of Economic Development Revitalization Specialist Rene Barrett, Bureau of Traffic Engineering official Steve Weber and Eastern sector coordinator for county community conservation Terri Kingeter.

The study comes after years of uncoordinated zoning along the corridor. During the 1996 comprehensive zoning map process, 13 of the 22 requests for Joppa Road were upzoned from residential zoning to commercial zoning, a planning office list showed. In 2000, there were 19 requests for upzoning, the list showed. During that process, the Carney Improvement Association, the Greater Parkville Community Council and the Perry Hall Improvement Association petitioned for a Joppa Road corridor study, to postpone any rezoning. Bartenfelder passed a resolution for the study last year, preventing the possible rezoning of 17 of 19 Joppa Road requests. The advisory committee will evaluate the properties on Joppa Road from Perring Parkway to Belair Road and make recommendations concerning land use, development, infrastructure, landscaping, design issues, and impact on fire and traffic, Kerns said. Once a draft plan is established, a community wide information meeting will be held, Kerns said. A draft will then be presented to the Planning Board. A public hearing will be held before the draft goes to the County Council, and another public hearing will be held before the County Council adopts it, Kerns said. While community input from non-committee members is limited at the advisory meetings, they are open to the public, Kerns said. Input is welcomed at any time and can be sent to the planning office or to community representatives, he said.

Baisden, who said the council has worked on a community plan including Joppa Road for years, said that is not good enough. At the kick-off meeting last week, Mike Rupp said he initiated an informal vote to include Ruth Baisden on the committee. The vote did not pass. "The GPCC should have been included," David Marks said. While the Baisdens have been vocal critics of Bartenfelder in the past, Marks said, "that shouldn't keep them off the corridor study." Baisden said she will write Bartenfelder a letter. "(How these committees are formed) should be public knowledge," she said.

The planning office can be reached at 410-887-3211 or at 410 Bosley Avenue, Room 406, Towson, Md. 21204. Mike Rupp can be reached at 410-663-2641.