tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337069822024-03-23T14:09:22.826-04:00Columbia CompassNavigating through the social, political, and cultural world of Columbia, Maryland.B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-11142916098146046462013-01-13T11:15:00.004-05:002013-01-13T11:15:57.748-05:00We have moved. Please check out all that Columbia Compass goodness <a href="http://columbiacompass.weebly.com/blog.html">here</a>. HoCoBlogs@@@B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-36029383945685762632012-12-20T14:24:00.000-05:002012-12-20T14:24:06.179-05:00What Happens when Common Knowledge Diverges from Reality?<span id="internal-source-marker_0.09664439829066396" style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Before I begin today, a few acknowledgements. I do not believe I will change any minds with this blog post, and that’s okay. The subject discussed below has been instilled and reinforced in the DNA of many that have lived here for decades. I do not wish to offend anyone or diminish any memories of how people perceived the early years of Columbia. However, this is my humble attempt to discuss how the Columbia Park and Recreation Association (now the Columbia Association) was formed, the role of the Board of Directors and the role of the Columbia Council. Please note that I am not a lawyer and do not propose a professional legal opinion in this matter. I welcome any legal insight if anyone trained in the profession cares to weigh in. With this in mind, I base my narrative on the documents available and I hope that if I have missed something, other documents will be produced to refute my claims here. With that said, pour a virtual cup of coffee and read along.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Editorial Note:</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> Because some of the material discussed here refers back to the early years of the Columbia Association (CA), an occasional reference to the Columbia Park and Recreation Association (CPRA), Columbia’s original name, creeps in. The reader should understand that both citations (CA and CPRA) refer to the same organization.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Last week I discussed an Explore Howard article that described the dramatic changes some Columbia residents would like to impose on the Columbia Association. After the article appeared online, I started asking for more information, and was directed to the Maryland Homeowners Association (Inc) website for the documents that describe the legislation.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Of particular interest is the document titled “Major Benefits of Being Members of the Columbia Association (CA).” The first two bullet points in this document attempt to provide a basis for changing CA membership:</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-transform: none; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.09664439829066396" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sole purpose of the Columbia Association in its Charter is to operate “for the promotion of the common good and social welfare of the people of the community of Columbia....” The Columbia Corporation is currently organized as a nonstock corporation with no other members than the 10 persons elected by Columbia’s ten villages to the Columbia Council, an organization that currently does nothing except elect itself to the CA Board of Directors.</span></b></span></li>
</ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><ul style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-transform: none; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Columbia Council was in theory supposed to be the voice of the residents who must pay an annual tax-like fee to CA. Now, the Columbia Council has been made virtually defunct. As to the CA Board of Directors, the CA hired staff has told the Board that their loyalty as directors should be to the staff of CA and to the Board itself, and not directly to the Columbia peoples’ common good and social welfare. Therefore, the exclusion from CA corporate membership of residents who are required to pay annual fees to CA amounts to classic ”taxation without representation.”</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">The unnamed author begins well enough. The Columbia Association purpose is stated well. It is also true that CA is “currently organized as a nonstock corporation,” but it always has been a nonstock corporation and no legislation considered at this time (CA, ABC or otherwise) looks to change this status.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">The second bullet point starts off with theory, and this is where it gets dangerous.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>“The Columbia Council was in theory supposed to be the voice of the residents who must pay an annual tax-like fee to CA.”</i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">This quote is beyond theory - it is a fallacy. The facts do not support the theory. It is something that has been repeated (probably) a million times over the last four decades. There are a lot of people that believe it a core principal of the Next American City, but it remains, at best, a myth.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">I have done some research on this, and what I have found contradicts this popular social mooring. The evidence I provide is from the early Columbia Park and Recreation Association Charter, Article Seven (Paragraph 3), which states:</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">(3) It is anticipated that as The Property is developed, incorporated community or neighborhood associations for the promotion of the welfare of residents of particular sections of The Property will be formed. Each such incorporated association, which shall meet the standards of organization and membership prescribed by the Board of Directors of this Corporation, shall have the right to elect one of the members thereof to a council, to be known as the Columbia Council, which shall be an unincorporated advisory group whose function shall be to consider and make recommendations to the associations for the benefit and welfare of the Property and the residents thereof.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Let’s take a minute to deconstruct this passage and cut through some of the Charter language. First we will clear up some definitions:</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>The Property</b></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> – the legal definition of Columbia, Maryland.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Incorporated Community or Neighborhood Associations</b></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> – The organizations we currently know colloquially as “Village Boards.”</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Corporation</b></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> – The Columbia Park and Recreation Association, now known as the Columbia Association.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Substituting the above definitions, the passage of the CA Charter is as follows:</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">(3) It is anticipated that as Columbia is developed, incorporated community or neighborhood associations (Village Boards) for the promotion of the welfare of residents of particular sections of Columbia will be formed. Each such Village Board, which shall meet the standards of organization and membership prescribed by the Board of Directors of the Columbia Association, shall have the right to elect one of the members thereof to a council, to be known as the Columbia Council, which shall be an unincorporated advisory group whose function shall be to consider and make recommendations to the Village Boards for the benefit and welfare of Columbia and the residents thereof.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">And there it is, the Columbia Council was created to make recommendations to the </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Village Boards</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">, not the </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Columbia Association</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">. As stated in the CA Charter, the Columbia Council was an advisory group, and by the Charter they were to advise the Villages (“</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>make recommendations to the associations</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">”) on CA’s corporate decisions. Not advise the CA Board on resident’s wishes. </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Now, out of an abundance of caution, I can see how it would seem that the Columbia Council was “voice of the residents.” In addition to being “</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>an unincorporated advisory group</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">,” the CA Charter states that the Columbia Council members were also members of the CA Board of Directors.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">(A little foreshadowing here; in the history of CA, not all CA Board members were created equal. We will get to that soon enough.)</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">As members of the CA Board, the Columbia Council attended CA Board meetings and provided their input on the CA budget, the lien assessment, capital projects and all other right and proper board agenda items. The Columbia Council also had their own meetings to discuss CA related matters. In fact, the Columbia Council met far more often than the CA Board of directors. In this structure, the Columbia Council would ultimately arrive at conclusions. They would take positions on policies and proposed projects. Much of their decision-making was based on their experience as Columbians and in this way; they </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>were</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> the voice of Columbians. Working within this framework year after year reinforced the romantic notion that they were the “voice of the residents.” However, until the mid-1980’s, the Columbia Council always held a minority number of votes on the CA Board. For all the interaction with residents and positions taken on behalf of residents, the Columbia Council never had any decision making power. If the CA Board of directors acquiesced to the Columbia Council position, it was because of the majority’s wisdom. Either way, it was the job of the Columbia Council to explain to the residents, through the Village Boards why CA Board outcomes happened.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">One final thought on the ABC legislation benefits, the author also describes a scenario in which the current CA Board of Directors is beholden only to themselves and the CA staff. This is hogwash. CA staff does provide training on nonprofit board of directors for the CA Board. It is the same standard for the CA Board as for your local elementary school PTA officers, or any other nonprofit corporation. Moreover, their proposed legislation has nothing to do with this. It would not change the duties of the Directors.</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: initial; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Overall, I once again applaud the efforts of those that seek to improve the Coumbia Association. However, I am very concerned that much of rationale for change is misplaced and founded on strong memories, not facts. I welcome the author to sit down for a chat and we can set the record straight on this issue.</span></span>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-91229081207938939382012-12-13T11:35:00.001-05:002012-12-13T11:44:13.099-05:00Cutting Through the Noise and Fury in a Reasonable Community<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Recently, Explore Howard reporter Luke Lavoie highlighted
potential legislation that would dramatically change the Columbia Association
HOA membership. <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-new-legislation-1206-20121203,0,1555180.story">According to the article</a>, three well-intentioned members of our
community have authored the legislation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although no specifics were provided, the article states:</div>
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A group of Columbia residents is proposing a new amendment to the Maryland Homeowners Association Act that would make all Columbia "lot owners" corporate members of the Columbia Association.<br />
Currently, the only members of CA are the 10 members of the CA board of directors.<br />
A lot, as defined in the HOA act, is a parcel of land within a development on which a dwelling is located.</blockquote>
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Each of the legislation authors is provided ample quotes
regarding their perception as to why the legislation is necessary, and although
I believe that each author supports the legislation for a variety of reasons,
each seems to have a certain passion or focal point from which they speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe that is the writing or just my
perception after reading the article.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In addition, the information put forth by each person is not correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t get me wrong, it is clear that
each person has done some homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through their quotes, it is clear that they have an understanding of the
elements involved; but it seems the edges of the truth have been blurred to
suit a certain view.</div>
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This is not to say that any of these folks are
malcontents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I do not
know any of the authors personally I believe them to be hard-working people who
love their family and the community. Moreover, I believe that their passion for
Columbia extends beyond their driveway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the aggregate, good neighbors and good Columbians. In a way, their
proposed legislation is courageous. However, they are acting on incomplete
information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So in the spirit of
good Columbians, let’s try to clear the air a little bit.</div>
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<b>Fallacy 1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Current CA HOA Membership Happened “by Accident”</b></div>
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From the Explore Howard article:</div>
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According to Ketley, it is typical for most developers of
homeowners associations to hold governing control of the organization in the
association's infancy. However, Ketley said, developers usually adopt a
"time out" approach, ceding control of the governing board to residential
lien-payers after a certain number of units are sold.<br />
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Ketley said CA is currently stuck in phase two of this
traditional three-phase "time out" process; with the third phase
culminating in the transfer of membership control to residential lien-payers.<br />
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"We don't believe there was any malicious intent when
CA was originated, we think it was just accidental that it didn't move
forward," Ketley said.</blockquote>
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To say that it was “just accidental that it [CA] didn’t move
forward” is a slap in the face of the CA Board members that have served for the
last 25 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, as with beer,
some CA Board members have been better than others, but we have had some very
smart, capable leaders in this community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Among them have been lawyers, college professors, and many other
professionals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, during
the last 25 years, the subject of CA governance has come up numerous
times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not the case that the
subject has not come up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can
think of at least two task forces that studied CA governance and reviewed all
of the CA documents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have done
some research (with help from the Awesome Columbia Archives) and the transition
from the developer (HRD) to Columbia residents was deliberate and clearly
spelled out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not accident.</div>
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<b>Fallacy 2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is America and Our Proposal Provides Greater Representation</b></div>
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From the Explore Howard article:</div>
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"We are not asking for something that will make us
stand out or different," said group representative and Oakland Mills
resident Bill McCormack. "In fact, CA, as it is structured now, stands out
and is different. In this case, we want to be like everybody else and adopt a
structure that is tried, tested and true."<br />
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"When we are supporting CA through the lien fee, we
need to have representation. That's critical, that is how we do things in
America."</blockquote>
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McCormack said the bill would increase communication lines
and connectivity between the CA board and residential lien-payers.<br />
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"By making a lien-payer a member, it completes the loop
and brings Columbia closer together," McCormack said. "Because we
lien-payers are not members, the board is disconnected from us. If our
legislation goes through, the CA staff is working for us, because we are the
members and owners of CA."</blockquote>
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I think of all the people involved in creating this
legislation, most residents can identify with Mr. McCormack’s remarks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the most commonly stated reasons
for changing any Homeowner Association has been based on “fairness” and “this
is America.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, Mr.
McCormack has written letters to the editor on the subject before.</div>
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With regret, I have to inform Mr. McCormack that the
Homeowner Association structure is not intended to mimic governmental
elections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is instead geared
toward stockholder elections for publicly traded corporations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There has been a lot written about
homeowner associations in the last thirty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the writing warns of the dangers of “private
government.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of the writing
characterizes HOA’s as “aspiring to Jeffersonian Democracy” through private
means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I would also advise Mr. McCormack to revisit what he is
trying to accomplish and what this legislation actually says. Current voting
membership allows Columbian lot owners and renters to vote in HOA elections
(with Kings Contrivance and River Hill being the exception – all lot owners and
residents over 18 can vote there). It is also important to note that implicit
in the voting structure is the fact that people who own multiple lots have
multiple votes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, if
more than one person holds title to a single lot, they have to agree and vote
once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So there are some inequities
built into the current system.</div>
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The legislation that Mr. McCormack offers reduces the voting
population to lot owners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Renters
would be frozen out of the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Corporations would be frozen out of the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the inequities stated above would
continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The effect of this would
be to magnify the representation of multiple lot owners and would
disenfranchise the votes of thousands of Columbians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If “being more like America” was the intent, this
legislation goes in the opposite direction.</div>
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It is through the election of Village Boards and Columbia
Council Representatives that CA residents achieve representation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Village of Oakland Mills, this
occurs during the month of April every single year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bottom line is that there is a process for residents to
be connected to CA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just have
to participate to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover,
CA provides a number of surrogate opportunities to connect with the Columbia
Association.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Residents are
encouraged to attend and speak at all CA Board and Committee meetings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CA has set up a number of advisory
committees, constituted of residents, to advise on policies big and small.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short, the amount of
participation is limited not by CA, but by a resident’s desire to participate.</div>
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Lastly, the second theme in Mr. McCormack’s quotes emphasize
that CA should “be like everyone else.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, he does not cite examples (and to be fair, they may have been
left out of the article).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there
is in fact a better way, I would like to see some case studies before this
legislation goes to Annapolis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have no illusion that CA is without flaw; there are some things that I really
don’t like about the organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the other hand, I do think that they do many things well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If “everyone else” is doing it better
than CA, show me the data.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
strongly suspect that there are a number of HOA’s that don’t do as good a job
as CA, and the remaining ones are at best marginally better than CA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Said a different way, the top
performing (whatever that means) HOA’s in Maryland may be a little better than
CA at certain metrics (whatever they are), but the differences are so small
that they do not justify completely altering the membership of the
organization.</div>
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<b>Fallacy 3: The Proposed Legislation will Create a New
England Style, Alexis de Tocqueville Town Hall where Citizens Directly Vote on
Budgets and Issues</b></div>
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From the Explore Howard article:</div>
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According to ABC member Joel Pearlman, under HOA law
corporate members are required to have one annual meeting, at which the members
can vote on polarizing issues like amendments to governing documents and
considerations for the annual budget.<br />
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"All we are looking to do is make minimal changes to
allow (the residential lien-payers) to have one public meeting a year to decide
on which issues are important," Pearlman said. "Whatever it is in the
future people think is important enough to deal with, this would give them a
forum to do that."<br />
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Pearlman said the changes are meant to affect the political
structure of the organization, not the legal structure, meaning the CA board
would not be legally bound to honor recommendations or votes by the
lien-payers.</blockquote>
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My concern with Mr. Pearlman’s remarks is his misreading of
the Maryland Homeowners Association Act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With respect to meetings, Section 11B-111 states (in part) the following
(emphasis mine):</div>
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§ 11B-111. Meetings of homeowners association or its
governing body<br />
Except as provided in this title, and
notwithstanding anything contained in any of the documents of the homeowners
association:</blockquote>
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(1) Subject to the provisions of item
(4) of this section, all meetings of the homeowners association, including
meetings of the board of directors or other governing body of the homeowners
association or a committee of the homeowners association, shall be open to all
members of the homeowners association or their agents;</blockquote>
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(2) All members of the homeowners
association shall be given reasonable notice of all regularly scheduled open
meetings of the homeowners association;</blockquote>
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(3) (i) This item does not apply to
any meeting of a governing body that occurs at any time before the lot owners,
other than the developer, have a majority of votes in the homeowners
association, as provided in the declaration;</blockquote>
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(ii) Subject to
item (iii) of this item and to reasonable rules adopted by a governing body, a
governing body shall provide a designated period of time during a meeting to
allow lot owners an opportunity to comment on any matter relating to the
homeowners association;</blockquote>
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(iii) During a
meeting at which the agenda is limited to specific topics or at a special
meeting, the lot owners' comments may be limited to the topics listed on the
meeting agenda; and</blockquote>
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<b>(iv) The governing
body shall convene at least one meeting each year at which the agenda is open
to any matter relating to the homeowners association;</b></blockquote>
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As stated in 11B-111.(3).iv, the governing body shall have
one meeting with an open agenda such that anyone can speak about anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is much different that having a
quorum to vote on items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to
give credit to Mr. Pearlman’s aspirations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His reading of the Homeowners Association Act is much closer
to the classic <a href="http://www.tocqueville.org/chap5.htm#Town">Alexis deTocqueville</a> passage on New England towns:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"In towns it is impossible to
prevent men from assembling, getting excited together and forming sudden
passionate resolves. Towns are like great meeting houses with all the
inhabitants as members. In them the people wield immense influence over their
magistrates and often carry their desires into execution without
intermediaries."</div>
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This type of participatory democracy is an ideal with great
allure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there is little
evidence that changing the Homeowners Association Act would cause it to
happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The data we currently have
on public participation indicates the opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Columbia elections are held every April and have settled
into a pattern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most villages see
about 10% turnout and many of the Columbia Council races go uncontested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the remainder of the year the
number of people moved to attend meetings and participate can be measured in the
dozens. It is difficult to see a groundswell of participation down the road if
current participation levels continue to remain weak.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In closing, the authors of this new legislation should be
commended for their efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, they have provided little evidence as to why this change needs
to occur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their conclusions have
yet to be supported by evidence of a better way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope any individual elected to the State Legislator would
require much more details from these individuals before taking it to
Annapolis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the authors
claim the proposed legislation will result in “minimal changes,” you have to
consider the changes would affect more than 30,000 lots (and even more voters). <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">HoCoBlogs@@@</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-87074858980973551402012-12-12T12:49:00.002-05:002012-12-12T12:49:42.517-05:00Watchdog Legislation Goes Public<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my last post, I asked for the Columbia residents that are
proposing legislation to fundamentally change Columbia Association membership
to make their views public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
have posted their proposal on the <a href="http://www.marylandhomeownersassociation.info/Site/Condo_HOA_News.html">Maryland Homeowners Association, Inc</a>
website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To facilitate discussion,
I will repost their work here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have some thoughts on this, but would prefer to allow for discussion
beforehand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please note that the
posting of information below is in no way an endorsement of the language
provided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take a look and let me
know your thoughts:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>First Document:</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Rationale and Major Benefits of Being Members of the
Columbia Association (CA)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The sole purpose of the Columbia Association in its Charter
is to operate “for the promotion of the common good and social welfare of the
people of the community of Columbia....” The Columbia Corporation is currently
organized as a nonstock corporation with no other members than the 10 persons
elected by Columbia’s ten villages to the Columbia Council, an organization
that currently does nothing except elect itself to the CA Board of Directors.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The Columbia Council was in theory supposed to be the voice
of the residents who must pay an annual tax-like fee to CA. Now, the Columbia
Council has been made virtually defunct. As to the CA Board of Directors, the
CA hired staff has told the Board that their loyalty as directors should be to
the staff of CA and to the Board itself, and not directly to the Columbia
peoples’ common good and social welfare. Therefore, the exclusion from CA
corporate membership of residents who are required to pay annual fees to CA
amounts to classic ”taxation without representation.”</li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This legislation would give the following major benefits to
Columbia lot owners:</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The ability to meet as members and have a stronger voice on
issues involving how CA operates and collects and spends the money it receives
from members, such as CA’s budget, issuance of debt, changes in the annual
charge CA imposes, and any broad policy question affecting members.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The right to attain fundamental rights, such as ensuring
accountability and transparency within CA, that are normally available to
members of other homeowners associations in Maryland and that are specifically
granted to members by CA’s governing documents.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The opportunity to amend CA’s governing documents as
required to serve the residents of Columbia.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The effective date of this legislation could be moved to
October 1, 2014, to permit ample opportunity for the Columbia Association to
accommodate the expanded membership structure.</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Second Document:</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO TWO SECTIONS OF THE MARYLAND
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION ACT TO ADD LOT OWNER PROTECTIONS AND TO CLARIFY
DEFINITIONS OF SIMILAR TERMS: “MEMBERS” and “CORPORATE MEMBERS”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
§ 11B-113.6<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additional protections for lot owners</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
a) Legislative intent. -- It is the intent of the General
Assembly to provide additional protections to lot owners subject to this Act in
homeowners associations organized as nonstock corporations in which not all lot
owners are corporate members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
section would grant corporate membership to any lot owner excluded from such
membership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As corporate members,
these lot owners would have the ability to further expand upon the rights
provided by this Act.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
b) Definition of corporate member. -- In this section, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a “corporate member” is defined by the
provisions of Title 5, subtitle 2, of the Maryland Corporations and
Associations Code.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
c)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additional
lot owner protections. -- Any Maryland homeowners association organized as a
nonstock corporation that does not automatically include all lot owners as
corporate members shall add immediately all excluded lot owners as such
corporate members with all rights provided by the corporation’s governing
documents and Maryland law.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
§ 11B-101(i)(3) A “member” of a homeowners association is
any lot owner and any other person that the homeowners<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>association may wish to designate.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect
October 1, 2014.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-38012680094316169522012-12-04T14:10:00.002-05:002012-12-04T14:10:23.267-05:00Lead by ExampleA <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-new-legislation-1206-20121203,0,1555180.story?page=1"><b>recent article</b></a> on the Explore Howard website reveals that three Columbia residents are seeking to introduce legislation at the Maryland State level to dramatically change Columbia Association HOA membership. Given that these residents have advocated for greater transparency and seek to stop CA's proposed legislation, I ask that these individuals release their proposal to all Columbia residents as soon as possible. This document must be given to Columbians now rather than after it appears in the General Assembly so that residents clearly understand the intent and depth of their proposal. To do any less would shrink from the transparency they seek of others. With all due respect, demonstrate your beliefs in deeds and not only in words. <span style="color: white;">HoCoBlogs@@@</span>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-47650206075993237722012-06-04T13:33:00.001-04:002012-06-04T13:33:39.081-04:00Downtown Entertainment in the Palm of My HandColumbia Association is changing. Yes, CA has been rolling out big picture things like new golf clubhouses, new people tree logos, and more lake dredging (yes!) . However, I think a a lot of the small things they are doing will have, over the long run, an even bigger impact.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Consider downtown Columbia lakefront activities. Yes, the festival of the arts banners are up (just as the Wine in the Woods banners came down), and they will in turn be replaced by the Columbia Boat Float and International Day banners. They help. Yes, CA publishes the family movie nights in their CA Monthly. This helps too, but I can never seem to find it when I need it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I recently came across the lakefront activities calendar <b><a href="http://www.lakefrontfestival.com/wordp/">here</a>,</b> and a link to download the activities into either an iCal (Apple) and Google Calendar (duh) application (check lower right-hand-side of webpage). Many of parents-of-children-in-HCPSS already use a similar download for the school year calendar. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This means that I can access the movies and concerts from the desktop, laptop or smart phone. I can also set alerts for movies the family definitely wants to see (cue The Muppets, 23JUL12 and Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides, 03AUG12). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The effect is a helpful pocket reminder of things we want to see. I hope to see you all there too. <span style="color: white;">HoCoBlogs@@@</span></div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-19384593005632677682012-05-29T10:03:00.001-04:002012-05-29T10:04:35.244-04:00I have had no Communication with Mr. David Byrne - It's SerendipityLast Friday, <a href="http://columbiacompass.blogspot.com/2012/05/compare-and-contrast-friday-edition.html"><b>I mentioned</b></a> Talking Heads founder and bicycle enthusiast David Byrne. Last Sunday, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/opinion/sunday/this-is-how-we-ride.html?_r=2&hp"><b>his opinion piece</b></a> in bicycles appeared in the New York Times. <span style="color: white;">hocoblogs@@@</span>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-10448895816541930872012-05-25T11:11:00.003-04:002012-05-25T11:11:42.614-04:00Compare and Contrast – Friday Edition<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the highlights this week was the Connecting Columbia
presentation that the Columbia Association held in Oakland Mills. The <a href="http://www.columbiaassociation.com/content/getinformed/connectingcolumbia/index.cfm"><b>Connecting Columbia</b></a> website
states that:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“CA is developing an Active Transportation Action Agenda to
create a more interconnected and comprehensive bicycling and walking
circulation system for health, recreational and transportation purposes.”</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was not able to attend, but I have talked with several
people that did, and the response has been very positive. To date, <a href="http://www.sarahsaysblog.com/2012/05/moving-forward-on-ca-pathways.html"><b>Sarah Says</b></a> has
the only rundown on the meeting.
It is a great read, and I encourage everyone to take it in.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All this local multi-modal love is juxtaposed with two
articles that came across my feed this week. These reports describe how the <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-americas-love-affair-cars-no-accident"><b>car became king</b></a> (with descriptions of the origins of “jaywalking” and “America’s love affair
with the automobile). Yes, the
automobile industry is implicated, but so are some unlikely participants (AAA,
Groucho Marx).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a testament to AAA’s messaging comes another report from
<a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/05/students-punished-riding-bikes-school-michigan/2084/"><b>Michigan</b></a>,
where high school students were punished for <i><b>riding their bikes to school</b></i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taking all this into account, I can only hope that Connecting
Columbia reaches out to <i>Talking Heads</i> founder David Byrne. Mr. Byrne is a lifelong bicycle
enthusiast and not too long ago wrote the book <a href="http://www.davidbyrne.com/art/books/bicycle_diaries/index.php"><b><i>The Bicycle Diaries</i></b></a>. During a presentation at the Newseum,
Mr. Byrne characterized <a href="http://columbiacompass.blogspot.com/2009/12/not-so-ringing-endorsement.html" style="font-weight: bold;">Columbia in a not so positive light</a>. <span style="color: white;">hocoblogs@@@</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-42904181794422467812012-05-23T10:06:00.001-04:002012-05-23T10:06:19.371-04:00Compare and ContrastThe Atlantic Cities website features a new ranking of park systems in the United States (<a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/05/best-city-parks-systems-america/2052/"><i><b>The Best City Parks Systems in America</b></i></a>). Its an interesting article (San Francisco comes out on top in this particular assessment) and well worth reading. In particular, I found this passage compelling:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[director of the Trust for Public Land's Center for City Park Excellence, Peter] Harnik notes that a wide variety of factors determine how well a city's parks serve its people. The number of playgrounds may be the most important.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We feel a playground is really a basic bottom-line measure of what a city park system is doing for its residents. Obviously playgrounds are great for children, but they go way beyond children. They're community gathering areas, they are so important to the social network of a neighborhood and a city," Harnik says. "It's somewhat of a predictor of the other kinds of facilities that a city parks department provides its citizens."</blockquote>
<div class="p1">
Compare the above statement with the Columbia Associations stated policy of removing 20% of the tot lots from Columbia's neighborhoods. What does that say about us? <span style="color: white;">hocoblogs@@@</span></div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-80004027870351438992012-05-15T14:16:00.000-04:002012-05-15T14:16:29.556-04:00(Solar) Power Play in the Next American City<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Michael Cornell, CA
Board Member from River Hill and sometimes guest blogger, has a nice piece over
at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><a href="http://www.hocorising.com/2012/05/solar-arrays-in-river-hill.html"><b>HoCoRising</b></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> about the recently installed solar panels adjacent to the River Hill Pool and
Neighborhood Center.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">It’s a nice
post.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I encourage everyone to read
it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But it made me
think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I applaud CA’s foray into
harnessing the power of the sun; however, I think it’s time for CA to go big on
this project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that CA
should push to cover every swimming pool pump house and shade structure
(gazebo, pergola, trellis; whatever you want to call them) with solar
panels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, the vast,
southern wall of the Columbia Swim Center should get the photovoltaic treatment
too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I single out CA’s
23 pools for a specific reason: they are open about three months a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The remaining nine months, the power
generated at each of these locations would exceed the power used, thereby
generating utility credits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Understanding CA’s
status as a non-profit, they would have to spend these credits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another model would be to allow CA to
take out a bond, utilizing the power generated from the panels from Labor Day
to Memorial Day as payment on the bond, a solar bond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given a 20-30 lifespan of the panels, this could represent
some significant funds available for reinvesting in the pools and other
infrastructure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could also
offset/minimize the cost of operation during the summer months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Now, I am sure that
this is not a completely new idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I believe CA has taken a look at their rooftops and assessed their solar
potential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If CA could efficiently
generate power from the Talbott Springs Pool rooftop, Alex Hekimian would be
writing blog posts too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very few
sites are ideal, and there are some barriers to work through to get these sites
upgraded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">There may also be
some legal/regulatory hoops to jump through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Legislation may have to be written to allow non-profits to
enter into bond agreements of this structure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The legalese surrounding the triple-verification (CA, the
bond holder, and the power company) of the power meter at each pool would be a
significant undertaking itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But taken as a whole, this may be the type of 21st century economic
dynamic worth doing. </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 15pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">hocoblogs@@@</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-60042389501475738052012-04-30T11:56:00.000-04:002012-04-30T12:04:16.582-04:00Revisiting People Tree 2.0 – Paging the 21st Century Betsy Ross<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, let me say well done to the Columbia
Association. I think the new logo
is distinctive and well represents the community. I am also pleased that CA asked professional designers to do
the work rather than relying on public group think. Truth be told, the public was not involved in the first CA
logo, and that worked out pretty well (legal trademark issues aside) for a few
decades. That is not to say I am
100% in love with logo, but I had my reservations about the other CA logos
too. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By comparison, Google “<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=people+tree+logo&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qbGeT8TRFur20gH88K2ADw&sqi=2&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1226&bih=677"><b>People Tree Logo</b></a>” or
“<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=people+tree+logo&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qbGeT8TRFur20gH88K2ADw&sqi=2&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1226&bih=677#hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=people+circle&oq=people+circle&aq=f&aqi=g3g-m2g-S1g-mS1&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=img.3..0l3j0i5l2j0i24j0i5i24.33511.35996.0.36258.13.11.0.1.1.0.550.1417.7j1j1j5-1.10.0.FRx1aG4C_kA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=7ad4bf15ababc595&biw=1226&bih=677"><b>People Circle</b></a>”. (A quick
aside to CA’s IT department, the new logo does not show up in image
searches on Google, get to work on that please.) What I am saying is, there are an awful lot of bad people
tree logos, and this one works quite well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, the new People Tree logo is now more than a few days
old. Bravo-Zulu to the Columbia
Association for a pretty good local rollout. CA has the new logo on <a href="http://youtu.be/h8sCY8WpyVk"><b>You Tube</b></a>,
It’s on Twitter (and has its own hashtag - #CAlogo), multiple sightings on Facebook (kudos to County
Councilperson Courtney Watson for weighing in on the logo first), and stories
have been written on both <a href="http://columbia.patch.com/articles/80-000-new-logo-launch-what-do-you-think"><b>Columbia Patch</b></a> and <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/howard/neighborhoods/columbia/ph-ho-cf-new-ca-logo-0426-20120419,0,3014048.story"><b>Explore Howard</b></a>. Another nice touch is the logo is
prominent on the <a href="http://www.columbiaassociation.com/"><b>CA Website</b></a>, which has also been completely redesigned. The only place that I can think of
where the logo has not been seen is in the banner advertisements for Explore
Howard, Baltimore Sun – Howard page, and the Washington Post – Local page.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I imagine that the next steps would be the new tote bag
showing up at the Member Services Center.
Possibly a new tie is in the works, with “People Leaves” tumbling down
the fabric. However, now is the
time to once again think big. As
many know, Columbia also had a flag.
It has not been on display since the bell tower came down on Lake
Kitttamaquandi, but I did find a partial photo over on <a href="http://www.marylanddailyphoto.com/2011/06/14/carillon/"><b>Maryland Daily Photo</b></a>
blog. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what would a 21<sup>st</sup> Century People Tree flag
look like? Well Compass Nation,
I’m glad you asked. I took some
time with my rudimentary Photoshop skills and put together some ideas for discussion. My first thought was to keep it simple,
much like the original flag:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZhJwElnxnMGUOqxh9nQT0F4SU2XGfygiYUViANY28PzlqWVT7K7jhUWO-E1q4FfJzowL9faHAc972GAtqHhp1VqgWEqLpLcBGzWw40OsMsFmZzkcVNWbRCr71U-dqmYcwzaD/s1600/ppl+tree+flag+-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZhJwElnxnMGUOqxh9nQT0F4SU2XGfygiYUViANY28PzlqWVT7K7jhUWO-E1q4FfJzowL9faHAc972GAtqHhp1VqgWEqLpLcBGzWw40OsMsFmZzkcVNWbRCr71U-dqmYcwzaD/s320/ppl+tree+flag+-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also had a spirited discussion about flag ideas at the
Santos Starbucks Sunday Sixty this weekend (by the way, the Sunday Sixty
tripled its normal attendance last Sunday! Thanks to the folks at the Columbia Mall Starbucks for
accommodating all of us!); and the idea of a flag based on the United States
Flag was discussed (ten stripes – ten villages, etc):</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9PGZXyj26rxX38nDDdbo2nQeBpz1hy4z1GOC8XvTnlvvoe-mLAkNtwB5Mb_hKYyJMbxt8QLGdTsvSQ5kFJCa2KNVj3d3oXl0QHeiZ8JV_AvK70FaQ5ZDLWDspSzfbqDC9tXU/s1600/ppl+tree+flag+-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9PGZXyj26rxX38nDDdbo2nQeBpz1hy4z1GOC8XvTnlvvoe-mLAkNtwB5Mb_hKYyJMbxt8QLGdTsvSQ5kFJCa2KNVj3d3oXl0QHeiZ8JV_AvK70FaQ5ZDLWDspSzfbqDC9tXU/s320/ppl+tree+flag+-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And for those of you of the “Spirit of <strike>1776</strike> 1967” persuasion:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjoyR7eFjVcXaot7bFGuoUq8QsrEK00DYw0HZrFJuHY_fCbOduODEkAJ7CFyIRi5twZYYnNjLYBD0cDnfOfFElUzcjVyq7uLfy7T-RW2eihZA5fjpyEADygjK35n_J3mFR5_D/s1600/ppl+tree+flag+-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjoyR7eFjVcXaot7bFGuoUq8QsrEK00DYw0HZrFJuHY_fCbOduODEkAJ7CFyIRi5twZYYnNjLYBD0cDnfOfFElUzcjVyq7uLfy7T-RW2eihZA5fjpyEADygjK35n_J3mFR5_D/s320/ppl+tree+flag+-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ultimately, I found both of these too busy (just my 2-cents,
your opinion may vary). So I went
with the standard flag conventions; first the horizontal bars:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEszP2L5201rXqMfrbhC4hKf_PiNLCfkPdW5TqiVDhe1xBkPpOekKb9Q9eq0HO5EO1XCm1YTXxGIdCbSlDIlc_0M5YxKojf1f-m4_7ADWz5kqEqcpnf2jbsh16jya0EF10JTgA/s1600/ppl+tree+flag+-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEszP2L5201rXqMfrbhC4hKf_PiNLCfkPdW5TqiVDhe1xBkPpOekKb9Q9eq0HO5EO1XCm1YTXxGIdCbSlDIlc_0M5YxKojf1f-m4_7ADWz5kqEqcpnf2jbsh16jya0EF10JTgA/s320/ppl+tree+flag+-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and then the vertical bars:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-AIN0CEd6h6uWuV75ZqoT5LPG-gj6jlu75tuEnruZR-4Unzif2FHskRZQ8Iz40v7rJyEaFWe7oWnM6K6jHW-vU_qDqYAPL5QZlHsDAy9XuS_ZhOtFIRP_NSMjscth-dlhEU/s1600/ppl+tree+flag+-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-AIN0CEd6h6uWuV75ZqoT5LPG-gj6jlu75tuEnruZR-4Unzif2FHskRZQ8Iz40v7rJyEaFWe7oWnM6K6jHW-vU_qDqYAPL5QZlHsDAy9XuS_ZhOtFIRP_NSMjscth-dlhEU/s320/ppl+tree+flag+-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and lastly, the bars and triangle layout:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2NVrrP_IbCakAPLkug822KQXChRcTsdbbFAQH_bsL2tIv1tv2vOIeSqFK3nuGzgEdm8NCZfd53VOTNuDAtH66w9lWHcv1T2a_fQ_NRkx75HwkVDDVsSYwFylx5cpGUfcPIcY/s1600/ppl+tree+flag+-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2NVrrP_IbCakAPLkug822KQXChRcTsdbbFAQH_bsL2tIv1tv2vOIeSqFK3nuGzgEdm8NCZfd53VOTNuDAtH66w9lWHcv1T2a_fQ_NRkx75HwkVDDVsSYwFylx5cpGUfcPIcY/s320/ppl+tree+flag+-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My intent here was to hit some of the standard flag
conventions to see how a new people tree might look. What are your ideas?
Should the flag have Charlie Brown T-shirt like zig-zags? Maybe tie dye? Let your mind wander…mine sure did.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">hocoblogs@@@</span></div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-30343809984128657332012-04-20T11:49:00.000-04:002012-04-20T11:55:25.376-04:00Forty-Eight Questions We Should All Answer:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what is it like to live in Columbia, MD during the
2010’s? Are we happy? Lazy?
Foolish? Engaged? At this point, I
don’t think anyone knows. I think
that forty years ago, it was in many ways easier to figure this out. Yes, Columbia is known for being the
“suddenly diverse” town, but since the 1970’s, Columbia’s diversity has continued to
grow; sometimes in ways that were expected and sometimes not. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is certain is that Columbia today
is not very much like Columbia back then.
One of the areas in which little data exists is how Columbians feel and
how they feel about their neighborhoods.
So yes, I think it is high time that we find someone (cough*CA*cough-cough)
to conduct a survey of Columbia.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In particular, I encourage everyone to take a look at the
New Zealand. In 2004, New Zealand
decided it was in their national interest to measure the quality of life for
the residents in its eight largest cities. Through the <a href="http://www.bigcities.govt.nz/"><b>Quality of Life Project</b></a>,
they survey residents in each city every two years, and they ask some very
interesting questions. New Zealand then uses these surveys as an input to improve life
in these cities. It seems
appropriate that a social welfare organization like CA should be doing the same
thing. I believe we need this kind
of survey done for each Village in Columbia. It certainly would help in describing who (and how) we are. So take a look:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Health and Wellbeing</b><u><o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How do you rate your quality of life?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How do you rate your overall health?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Have you had the occasion in the last 12-months in which you
needed to see a doctor, but was not able to be treated?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How frequently during the week do you undertake physical
activity?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How do you rate your emotional wellbeing?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How do you rate your satisfaction with life in general?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How often do you experience stress?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you have someone nearby to turn to for help if you were
faced with a serious illness or injury, or needed emotional support during a
difficult time?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Crime and Safety</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, do you view vandalism as a problem
within your area?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, do you view car theft or damage to
cars as a problem in your area?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, do you view dangerous driving as a
problem in your area?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, have you perceived the presence of
unsafe people in your area?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel safe in your home during the day?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel safe in your home after dark?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel safe walking alone in your neighborhood after
dark?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel safe in your city center during the day?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
9.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel safe in your city center after dark?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
10.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel your local neighborhood is safe for children under
14 years to play in while unsupervised?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Community, Culture and Social Networks</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel it is important to feel a sense of community with
the people in your local neighborhood?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel a sense of community with others in your local
neighborhood?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel that the fact that Columbia is becoming a home for
an increasing number of people with different lifestyles and cultures from
different countries makes your area a better place to live?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Which of the following social networks do you belong to?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Family</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>A network of people from work or school</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>A hobby or interest group</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
d.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>A sports club</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
e.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Online community or interest group</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
f.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>A church or spiritual group</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
g.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>A community or volunteer group (i.e. Rotary)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
h.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Friends</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
i.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Other social network or group</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo3; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
j.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>None of the above</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>In the last 12-months, have you felt lonely or isolated?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you believe people can be trusted?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you believe your area has a culturally rich and diverse
arts scene?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Council Processes</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Rate how much you agree with the following statement: “Overall,
I understand how my Council makes decisions”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Would you like to have more say in what the Council does?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Rate your level of confidence that the Council makes decisions
in the best interests of their city or district.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Does the public have any influence on the decisions the
Council makes?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Built and Natural Environment</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you feel a sense of pride in the way your city or local
area looks and feels?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How easy is it for you to get to a local park or other green
space in your city or local area?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, has rubbish or litter lying on the
streets of your city or local area been a problem?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, has graffiti or tagging been a
problem in your city or local area?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, has air pollution been a problem in
your city or local area?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, has water pollution (including
pollution in streams, rivers, and lakes) been a problem in your city or local
area?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Over the last 12-months, has noise pollution been a problem in
your city or local area?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Public Transport</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How many times per week do you use public transport?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you believe public transport is affordable?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you believe public transport is safe?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you believe public transport is easy to get to?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you believe public transport is frequent enough?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you believe public transport is reliable?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lifestyle</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Are you employed full time?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>If you are not employed, are you actively seeking work?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>If you are not employed and actively seeking work, could you
start work last week?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How do you rate the balance between work and other aspects of
life?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>How satisfied are you with the quantity and quality of your
leisure time?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.5in;">
6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Do you have enough money to cover the costs of your everyday
needs?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also suggest you take a look at the survey reports on the Quality of Life site. The answers to these questions are published and then broken down by age, gender, ethnicity, and household income. Many of the questions have follow-up questions that provide character to the answers the depths of the surveys are incredible. If you think this is important, please let your
<a href="http://www.columbiaassociation.com/content/getinformed/CA_board/current_board.cfm?expand=2"><b>CA Board member</b></a> know.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">hocoblogs@@@</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-41883435691193761302012-04-08T22:27:00.000-04:002012-04-08T22:27:17.809-04:00Not my usual type blog post...No charts, no obscure Letter to the Editor from 20-years ago. Just a simple premise, and a series of short questions that came to mind over this Easter holiday weekend:<br />
<br />
If CA had the ability to provide one of the following:<br />
<br />
a) Free before and after school care<br />
b) Free admission to the outdoor pools<br />
<br />
Which would be better for Columbia?<br />
Which would be better for CA?<br />
<br />
Which would you choose?<br />
<br />
In order for this post to be successful, I need to hear from you!<br />
<br />
hocoblogs@@@B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-77477455661243672672012-04-04T13:42:00.000-04:002012-04-04T13:42:41.376-04:00If all politics is local, it doesn’t get any more local than this…<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>449</o:Words> <o:Characters>2564</o:Characters> <o:Lines>21</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>5</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>3148</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>11.1539</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotShowRevisions/> <w:DoNotPrintRevisions/> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">For all the good residents of Columbia, it is now time to pivot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, the ink has hardly dried on the 2012 Maryland Primary elections and all the punditry, pontification and prognostication (postnostication??) is still hanging in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the Columbia Village Elections are just a little over two weeks away, April 21, 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a few Villages, absentee voting is already underway.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Given this short election window, its time to start paying attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s going on in your neighborhood?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I certainly would like to hear what you think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From a big picture standpoint, we know that the Columbia Association is planning to remove tot lots around town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other CA topics include the proposed legislative changes to the Maryland Homeowners Association Act (CA proposes that this would also change how the Columbia Villages are seen by the state act), Symphony Woods Park, the Connecting Columbia pathways initiative, and lake dredging.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the local level, I believe almost every Village Board has embarked on a Village Center Community Plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is that going in your Village?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Have I missed something?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am certain that I have, but now is the time to start thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have done a little preliminary work on the Village elections, and the election season kicks off tonight, in Wilde Lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Wilde Lake Community Association is having a candidate’s night this evening, starting at 7:30 pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a personal note, for the first time in nine years my name will not be on the Wilde Lake ballot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please stop by and meet the people that will serve on the Wilde Lake Village Board and the new Wilde Lake Columbia Council representative.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As far the rest of Columbia, details so far are a bit sketchy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I believe it is a safe bet that a few Villages are coordinating their election launch with the Thursday April 5, 2012 edition of the Columbia Flier; so more information should be forthcoming, and soon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As of today, the following Village Candidate Nights have been scheduled:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Oakland Mills Candidates Night – April 10, 2012</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hickory Ridge Candidates Night – April 16, 2012</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Owen Brown Candidates Night – April 17, 2012</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Kings Contrivance Candidates Night – April 18, 2012</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I said before, I hope we hear soon about the Candidate’s Nights in Long Reach, Harper’s Choice, Dorsey’s Search, Town Center, and River Hill.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As far as other election resources, a few <b><a href="http://www.wildelake.org/pdf/CANDIDATESstatements2012.pdf">Wilde Lake</a>, <a href="http://villageofriverhill.org/news/villager/april-2012-villager/">River Hill</a>,</b> and <a href="http://www.longreach.org/drupal/2012%20Election%20Info.pdf"><b>Long Reach</b></a> have already posted Candidate statements in their local newsletters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also available on the <a href="http://www.columbiavillages.org/"><b>Village Websites</b></a> is information on the activities surrounding Village Election Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically, I would encourage residents of <a href="http://hickoryridgevillage.org/"><b>Hickory Ridge</b></a> to visit their Village Website.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So in closing, now that the primary election is over, let the election season begin!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">hocoblogs@@@</div><!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-48400592874277999612012-02-22T10:58:00.000-05:002012-02-22T10:58:11.931-05:00Whole Foods Excitement Tempered by Concerns about Logistics, Fit<div class="MsoNormal">Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to sit in on a few neighborly conversations about supermarkets. Either the anticipated opening of <a href="http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HomepageView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&clear=true"><b><span style="color: blue;">Wegmans</span></b></a> in the Sieling Industrial Park or the actual opening <b>Family Market</b> in the Long Reach Village Center sparked most of the conversation. I found it interesting that the conversation was not about the basics (milk, bread, toilet paper), but about the niche items that either store stocked. It certainly drove home the point that I am a <a href="http://www.kraftbrands.com/velveeta/home.aspx"><b><span style="color: blue;">Velveeta</span></b></a> man living in a foodie world.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">These conversations ultimately narrowed down to two words: <b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/">Whole Foods</a>.</span></b> I have to say, it seems everyone I know is a big fan of Whole Foods. However, when I tell them that Whole Foods might move into the Howard Hughes headquarters building (aka the Rouse Building), I am met with quizzical looks. After a little more discussion, it became apparent that there is a certain “hooray” element to a Whole Foods coming to town. Simultaneously, the questions start coming:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Downtown lakefront property is a premium site, why would you put a supermarket on the lake?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If this is true, will Whole Foods shut down/alter hours for the Festival of the Arts, Columbia Fair (when it happens), and 4<sup>th</sup> of July?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One person asked me about loading docks (an interesting take, for sure), I said that I believe the Rouse Building has a loading dock on its lower level, next to the lake. The concept of regular truck traffic adjacent to the lakefront path did not set well with folks.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Others were concerned with traffic. This complaint was closely related to the Wegmans discussion, in that people wonder why are these stores are located so far away from where people live and that all but a few will have to drive to either Wegmans or Whole Foods. With respect to Whole Foods, a few even sited the satirical YouTube video:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2UFc1pr2yUU?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So if Whole Foods is approaching reality, it would be in its best interest to start answering some of these questions. There are a lot of real fans here, but they need to know more, and soon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">hocoblogs@@@</div><!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-62111935165781993782011-11-01T10:56:00.000-04:002011-11-01T10:56:43.108-04:00HoCo Blogger Flashback<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>161</o:Words> <o:Characters>921</o:Characters> <o:Lines>7</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1131</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>11.1539</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotShowRevisions/> <w:DoNotPrintRevisions/> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Last Saturday night, my wife and I saw comedian <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/news-team/john-oliver"><b>John Oliver</b></a> at the National Theatre in Washington DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just after we took our seats, Evan Coren stopped by to say hello.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcob7vRtdDOmsjzQlegER7ujNZAndybD5PgDu2tB3_e0ahvKXAR-TcQx82ii_3Qu98eURmG7Oh7QP79F6NLOcMI2hg0s3QiVLjpAB3mrrYW4e5xa21o09FQmjDrjbOaaQFDhig/s1600/evan+coren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcob7vRtdDOmsjzQlegER7ujNZAndybD5PgDu2tB3_e0ahvKXAR-TcQx82ii_3Qu98eURmG7Oh7QP79F6NLOcMI2hg0s3QiVLjpAB3mrrYW4e5xa21o09FQmjDrjbOaaQFDhig/s320/evan+coren.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The above picture was taken when Evan was the CA Board member from Kings Contrivance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to being on the CA Board, Evan had the <a href="http://howardcountyblog.blogspot.com/"><b>Howard County Blog</b></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blog has been inactive since 2009, and for good reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Evan told me that he now lives in Downtown/Penn Quarter Washington DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the blog post from Evan that I will always remember is the one that shows up if you follow the link to his blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Evan had taken the time to conceive a comprehensive mass transit design for Howard County, complete with links to existing DC Metro lines and Baltimore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that he lives in DC, Evan told me that he had sold his car and uses the Metro for almost all of his transportation needs (hooray).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Evan, it was great seeing you, I hope I will have the chance to stop by and chat the next time I am in DC.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">hocoblogs@@@</div><!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-86212212711422235022011-10-31T12:36:00.002-04:002011-10-31T14:08:03.900-04:00Prejudice Comes to New Town<div class="MsoNormal">I think it has been said a million times, but let’s begin with a quick review. Columbia, Maryland was born with two basic premises: First, a town that is planned from its outset would result in a better city. Not a perfect Utopia, but a better place for people. Second, Columbia welcomes people from all races, religions, ethnicities, and economic means. Diversity is a strength within, and throughout, this community.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">These foundation pillars were tested last week during a Zoning Pre-Submission Hearing conducted by the Howard Hughes Corporation. As reported by Explore Howard and Columbia Patch, long time resident and Town Center Village Board member Joel Broida was quoted as follows:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/howard/publications/columbia-flier/ph-ho-cf-howard-hughes-1103-20111027,0,7233346.story">From Explore Howard</a>:</b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="color: #1f1d1d;">"Putting in 817 units with rentals is like setting up a hotel," he said. "When you're a rental unit, you're transient. You do not become part of the neighborhood. Columbia is great, and I would hate to see it become a transient, hotel-like community."</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://columbia.patch.com/articles/what-could-a-new-downtown-columbia-look-like-we-re-starting-to-find-out">From Columbia Patch</a>:</b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote class="tr_bq">Joel Broida, a Columbia resident since 1971, said he fears the bulk of 817 new residences could be rental homes.<br />
Renters don't have the sense of investment in a community that homeowners have, Broida told Hughes officials.<br />
"Renters don't have pride in the community," he said. "They aren't the ones to pick up that piece of paper someone dropped."</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sadly, the singling-out of people who live in apartments as undesirable was picked up, and expanded upon, by a few pseudonymoniuos commenters online.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is rare that I ever hear someone that has lived most of their life in the Next American City voice such clear prejudice against any component of the community. And to clarify just how sharp this derogatory language is, let us try and remove the economic status veneer from his statements:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="color: #1f1d1d;">"Putting in 817 units with <strike>rentals</strike> <i>[religious group]s</i> is like setting up a hotel," he said. "When you're a <strike>rental unit</strike> <i>[religious group]</i>, you're transient. You do not become part of the neighborhood. Columbia is great, and I would hate to see it become a transient, hotel-like community."</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote class="tr_bq">"<strike>Renters</strike> <i>[Ethnic group]s</i> don't have pride in the community," he said. "They aren't the ones to pick up that piece of paper someone dropped."</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I believe that Columbia must be open to all people. That is a promise made at its founding and it is a promise that our generation must uphold. To pursue a policy going forward that Columbia will only be open to people with the financial deep pockets to put 20% down on a mortgage and have high FICO scores will result in a fast track to gentrification.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I think it is imperative to state that folks that live in apartments are much like any other component in our community. They are mothers and daughters, sons and fathers. They are our co-workers, retired folks and veterans. They are teachers and doctors, nurses and accountants. They work for the government and private industry. They are janitors and corporate executives. They pay taxes and worship with us in faith. They dine in the same restaurants, they vote in the same elections, and they attend Zoning Pre-Submission Meetings. They should not be the subject of scorn based on the fears and hate of anyone, no matter how long he has lived in Columbia, no matter his position in the community.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
hocoblogs@@@</div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-44716585480005232492011-10-26T11:11:00.002-04:002011-10-26T11:14:47.097-04:00Generation InvestigationWhile exploring alternate methods to characterize the Howard County age demographic data, I came back to the paragraph in my <b><a href="http://columbiacompass.blogspot.com/2011/10/who-are-we-and-how-did-we-get-here.html">earlier post</a> </b>that deals with rationalization of the young adult and senior populations. Throughout that paragraph are theories ascribed not to age groups, but to <i>generations</i> that exist in those age groups at that time.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Taking this cue, I turned to the word of Neil Howe and William Strauss. These two scholars led the <b><a href="http://www.lifecourse.com/insight/timelines/generations.html">field in generational theory</a></b>. I found useful their identification of birth years for current generations and the nomenclature ascribed to each generation. According to Strauss and Howe, those generations present from 1970-2010 are as follows:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="200" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dDNrWHFXN1BpRjI0Yi1mLTRfUUtkZkE&single=true&gid=0&range=A3%3AB10&output=html&widget=true" width="500"></iframe></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Because the Strauss and Howe generation definitions do not fall neatly into decennial increments, I had to slightly alter the generational definitions to allow for use with the Census dataset:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="210" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dDNrWHFXN1BpRjI0Yi1mLTRfUUtkZkE&single=true&gid=0&range=a13%3Ag21&output=html&widget=true" width="555"></iframe></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next step was to apply these generational definitions to the Howard County Population age demographic data:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="410" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dHpJc2J4eWxDeTY1ZE5BQlFZM1l2S2c&single=true&gid=0&range=a3%3Af22&output=html&widget=true" width="550"></iframe></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Collecting the data on a generational basis yields the following table and graph:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dHpJc2J4eWxDeTY1ZE5BQlFZM1l2S2c&oid=20&zx=kona1z7ci8r3" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dHpJc2J4eWxDeTY1ZE5BQlFZM1l2S2c&single=true&gid=0&range=a28%3Af36&output=html&widget=true" width="550"></iframe></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A quick note about the graph and table above. With 2010 as the exception, U.S. Census data typically does not track discrete age groups beyond 85-years old. Therefore, it is difficult to account for populations greater than 85. I am aware that there are more than a few people in Howard County that are near or actual centigenerians, and I for one am happy to have them in our communities. However, from a statistical standpoint, it is difficult to impossible to characterize their populations when constructing graphs in the 1000’s. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Taking the Broad View</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Initial analysis of the Howard County population by generation chart shows some similarities to the previously discussed Howard County population by age group chart. In 1970 the generations were closely grouped (relatively speaking). In the year 2000, three population constituents (this time boomers, gen-x’s, and millennials) had almost identical population numbers. In 1970 a similar convergence is also present in the Population by Generation chart. In this year, the GI, Silent and Gen-X constituents each represented approximately 20% of the total county population. It is interesting that a similar convergence is not present in the Population by Age Group Chart.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But what is truly remarkable about this chart is how it is different from the age group chart. Recall in the age group chart that the middle aged and senior population constituents have experienced rapid positive growth over the last twenty years, while the youth and young adult growth was shown to be slower. In the generation chart, the roles are reversed. The Lost generation, born between the years 1883-1900 had long since peaked. The GI (1980), Silent (1990) and Boom (2000) generations have all shown a population peak and are in decline. Conversely, the Gen-X (13’rs to my friends in the know), Millennial, and Homeland generations have experienced positive upward growth.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>The GI Generation (born approx 1901-1925)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&oid=16&zx=pbipvkxmwqk" width="640" /></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In 1970, the 12,238 members of the GI Generation were between the ages of 45-69 and represented almost 20% of the county population. In 1980, the GI Generation (age 55-69) population peaked (13,029) as they began to dominate the Senior age group. Although this generation increased in population, their percentage of the total population dramatically decreased from 19.77% to 10.99% due to much faster growth of other generation populations. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Since 1980, the GI Generation has steadily declined in a concave-down characteristic. Today, the GI Generation (age 85-109) dominates the Meta-Senior age group and currently number 3,152 persons.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Silent Generation (born approx 1926-1940)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&oid=18&zx=r8wt8lmq7wb5" width="640" /></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In 1970 the Silent Generation, age 30-44, occupy the upper portion of the Young Adult age group and are just beginning to populate the Middle Aged age group. At 13,841 persons, they are second only to the Boomers in size and represent 22.36% of the population. The Silent Generation increases its size by 50% over its 1970 population and grows to a size of 20,830 persons by 1980. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">By 1990, the Silent Generation peaks at 21,443 persons and with an age range of 50-64, occupy the upper Middle Aged age group, with the eldest component of the generation entering the Senior age group. Since 1990, the Silent Generation population in Howard County has progressively declined as these members move into the Senior age group. Currently, the Silent Generation in Howard County is 15,123 persons strong and constitute 5.27% of the total population.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Boom Generation (born approx 1941-1960)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&oid=20&zx=56b9s8y39pbf" width="640" /></div>The Boom Generation is one of three generations that has come to dominate many aspects of life in Howard County. By 1970, Boomers were between 10-29 years old. At a size of 20,693, Boomers represented 33.42% of the total county population. From the period 1970-1990, the Boomer population grew with a near-linear characteristic (22,976 persons added 1970-1980 and 25,575 persons added 1980-1990) and over the twenty-year period grew faster than any other generation constituent. However, from the period 1970-2010, the Boomers have not had the fastest growth in any one particular decade.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In 1990, the Boomers were near their peak of influence in Howard County. Numbering 69,244 and ranging in age from 30-49, Boomers straddled the Young Adult/Middle Aged demarcation line and constituted 36.96% of the total Howard County population. This is the largest percentage of total population for any generation during the study period.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After 1990, Boomer population increased at a much slower pace and peaked in 2000 at 74,478 persons. Although this represents the zenith of Boomer population, it came with a 6% drop in percentage share of the total population due to the dynamic positive growth of younger generations. From 2000-2010, the Boomer population showed a population decline for the first time and a second 6% drop in total population percentage share. Today 1-in-4 Howard County residents is a Boomer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Generation-X (born approx 1961-1980)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&oid=22&zx=thm8im7j4u4m" width="640" /></div>Gen-X provides a unique condition in that it is the only generation studied that the population is known in 1960. By 1970, the Gen-X’rs had increased from 0 to 13,023 persons. As stated above, Gen-X’rs (13,023), Silent (13,841), and GI (12,238) Generations all had nearly identical populations in 1970. During the 1970’s the Gen-X population growth was the fastest rate for the 1970’s and by the end of the decade the Gen-X population more than triples. Also of note is that by 1980 the Gen-X’rs solely occupy the Youth age group.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In 1980 1-in-3 Howard County residents is a Gen-X’r and the Gen-X’rs almost match the population of the Boom Generation (40,015 v. 43,669). Also of note is that the Gen-X population in 1980 was larger than the Howard County Lost, GI and Silent generations combined. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After 1980, Gen-X grows at a slower but near constant rate for the next three decades. From 1980-1990, Gen-X adds 16,034 people. In 2000, Gen-X owns the Young Adult age group and has added another 16,624 to achieve a generation population of 72,673 people. Between 2000 and 2010, Gen-X’rs begin to enter middle age and add 13,996 people despite soaring home prices and the economic downturn. In 2010 there were 86,669 Gen-X’rs living in Howard County.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Millennials (born approx 1980-2010)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&oid=24&zx=65c6skyxh1fm" width="640" /></div>The Millennials appear ten years into the study period. During their first decade in existence, the Millennials quickly become recognizable generation, ending the 1980’s with 29,262 persons. Compare this number with the size of Gen-X in 1970 (ten years after Gen-X began) – 13,023. In fact, the Millennial population growth rate was the fastest growth rate during the 1980’s; faster than the Gen-X’rs, faster than the Boomers. To be fair, there were a lot more households in Howard County during the 1980’s than in the 1960’s.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">By the year 2000, the Millennials have more than doubled to 74,085 persons and now constitute 29.89% of the total Howard County population. As noted above, in the year 2000, the Boomers (74,478), Gen-X’rs (72,673) and Millennials (74,085) all had nearly identical populations. During the ‘00’s, the Millennials grew very slowly and added 1,174 people to the total Howard County population. In 2010, there were 75,259 Millennials in Howard County.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Homelands (born approx 2001-Present Day)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&oid=26&zx=ohcrsa3fiig" width="640" /></div>The Homelands have been with us for only a short time. Next year, the 1<sup>st</sup> Homelands will enter middle school. Let’s hope a better name is given to this generation by then. From a population standpoint, in just one decade, the Homelands have arrived in much the same manner as the Gen-X’rs, and the Millennials. What is interesting about the Homelands is that after their first decade on earth (and Howard County) increased in population to 37,920.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Intermediate Conclusion</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So what does all this mean? First, recall the Population by Age Group chart discussed in a prior blog post.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dHpJc2J4eWxDeTY1ZE5BQlFZM1l2S2c&oid=22&zx=kcfk0htf8vsv" width="640" /></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Compare the above chart with the chart that we have been discussing here. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dHpJc2J4eWxDeTY1ZE5BQlFZM1l2S2c&oid=20&zx=ayfj9f4ntum7" width="640" /></div>The reason these two charts depict the same data differently is because they track the data differently over time. The Population by Age Group chart provides a set of signposts through time. It is a gatekeeper function. Said another way, it answers the question, “How many of a certain age have passed through at this time?” The Population by Age Group chart does an adequate job of “what” but provides little else.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">With respect to the Population by Generation chart, the data is grouped by generation and then the generations are tracked over time. This provides the data in a different light. If the Population by Age Group chart provided a magnitude, the Population by Generation chart provides the direction.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Taken together, what these two graphs do is generate a lot of intriguing questions. For example, why is the “Young Adult” curve on the Age Group chart almost identical to the “Boomer” curve on the Generations chart, even though the Boomers were completely in the Middle Aged group by 2000? Why does the Age Group chart show the Senior and Meta-Senior curves increasing while the Generation chart shows the GI, Silent and Boomer Curves all decreasing? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In our next installment, we will take a look at some of these questions, and we will talk about housing units too. Stay tuned.<br />
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hocoblogs@@@</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-45612844520758228472011-10-24T10:46:00.001-04:002011-10-24T10:59:09.754-04:00Who are we and how did we get here?<div class="MsoNormal">The time immediately after the decennial census is filled with wonder and renewed uncertainty. One of the prime objectives of the census is redistricting, and the various maps generated at different levels of government have occupied many a blog post here in Howard County. One other byproduct of the Census is it helps us gain a greater understanding of our larger community. It can be used as a type of ruler, marking data at discrete times to show trends. It can also be used as a mirror, reflecting the various characteristics that make up the community.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is in this spirit that I have been doing some digging. The <a href="http://www.census.gov/">U.S. Census Bureau</a> released a trove of local 2010 Census data last August. Given the data found at the Bureau, I went on to the <a href="http://census.maryland.gov/censusHistorical.shtml">Maryland Department of Planning</a> to compliment the data released in August. What follows here is my attempt at reconciling how Howard County has evolved since 1970. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&single=true&gid=0&range=A4%3AF23&output=html&widget=true" width="550"></iframe></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Area of Agreement</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dHpJc2J4eWxDeTY1ZE5BQlFZM1l2S2c&oid=18&zx=bi6a0prf1vl" /><br />
<br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">The graph above shows Howard County total population from 1970 – 2010. Clearly, we have a lot more people here than we did in 1970. As far as the characteristic of the line, it is a near linear positive upward curve with an approximate slope of 5800. That is, averaged over the last forty years, Howard County has added approximately 5800 people per year.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Constituent Populations – How do you slice a pie that keeps getting bigger?</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Where things get somewhat sticky is how the age-related Census data is broken down. Although completely anecdotal, I have heard at more-than-a-few public meetings various iterations of “Howard County is Aging Rapidly” (“there are as many residents over 65 as there are children in Howard County,” “sixty is the new forty,” among others). Conversely, as a parent of a school-age child (and one younger), I tend to keep an eye on school capacity, and those numbers are not declining. The reality is that all age groups have seen a dramatic increase over the last forty years.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Therefore, having no clear guidance on grouping of ages, I have (admittedly arbitrarily, but with a bent toward evenhandedness) collected Howard County population age groups by twenty-year increments (0-19, 20-39, 40-59, 60-79, and 80+). In addition, I also ascribed loose labels to each age group (youth, young adult, middle aged, senior, and meta-senior). Although the individual reader may take exception to the referenced labels contained herein, please keep in mind that these are the best I could come up with, and I am more than willing to entertain alternate naming standards.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The grouping of the Howard County population constituent age groups are depicted below both graphically and in tabular form.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dHpJc2J4eWxDeTY1ZE5BQlFZM1l2S2c&oid=22&zx=oquzv341tnbs" width="640" /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="200" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&single=true&gid=0&range=A40%3AF46&output=html&widget=true" width="550"></iframe></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Description by Decade</b><br />
<br />
In 1970, the youth component is the dominant constituent in Howard County. Over 4 out of 10 Howard County residents is under the age of twenty. Young adults and the middle aged combine to make up half the county population and the seniors and meta-seniors collectively represent 8% of the county.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">During the 1970’s all Howard County age groups see population increases. By 1980, the youth age group is overtaken by the young adults. The youth percentage share has decreased from 1-in-4 to 1-in-3 and the young adult constituent alone makes up nearly 37% of the population. Meanwhile, the middle aged, senior, and meta-senior constituents all more than double in size, but maintain hold their percentage of population (within 1%) of 28%, 7% and 1% respectively.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">By the end of the 1980’s most of Columbia was built out and areas in western Ellicott City were seeing dramatic development (Turf Valley, Centennial Lane area, etc). Youth population grows at almost the same pace as during the 1970’s; however, the young adult constituent maintains its growth pace (at twice the growth rate of the youth constituent), and the middle aged population growth rate accelerates. So by 1990, the youth dominance retreats to about 28% of the total population, the young adult constituent gains a percentage point (now 37% of the total population) and the middle aged surge to now represent 1-in-4 people. Seniors almost double in population and meta-seniors also double, maintaining their 7% and 1% shares of the population, respectively.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the 1990’s, growth expands along MD-103 and Montgomery Road corridors. River Hill development is underway. Waverly blossoms to the north. Middle aged growth rate (avg=2673 persons/year) bests the middle aged growth rate from the 1980’s (avg=2,230 persons/year). Youth population increases at a faster rate during the 1990’s than the previous two decades, while young adult population growth rate slows to a trickle, adding 2,401 persons for the entire decade.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The behavior of these three population constituents during the 1990’s culminated in the great Howard County population confluence. In the year 2000, according to the United States Census Bureau, the youth (74,085), young adult (72,673) and middle aged (74,478) population constituents all were within 1.5% of each other.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also during the 1990’s, the Howard County senior population fell off the “doubling every decade” curve, but did add more persons during the decade (7,551) than during the 1980’s (6,079) and as a result increase their percent share of total Howard County population from just under 8% to 9%. Meta-seniors continue to double their population during the decade and stand 4,570 strong.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the ‘00’s Maple Lawn is in full swing. Senior housing becomes an industry in Howard County. Infill development comes to the county. During the 1<sup>st</sup> half of the decade, real property values (and corresponding housing prices) soar. By the end of the decade, a “correction” is underway. From the population convergence, the youth and middle aged population constituents continued to increase in size, although at a slower rate. The young adult population posted a slight negative growth, started the decade at 72,673 and ending at 69,804. The senior population increases significantly, from 22,036 to 38,032. This represents the 2<sup>nd</sup> largest growth for the decade (middle age increase was larger). Seniors now represent 13% of the Howard County population. Meta-seniors also increase in size to 6,606 persons.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<b>Initial Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For all the numbers over the decades, the key question here is what does it all mean? For the most part, the youth, middle aged, and meta-senior constituents have near-linear growth characteristics (although at different slopes) during the last forty years. With respect to young adults and seniors, both constituents demonstrate linear behavior over the first twenty years. After 1990, the young adult constituent growth is characterized by a concave down curve, while the senior population constituent is concave up.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="395" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aj_gDYUhYr10dG9IZHlTQ2FmalJwRjNjakhsVUdSWFE&oid=2&zx=yw9dk4qa2zil" width="640" /></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The rationale behind the young adult and senior constituent behavior is less than clear. As far as I know, only speculative theories and hypotheses exist. It is a certainty that the construction of age restricted (55+) housing escalated with the introduction of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) in the early 1990’s and has progressed over the last twenty years. The shear bulk of the aging boomer generation also plays a part. Another popular theory is that the younger generations consciously choose the urban setting of the big cities in the region and hold low regard for the single family lots and cul-de-sacs that dominate much of Howard County’s housing stock. Lastly the economic booms and busts over the last two decades must be taken into consideration with respect to both seniors choosing to “age in place” and available housing options (and the ability to secure financing for said housing) for young adults.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As depicted in the graphs above, the Howard County age demographic trends are fairly clear and provide a basis for further analysis; however, the data is missing an important aspect. This aspect is imbedded in the evolution of norms over time and the changing characteristics that accompany youth, mid-age and retirement. Much as it is difficult to discern how well Sandy Koufax would pitch against Albert Pujols or Red Auerbach’s nine NBA coaching championships to Phil Jackson’s eleven NBA coaching championships; the young adults of the 1970’s were in many ways different than the young adults of today. As they say in the world of sports – “they are of different eras,” and that aspect cannot be conveyed by simple classification of age groups. Indeed, age groups serve as static markers that are scalar by nature. They depict a magnitude, but provide no indication of direction.<br />
<br />
In the near future, I will provide an alternative analysis of Howard County population growth over the last forty years. Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
hocoblogs@@@</div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-4711465717264864002011-07-28T15:51:00.000-04:002011-07-28T15:51:09.203-04:00CA Aquatics Makes a Virtual Splash with a New Online Commenting Tool<div class="MsoNormal">So how is your summer going?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the waves of heat that started before school ended and have recently come back with a vengeance I hope a few of you have been able to get out the <a href="http://www.columbiapools.org/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Columbia Outdoor Pools</span></b></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Concurrent with the hot weather, CA is working on the Aquatics Master Plan to improve the Indoor and Outdoor pool experience for the foreseeable future.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">To their credit, CA has been reaching out to the public in a number of ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a few of you may remember, CA sponsored two public workshops in March 2011. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CA created a resident-populated CA Aquatics Master Plan Task Force (yes, I am a member and no, we don’t have cool t-shirts or hats) that has been plumbing the depths of SWOT charts and providing feedback to CA staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CA has engaged specific segments of the population in focus group sessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, CA maintains (and updates) a CA webpage that provides all the background data related to the <a href="http://www.columbiaassociation.com/aquaticsmasterplan/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>CA Aquatics Master Plan</b></span></a> process. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today, the Columbia Association took another step in community outreach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have put up on the web the <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://act.columbiaassociation.org/act/index.html">Aquatics Commenting Tool (ACT)</a></span></b> (Microsoft Silverlight required to view)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This tool allows the community to provide comments specific to any aquatic facility (either indoor or outdoor) or comments that can apply to all outdoor pools.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I encourage the entire Columbia community to go to the site and comment often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I would like to provide a few personal observations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep in mind that the CA Aquatics Master Plan intends a long horizon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comments should reflect what the community would like to see at a particular pool over the long term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things like what activities or experiences the community would like to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Programs that are missing or could be improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Infrastructure (parking, bath houses, shade structures) and amenities that the community believes would improve attendance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep it classy.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I know that not everyone can attend meetings to express their views, so please use this tool to let your wishes and concerns be heard. The ACT website will remain active throughout the rest of the summer and will close on September 15, 2011. So take some time to visit and let your voice be heard!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">hocoblogs@@@</div><!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-19454881108093840632011-06-09T22:59:00.000-04:002011-06-09T22:59:17.220-04:00“Walkable Urbanism” Event Leaves me Hungry for More<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">On June 1, 2011, CA and HHC co-sponsored “21st Century Development Plans – How Will Columbia Measure Up?” at the Spear Center in downtown Columbia.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">HHC Vice-President John DeWolf, CA President Phil Nelson, and Brookings Institute Fellow Chris Leinberger walked an audience of almost 300 through the past 50 years of American real estate development and firmly laid the foundation for what is in store for the next 30 years.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">(To be fair, Mr. DeWolf and Mr. Nelson provided mostly introductory remarks and Mr. Leinberger did the heavy lifting, but the tone and content of John and Phil’s words set the stage for a great evening.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Although at the time of this writing, there has been no coverage by traditional media sources (newspaper, TV, radio), the HoCo blogging community has really stepped up to report and comment on the event. Trevor Greene @ <a href="http://hocopolitico.blogspot.com/2011/06/walkable-urbanism-reflections.html"><b>HoCoPolitico</b></a> was first out of the box, with his personal observations posted just three hours after the event. On Thursday morning, <a href="http://www.hocorising.com/2011/06/hold-on-to-our-values-thursday-thoughts.html"><b>HoCoRising</b></a> provided his insight regarding one particular exchange during the event. And particular takes on the event were covered by <a href="http://www.sarahsaysblog.com/2011/06/suburban-splendor-walkable-urbanism-for.html"><b>Sarah Says</b></a>, <a href="http://rocketpoweredbutterfly.com/2011/06/03/a-penumbra-i-can-believe-in/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-penumbra-i-can-believe-in"><b>The Rocket Powered Butterfly</b></a>, and <a href="http://hococonnect.blogspot.com/2011/06/can-columbia-be-walkable-community.html"><b>HoCoConnect</b></a>. However, the blog post by <a href="http://blog.hecker.org/2011/06/02/columbia-and-the-structural-shift-to-walkable-urbanism/"><b>Frank Hecker</b></a> is without a doubt the best first person account of the proceedings on Wednesday night. I urge anyone who was not in the room to visit his account of the meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">My personal observations of the event have evolved over the past few days. Let me be clear, Mr. Leinberger is a gifted presenter and easily held my attention of two hours. He presented powerful and complex concepts that explained how development occurred in the past and how it is changing going forward. I learned a lot on Wednesday night.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">That being said, I have come to think that the event could have been, somehow, better. By better, I really mean deeper and localized to Columbia. For instance, Mr. Leinberger made use of clips from the 1985 movie “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/"><b><i>Back to the Future</i></b></a>.” He asked the audience to focus on the built environment in the movie, from both the 1950’s and 1980’s. Putting aside the notion that downtown Hill Valley, both the 1955 and 1985, are caricatures of their time, his point was made. However, given the 30-year timespan in the movie, some historical photography showing downtown Columbia 30 years ago, juxtaposed with how downtown Columbia looks today, may have driven home the point that as Mr. Leinberger stated, “Columbia has flat-lined over the last thirty years.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Staying with the built-environment-as-reflected-in-pop-culture theme, Mr. Leinberger also discussed how the built environment was portrayed through the years on television. Specifically, he showed clips of “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGM0umhnb5M"><b><i>I Love Lucy</i></b></a>” and discussed how in the 1950’s the suburbs were depicted as the preferential place to live, whereas TV shows in the 1990’s depicted characters, such as those on “<i>Seinfeld</i>” living a walkable urban environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">As a side note, Frank Hecker posits in his blog post (linked above) that the often-cited situation comedies <i>Seinfeld</i>, <i>Friends</i>, and <i>Sex and the City</i> <span style="color: #434343;">“</span>are manufactured images targeted at predominantly white middle-class consumers interested in the comedic and dramatic adventures of other white middle and upper-middle class consumers. Part of the Hollywood strategy here was to recast minorities from urban threats to background contributors to urban atmosphere.” To an extent, I agree with Frank’s comment; although I tend to include <i>The Cosby Show</i> and <i>Living Single</i> as part of the “walkable urban television shows.” Both were popular and supposedly located in Brooklyn, NY. In addition, there is popular support for the theory that <i>Friends</i> “borrowed” from the <i>Living Single</i> show. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">One final point to make about pop culture and the built environment; I believe the pendulum has swung back toward drivable suburban in the small-screen landscape. Since the demise of “must see TV,” today’s sit-coms (<i>Two-and-a-Half Men, Modern Family</i>) are firmly planted in suburbia, replete with lots of driving to and from events (I swear, if Claire and Phil Dunphy’s Toyota Sienna minivan had a name, it would require a screen credit at the end of the show). <i>Sex and the City</i> was succeeded on HBO by <i>The Sopranos</i>, a show about a mob boss, in <u>suburban</u> New Jersey. Even <i>Weeds</i> was based on the premise of a widowed <u>suburban</u> housewife making ends meet through the drug trade, to the point that “<a href="http://youtu.be/i8StRAJCork"><b>Little Boxes</b></a>” served as the show’s theme song. Once again, in most of these shows, minorities are sorely underrepresented.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">At the opposite end of the spectrum, most TV crime dramas (principally the various <i>CSI</i> and recently defunct <i>Law and Order</i> franchises) are still played out in the urban environs, reinforcing the image of the city as a dangerous place; and yes the crime dramas are the 1970’s ideal of a societal melting pot when compared to the sit-coms mentioned above.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Hey, My Inner Geek is Screaming – What About the Data?!</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Yes, this discussion surrounding the built-environment-as-reflected-in-pop-culture is great bar room chatter, but we should get back to the data. For instance, Mr. Leinberger displayed for the audience a “heat map” indicating the (per household) CO2 emissions in the <a href="http://www.cnt.org/repository/CO2EmissionsChicago.pdf"><b>Chicago area</b></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The story that the map tells is that walkable urbanized areas contribute far less to climate change (on a per-household basis) than the drivable suburban regions. It stands as an alternate portrait to the “green” pictures typically associated with the drivable suburban setting and the “brick and mortar” images associated with the walkable urbanized setting. I have no quibble with the imagery. It is clear that when viewed on a per area basis, central cities produce a lot of pollution. When viewed on the per capita (be it per person, per household, etc) basis, walkable urban demonstrates itself to be the better bargain.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Showing a map of Chicago provides a great example in the abstract. Supporting the theory with local data would have driven the point home for those in the audience. As a matter of fact, the folks that created the Chicago maps (and friends of Mr. Leinberger), the <a href="http://www.cnt.org/"><b>Center for Neighborhood Technology</b></a>, have also put together a web site that allows the user to do display similar data for much of the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The picture below was taken from <a href="http://htaindex.cnt.org/mapping_tool.php#region=Baltimore%2C%20MD&theme_menu=3&layer1=31&layer2=32"><b>this website</b></a> and can be obtained by centering the map on Columbia and zooming in to the bounds of the city. The areas on the map depict the amount of CO2 emissions on a per household basis. Much of Columbia is a deep shade of red, indicating that on a per household basis, these parts of Columbia put out more than 8.6 metric tons of CO2 each year. If you live inside LPP (Clary’s Forest), Faulkner Ridge, Bryant Woods, Fairway Hills, Talbott Springs, the Treeover section of Jeffers Hill, Locust Park, Huntington, or inside Cradlerock Way (Owen Brown), the per household emissions in your neighborhood are between 6.5-8.6 metric tons per year. Lastly, if you live in Vantage Point or Governor’s Grant (both in Town Center), the per household emissions are between 5.1-6.5 metric tons per year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9jXctqMnLDYyQ6_E0QWgs3RT0G95caYRwrlhQZquFalorbdbGQjkUWmZDt0b9brtZhNXZBCYFbDoR59j5NtXI07JvNRmkdGFxKKN62Ry9jJOyT7sOwVjHObuFqFLBt-gqrkC/s1600/4decf301_6251_0.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9jXctqMnLDYyQ6_E0QWgs3RT0G95caYRwrlhQZquFalorbdbGQjkUWmZDt0b9brtZhNXZBCYFbDoR59j5NtXI07JvNRmkdGFxKKN62Ry9jJOyT7sOwVjHObuFqFLBt-gqrkC/s320/4decf301_6251_0.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">What is also interesting about this map is the large swaths of white. These areas of Columbia are more recognizable by their names; Columbia Mall, Oakland Ridge <s>Industrial</s> Business Park, Gateway. What they all have in common is that there are no (or very few) households in these areas, once again reinforcing the single use zoning prevalent in Howard County and Columbia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In addition to the fine work done by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a consortium of universities and government agencies have come together to create a CO2 database for the entire nation. Whereas the Center for Neighborhood Technology maps displayed CO2 emissions from automobiles, the Vulcan maps consider all man-made sources of <a href="http://vulcan.project.asu.edu/GEarth/index.html"><b>CO2 emissions</b></a> (note, Google Earth plugin required to view map). The database is searchable down to the county level. I will leave it up to the reader to compare Howard County’s numbers to surrounding districts. Suffice it to say, more than half our CO2 emissions come from Onroad Transportation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Is There More Data to Consider?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Yes! Later in Mr. Leinberger’s lecture, he was describing the different types of walkable environments and stated that the Washington DC area had the largest concentration of walkable environments in the nation. He specifically highlighted development in Arlington County, VA along the Wilson Boulevard corridor.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">One of the interesting numbers Mr. Leinberger provided was that the Wilson Boulevard corridor is about 2.5% of the land mass in Arlington County and 55% of the property taxes collected. It would have been helpful at this point in his lecture to discuss the work done by Peter Katz, the Sarasota County (FL) Director of Smart Growth (). Mr. Katz’s work falls right in line with the Mr. Leinberger statement, but also goes much further. Mr. Katz’s analysis was reported by <a href="http://citiwire.net/post/2133/"><b>Mary Newsom @ Citiwire as follows</b></a><b>:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>Indeed, that three-quarters of an acre of in-town urban-style (14- to 16-story) development is worth more property tax revenue than a combination of the 21-acre WalMart Supercenter and the 32-acre Southgate Mall. Even a mid rise (up to about seven stories) mixed use building brings in $560,000, and the low rise (up to three stories with residential over retail) brings in over $70,000 per acre — more than three times the return of Southgate Mall.</blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">And,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>Still, evidence is piling up of the benefits of compact, in-town development compared with auto-centric greenfield development. With a smaller carbon footprint, it’s kinder on the environment. It’s kinder on residents’ waistlines, too, as they’re likely to walk more and drive less. And now there’s evidence it’s kinder to government coffers, as well. And that’s an attribute worth some serious attention.</blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">If this data was presented in conjunction with the Arlington County data provided by Mr. Leinberger, the point becomes clear: Throughout the country walkable urbanism is providing significant additional revenue to the local governments in the form of increased property taxes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">One last thing about Arlington, VA. Without a doubt, urban planners, government officials and environmentalists have often times praised the development around Metro stops in Arlington as good urban design. As Mr. Leinberger said, “To do walkable urbanism right, Columbia needs to understand what is going on in Arlington.” And I get that. I have read and understand the concepts. What I would like to see are the hard numbers. I would like to see a progression of traffic studies, from about 1995 to present day, depicting traffic conditions on Wilson Boulevard, Clarendon Boulevard, Fairfax Drive, Glebe Road, and Washington Boulevard. I would like to see the US Census Journey to Work data, from 1990, 2000 and present day (in its American Community Survey form) showing any difference in “County-to-County workflows,” average commuting time, the percentage of people using mass transit, the number of people that drive alone, and the number of vehicle miles traveled. This would go a long way to “understanding Arlington.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Quarters, Dollars, and Dreams that Evolve</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">One of headline-grabbing <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/bs-ho-neighbors-walkable-columbia-20110526,0,5672855.story"><b>quotes</b></a> from Mr. Leinberger prior to his lecture was his assertion that “If Washington had been located 20 miles farther south of Columbia, the master-planned community would have failed.” I found this to be an interesting flip on history. It is my recollection that the Rouse Company bought up land in Howard County because it was between Baltimore and Washington. Sure, stating that building a planned community is fraught with risk and that failure was a real possibility is certainly within the bounds of discussion, but to extend those statements to ignore the initial conditions is just plain irresponsible.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">During his lecture, Mr. Leinberger spoke to this aspect under the a larger discussion of the “<a href="http://www.radicalcartography.net/?cityincome"><b>favored quarter</b></a>.” The favored quarter, as it applies to Baltimore is well described by Myron Orfield in his 1997 paper, <a href="http://www.cphabaltimore.org/orfield_report.pdf"><b><i>Baltimore Metropolitics: a Regional Agenda for Community and Stability</i></b></a> (pdf):<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><blockquote>The “favored quarter” (a term coined by real estate consultants) dominates regional economic growth and garners a disproportionate share of the region’s new roads and other developmental infrastructure. Its housing markets are highly restrictive, its social needs small and often declining. However, it has too few local workers for local jobs and traffic congestion that cannot be solved by new highways. In the low social need sector growing communities corner the market in low-density executive housing and/or business tax base with low service requirements. Fiscal zoning is the process by which communities zone or plan to develop expensive housing and/or commercial-industrial property with low service demands so as to increase their tax base per household and keep their costly social need (and taxes) down.</blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>Christopher Leinberger and his colleagues at Robert Charles Lesser and Co. (RCL & Co.), one of the most successful real estate consulting firms in the country, have made a great deal of money locating for businesses the “favored quarter” in a given metropolitan area.42 These quarters are developing suburban areas that have mastered the art of skimming off the cream of metropolitan growth, while accepting as few metropolitan responsibilities as possible. RCL & Co. look for areas with concentrations of housing valued above $200,000, high-end regional malls, and the best freeway capacity. As these communities grow affluent and their tax base expands, their exclusive housing market actually causes their relatively small local social needs to decline.</blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>In the Baltimore region, Leinberger’s favored quarter is the tract of land that surrounds Interstate 83, in the Towson area and north into central Baltimore County. This favored quarter includes places just to the north of Baltimore that we have identified as areas with high tax base and low social need; such as Towson, Luthersville-Timonium, and Mays Chapel. Leinberger also identifies two secondary favored quarters as being the Owings Mills and the White Marsh areas. The area of White Marsh has also been identified in our study as a low social need place. These secondary areas may become more important in future years as the I-83 favored quarter north of Baltimore is held back by strict zoning ordinances and limited available infrastructure.43 In addition to these favored quarters identified by Leinberger, using similar techniques, our study has identified other places of low social need, predominantly located in Howard and Anne Arundel Counties.</blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">I believe that the favored quarters in the Washington DC and Baltimore regions (and the success of Columbia) are tied to, and in service of, the American Dream. Mr. Leinberger touched on this early in his lecture. He spoke of the American Dream, and how it has changed over time. In early American (United States) history, the American Dream was tied to an agrarian ideal. As Mr. Leinbeger stated, “40-acres and a mule” were enough for a family to provide for itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">As the manufacturing, industrial and transportation industries matured during the 19<sup>th</sup> and early 20<sup>th</sup> centuries, the American Dream evolved into the suburban ideal. It was during this maturation period in which the foundation of the favored quarter was laid in Baltimore and Washington DC. In Baltimore, the Jones Falls that runs through the city proved to be a beneficial site for early mills. With any industrialized waterway, the affluent area was predominantly upstream, given, among other things, cleaner water. In addition, upland regions were desirable to the affluent because they could escape the heat of the city during the summer months. In Washington DC, the creation of the C&O canal and later the railroad created the transportation infrastructure for the well-to-do seeking relief from the city. From these initial beginnings, the favored quarters evolved into the areas we know today. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">It is also worth mentioning the <a href="http://www.planning.org/growingsmart/enablingacts.htm"><b>Standard State Zoning Enabling Act</b></a> of 1924 (and revised in 1926). This landmark legislation was produced by the Department of Commerce under the guidance of then Secretary Herbert Hoover. This act provided for the separation of land uses and accelerated the transformation of the American Dream in which the place of residence is separate and distinct from the place of work.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">With respect to Columbia, let me refer back to Mr. Leinberger’s opening remarks. At the beginning of the evening, Mr. Leinberger praised the work of Columbia’s founder Jim Rouse and stated that he was ahead of his time. Although Mr. Rouse failed to persuade the United States Patent and Trademark Office to locate within Columbia, the city’s regional proximity to the <a href="http://www.nsa.gov/about/index.shtml"><b>National Security Agency</b></a>, the <a href="http://www.jhuapl.edu/aboutapl/heritage/aplgrowth/default.asp"><b>Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab</b></a>, the <a href="http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/Profile.php?Inst=UMBC"><b>University of Maryland Baltimore County</b></a>, the <a href="http://history.nasa.gov/centerhistories/goddard.htm"><b>Goddard Space Flight Center</b></a>, and the <a href="http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssa/CandlerFactSheet.htm"><b>Social Security Administration</b></a> provided ample employment opportunities. Each of these facilities either opened or dramatically expanded during the 1960’s. In particular, the types of jobs at these facilities; analysts, engineers, scientists, technicians, physicists and other degreed professionals were what I believe are the seeds of what Richard Florida has called the "<a href="http://www.creativeclass.com/"><b>Creative Class</b></a>.” In this way, intended or not, a generation of Columbia residents prospered in a way that wasn’t even defined until thirty years later. Mr. Leinberger’s favored quarter discussion is valid within the context of regional manufacturing and industrial legacies; however, in the current information age and the emerging experiential age, the thinking will have to change. To be fair, Mr. Leinberger did hint at this rethinking during his discussion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6KEbehvM43qIcagujOXDqQcPc1Gf_XwjPXLXQEV1BPhHsIwtvwgel4frxY3P9JV7uVM9m9q2ZJp7ZmWvchpH1A2Hfr8CCTmVcSiyzw-zwMKL_BdLBZ3FdYJ3QN6gEvMDprTd/s1600/columbia+proximity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6KEbehvM43qIcagujOXDqQcPc1Gf_XwjPXLXQEV1BPhHsIwtvwgel4frxY3P9JV7uVM9m9q2ZJp7ZmWvchpH1A2Hfr8CCTmVcSiyzw-zwMKL_BdLBZ3FdYJ3QN6gEvMDprTd/s320/columbia+proximity.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">All things considered, it has been more than a week since the meeting, and I’m still buzzing. As I said on Twitter the next day, “I laughed, I learned, and I start this day with renewed hope.” Part of this renewed hope is that we will have more of these type events in the near future. On that note, I have one last request. I hope that in future meetings, CA and HHC can provide some sort of babysitting on site so that young families can attend. Doing so will open up the number of people that can attend, and that can’t be a bad thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-38321903027418685232011-05-26T11:14:00.001-04:002011-05-26T11:15:29.983-04:00Stop What You are Doing, and ListenI was listening to the <a href="http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/about/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Maryland Morning</span></b></a> program yesterday morning on <a href="http://www.wypr.org/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">WYPR (88.1 FM)</span></b></a>. On Wednesday mornings, the program features a segment called “<a href="http://www.wypr.org/stationprogram/connecting-family"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Connecting Family with Meredith Jacobs.</span></b></a>”<br />
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Yesterday’s segment was one of those stories that the folks in the public radio realm refer to as a “<a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/driveway/index.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">driveway moment</span></b></a>.” As in, the story is so good; you will sit in your driveway to listen to the whole story before removing your car key from the ignition.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The subject of this segment was Meredith’s reflections on summer swim team. I’m pretty sure Meredith does not live in Columbia, but the description of her experience with her child’s summer swim team would be easily recognized by the more than 2000 Columbia Summer Swim League members and their families. She accurately describes the social interactions between swimmers, and between parents (aka “Jamie’s mom” or “Alex’s dad”); the team camaraderie, the individual achievement. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">All said, it was a joy listening and reflecting on my own experience as a swimmer and as the parent of a swimmer. It should be required listening for all parents of school age kids in Columbia (or anywhere there is an active summer swim team program). So if you have kids, or were once a swimmer, take a listen.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wypr/local-wypr-970518.mp3"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Click to Listen: “Connecting Family with Meredith Jacobs” – Summer Swim Team </span></span></b></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Columbia Summer Swim League practice starts next Tuesday at your local neighborhood pool. If you or your child is at all motivated by this, I look forward to seeing you at the pool on Saturday mornings. Go Wilde Lake Watercats!!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-20002010327641642302011-05-16T09:57:00.000-04:002011-05-16T09:57:11.647-04:00Columbia Demographics 1990-2009 – Useful Eye Candy<div class="MsoNormal">To help better understand demographic change, I have taken the time to put together a map that helps depict the changes in Columbia, MD. Shown below is a map of most of Columbia. My apologies to the folks in Dorsey’s Search north of MD 108, the US Census boundaries in your area do not match up easily, and it would take me weeks to put together the numbers in your neighborhood.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="480" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=201592675060721447176.000499ac2be6cb09496c3&ll=39.193948,-76.865158&spn=0.127718,0.219727&z=12&output=embed" width="640"></iframe><br />
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</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For the remainder of Columbia, I have outlined the year 2000 Census Tracts that comprise the city. If you click on a section of the map, it will display the name of the neighborhood and the total population for that area in 1990, 2000, and 2009 (estimate). In addition, each pop-up window includes the statement “click here for details.” I encourage everyone to “click here.” By doing so, it will direct you to a spreadsheet that displays the detailed demographic data for the geographic area and in many parts of the city, it tells an interesting story. For instance, the Columbia Association is concerned about the decline of those 21-54 years old in Columbia. In the Hopewell neighborhood, this age group has seen a 40% drop (estimated), but attendance at the Hopewell pool is one of the best in the city. This is just one example of the dynamic changes occurring throughout the city over the last twenty years.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
It is important to note here that the 2009 data is an estimate, and at times carries a large margin of error. The US Census Bureau is releasing state <a href="http://2010.census.gov/news/press-kits/demographic-profiles.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>2010 Census demographic data</b></span></a> throughout this month. When the new 2010 data becomes available, I will update the map and spreadsheets.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also, in the lower left corner of each spreadsheet, shaded in blue, the limited data from the 2010 Census can be found. I encourage you to look at it. In many cases, the 2010 Census data does not correlate with the 2009 estimates. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Coming up soon: Let’s look at CA Aquatics Pool Attendance Data!</div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-7313130859125966502011-05-15T08:43:00.000-04:002011-05-15T08:43:37.358-04:00Diving into CA Aquatics Demographics<div class="MsoNormal">So it’s been more than a few weeks since the Columbia Association Aquatics Department kicked off its Master Planning Process (http://www.columbiaassociation.com/aquaticsmasterplan/), and to be frank, there is something about the numbers presented that have been bothering me. The first thing that put me on the path of unbelievably ridiculous research was a slide that CA put up during their master planning workshops. The <a href="http://www.columbiaassociation.com/aquaticsmasterplan/AquaWorkshp33011final.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>slide</b></span></a> (pdf – Slide 18) entitled “How Much Does it Cost?” detailed the capital costs of pools over the lifetime of Columbia. The first pool listed is the Bryant Woods Pool. It was built in 1968 for a cost of $41,000. The last pool on the list is River Hill Pool. It was built in 1995 for a cost of $1.2M.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The implication was that the cost to construct pools has increased dramatically over the years. I had a problem with this for several reasons. First, the Bryant Woods Pool is a six-lane, rectangular pool with (by today’s standards) an undersized diving well and an adjacent wading (baby) pool. The hot tub at Bryant Woods was part of an upgrade and built in the 1980’s. The River Hill Pool is an eight-lane pool with beach entry, the site also includes a spray structure in the beach entry area, a snack bar, shade structures, a beach volleyball court and hot tub. Even the baby pool has a spray mushroom. By comparison, I believe that both the men’s and women’s bath house at Bryant Woods could fit inside a single side (sex) of the River Hill bath house. In other words, it is difficult to compare a base model 1968 Dodge Dart, with bias tires, lap seat belts, drum brakes, no air-conditioning and AM radio with a top-of-the-line Lexus; with anti-lock brakes, airbags, multi-disc CD player, leather all-around, sunroof, and thousands of goodies at the high end.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Secondly, it occurred to me during the public workshop meeting that when the Bryant Woods Pool was constructed in 1968 for $41,000, the houses surrounding the pool were selling for about $27,000 (admittedly some more, some less). When the River Hill Pool was constructed in 1995 for $1.2M, the houses in River Hill were selling for about $500,000 (admittedly, some more, some less). From this point of view, it appears that pool construction costs have gone up, but have roughly remained at pace with the cost of constructing houses (and yes, like the BW v. RH pool scenario, there are dissimilarities in the housing stock amenities, but they do trend with the type of pool in each neighborhood. In other words, if a house of the style found in Bryant Woods was built in River Hill, it would cost less; however, if the pool in River Hill was a rectangular pool without the bells and whistles, it would cost less too).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lastly, and this is where CA could be most helpful, it would be beneficial to understand how much of the capital budget the Bryant Woods Pool consumed in 1968 and how much of the capital budget the River Hill Pool consumed in 1995. CA would have to provide the numbers, but given the number of lien payers in 1968 (approx 2,000) v. 1995 (> 76,000) (and the resultant $0.75 per hundreds assessed paid), I believe the River Hill Pool constituted a smaller portion of the capital budget than the Bryant Woods Pool.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For the reasons stated above, I think CA Aquatics was a little misleading about “How much it costs.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hey! We’re (Still) Here!</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another set of data that didn’t seem quite right to me can be found on the Columbia Association – <a href="http://www.columbiaassociation.com/aquaticsmasterplan/#"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>Aquatics Master Plan web page</b></span></a>. Under the title “Existing Conditions and Trends,” the following passage can be found:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>Built and upgraded over 40 years, Columbia's inventory of aquatics facilities are aging and require investment to continue to offer programs and amenities that meet user expectations.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><blockquote>At the same time, Columbia's demographic trends show that our population is aging - the median age today is almost 40 years old, whereas it was 32 in 1990. In addition, residents in their prime child-rearing years (aged 21 to 54) have decreased as a proportion of the population from almost one-half of the population in 1990 to one-third of the population today.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><blockquote>To understand and respond to these and other trends, the Columbia Association is undertaking a master plan to set the framework for future capital investments and programs to keep our aquatics program strong and to make sure investments are made wisely.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The above paragraphs paint a pretty dramatic picture. It portrays Columbia, broadly speaking, as getting older. To an extent, this is true. I checked the median age numbers at the <a href="http://www.census.gov/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">U.S. Census</span></b></a> and they are correct. The median age in Columbia is increasing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What is troubling is the second piece of data: “<i>In addition, residents in their prime child-rearing years (aged 21 to 54) have decreased as a proportion of the population from almost one-half of the population in 1990 to one-third of the population today</i>.” To be kind, this is a 100% factually untrue statement.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I looked up the Columbia demographic data over at the United States Census webpage; first the 1990 and 2000 decennial Census data, and then the data from the 2009 American Community Survey. Note: The 2009 American Community Survey is an estimate conducted by the US Census Bureau. The 2010 Census decennial demographic data (say that five times fast) has not been released for Maryland. It is expected to be released within the next two weeks.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As shown below, the 1990 Census data indicates people aged 21-54 made up 60% (not 50%) of the population. Over the last 20 years, this age cohort has seen a decline to 50% (estimate) of the population. This 10% decline over 20 years is a much slower rate than the 17% decline offered by the Columbia Association Aquatics Department. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en&hl=en&key=0AtDkLC8O6xnGdC1peFFsR28xdzZueUNzLVo4MXFxLWc&single=true&gid=0&output=html&widget=true" width="500"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What is most interesting about the Columbia demographic data is that yes, as a proportion of the total population, those aged 21-54 have seen a decline; however, for twenty years the total number of people has remained remarkably constant. The realization for the Columbia Association isn’t that 45,495 people in 1990 constituted 60% of the population or that 45,236 (estimate) in 2009 constituted 50% of the population. What is most important is that 45,000 people, most likely lien payers and membership owners don’t take kindly to being marginalized by some “fuzzy numbers.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Taken at face value, the (factually incorrect) demographics above paint one picture, but they do not reveal the total picture. I am very concerned that CA is approaching this based on proportionality. I think it is wrongheaded thinking. It whispers “divide and conquer.” This position is similar to the “how much does it cost” statement by CA above.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Most other institutions do not use the proportionality argument. Hypothetically, if eighty kids need to be bused to a local elementary school, the public school system provides buses for them. If at some time in the future there becomes a dramatic increase in need for busing at the high school level, but eighty kids still need to be bused to the elementary school, the school system provides more buses. They don’t say to the elementary school parents, “you know, as a proportion of the total bus rider population, the elementary school kids have declined, so we’re going to cut off their service to the elementary school.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now is the time for the Columbia Association to get back on the right track. It is time for the Columbia Association to commit, loudly and clearly, to providing (at a minimum) the amenities and services that were available over the last twenty years because the population that wants these services has not changed over the last twenty years. The Columbia Association should also embrace the change that comes with a growing senior population, but not at the expense of others in the community. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33706982.post-29275499471820687412011-05-09T13:31:00.000-04:002011-05-09T13:31:38.286-04:00John and David<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;">As the Columbia community begins to settle in with its new (insert your own “relationship analogy” here: partner, step-dad, drummer, etc..), John DeWolf; it may be instructive to look broadly at Howard Hughes Corporation.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;">This morning, HHC announced David Striph as the Senior Vice President position for its Hawaiian assets.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This announcement is significant because, although half-a-world away, the HHC (nee GGP) owned Ward Centers, located in Honolulu’s Ala Moana District has progressed on a roughly parallel track with Columbia, Maryland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the mid-2000’s, then GGP embarked on a master planning process for both Columbia and the Ward Centers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In each case, GGP needed zoning changes to realize the master plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Hawaii, the Ward Center master plan was submitted to the <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://hcdaweb.org/search?SearchableText=ggp">Hawaii Community Development Authority</a></span></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Subsequent meetings generated dozens of supporters and many that opposed the Master Plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To get a bit of the flavor surrounding the master plan, here is a report from the October 16, 2008 <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://archives.starbulletin.com/content/20081016_Ward_development_aired">Honolulu Star Bulletin</a></span></b>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>There were people both in support and opposition to the plan, which demolishes most of the existing buildings at Ward over the next 20-plus years, transforming the skyline with up to 4,300 more residential units in the form of mid- and high-rises throughout the 60-acre neighborhood.</blockquote><blockquote>[A] group calling itself the Kakaako Coalition held a rally at Sheridan Community Park an hour and a half before yesterday's public hearing.</blockquote><blockquote>Carrying signs and wearing red T-shirts, the group's position was that HCDA should require an environmental impact statement and traffic study before considering approval of the plan.</blockquote><blockquote>[M]any stakeholders were concerned as well about preserving open space and view planes, which could be blocked by high-rises along Ala Moana.</blockquote><blockquote>In addition, Frierson said, the neighborhood needs more affordable housing and fewer upscale projects targeting second-home owners.</blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Moreover, the Hawaii Community Development Authority <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Jan/15/bz/hawaii901150318.html">approved</a></span></b> the zoning (8-1) in January of 2009 and the Howard County Council approved local Columbia zoning (5-0) in February 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Another interesting point to consider is that although the Ward Centers is on 1/10<sup>th</sup> the land of Downtown Columbia (60 acres v. approx 600 acres in Maryland), the magnitude of development is fairly similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the press release announcing John DeWolf, the Downtown Columbia project is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110505005674/en/Howard-Hughes-Corporation-Hires-John-E.-DeWolf">described as follows</a></span></b>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>Columbia Town Center has an approved master plan to create up to 13 million square feet of mixed-used development. The plan includes up to 5,500 residential units, approximately one million square feet of retail, approximately five million square feet of commercial office space and 640 hotel rooms.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Whereas the Ward Centers described in the HHC press release for David Striph <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110509005118/en/Howard-Hughes-Corporation-Hires-David-Striph-Senior">are described as</a></span></b>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>Ward Centers is comprised of approximately 60 acres situated along Ala Moana Beach Park and is within one mile of Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. Ward Centers currently is a 550,000-square-foot shopping district containing six specialty centers and over 135 unique shops, a variety of restaurants and an entertainment center, which includes a 16-screen movie theater. In January 2009, the Hawaii Community Development Authority approved a 15-year master plan, which entitles a mixed-use development encompassing up to 9.3 million square feet, including up to 7.6 million square feet of residential (4,300 units), five million square feet of retail and four million square feet of office, commercial and other uses.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">So is there any insight into Howard Hughes Corporation, given that they announced the hiring of two men (yes, I noticed that too) to carry out two master planned developments in the span of four days?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The jury is out (being that hiring announcements are a bit formulaic), but there are some clues in each announcement.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The introductory paragraph in each press release emphasizes the accomplishments of each Senior Vice-President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For comparison, here is the background on John DeWolf:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>Mr. DeWolf brings over 30 years of real estate experience to his new role. Most recently, Mr. DeWolf ran his own consulting practice leading real estate strategy, portfolio management and start-up guidance for multi-billion dollar businesses. Mr. DeWolf was Executive Vice President Real Estate/Strategic Initiatives for New York & Company where he oversaw the addition of 225 stores, the closing of 100 stores, and downsizing of over 250 stores. Additionally, as head of strategic initiatives he managed the development of two accessory store concepts and four new store prototypes. Previously, Mr. DeWolf had senior leadership roles with New England Development, Woolworth Corporation and The Disney Stores, Inc.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">And the background on David Striph:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>An industry veteran, Mr. Striph has financed and managed over two billion dollars worth of real estate assets during his career, including mixed-use, retail and high-end residential projects. Prior to joining Howard Hughes, Mr. Striph served as Senior Managing Director at Westmount Realty Capital, a Dallas, Texas-based real estate investor. Mr. Striph was also Managing Director at Fortress Investment Group, Vice President at Fremont Investment & Loan, and President of Amresco Capital Trust.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In addition, each press release provides complimentary quotes from Howard Hughes Corporation Leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John DeWolf receives the following from HHC CEO David Weinreb:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>"The Maryland Communities, Landmark and West Windsor are important strategic assets for the company. John brings the acumen and experience necessary to ensure that the full potential values of these key assets are realized, ” David R. Weinreb, Chief Executive Officer of The Howard Hughes Corporation, stated. “John’s appointment is a clear example of our dedication to identifying the best leaders for our management team, and our commitment to the time and exploration necessary to find the ideal leaders for each vital role.”</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">While David Striph is the recipient of accolades from Weinreb and HHC President <span style="color: #262626;">Grant Herlitz:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote>"David’s multi-faceted background in commercial real estate makes him the ideal leader for our assets in Hawaii,” stated Grant Herlitz, President of The Howard Hughes Corporation.</blockquote><blockquote>“Ward Centers is a key example of the untapped value within The Howard Hughes Corporation’s portfolio. We have the approvals to redevelop the property with up to 9.3 million square feet of mixed-use development,” stated David R. Weinreb, the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “This opportunity has the potential to include thousands of residential units with unobstructed ocean views and to materially enhance the property’s retail presence.”</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the end, it is all too early to make any judgments about either executive, but it will certainly be interesting the observe the trajectory of both projects as each of these individuals fulfill their roles in their respective communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->B. Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13568466324432338324noreply@blogger.com0