Things have been quiet around here...

Compass faithful, I have not had a chance to post here in a while, and I apologize. I have been trying to find some time to put up some posts, but I recently took a new job in College Park, and I'm still tweaking the schedule.

The b.santos family also took a great vacation. We had a lot of fun, and while I was there, I took this picture:



I thought it looked like a great idea for a new Columbia Association headquarters.


As many local bloggers have posted (really too many to link to, just go to HoCo Blogs and check them all out), it's really hot out there. I wanted to share my own personal heatwave story. After arriving at work this morning, I left an Altoids tin on the dash of my car. The tin sat on my dashboard all afternoon. After work, I got in my car and popped two Altoids in my mouth. It was like putting peppermint flavored hot coals in my mouth.

In the fond memories catagory, one of the coolest fad buys from the early '70s, Wacky Packs, is the subject of a new book. How did I come across this tidbit of info (take the time, have a listen "centimeter-stones," very cool), from only the best NPR show that you can't hear on terrestrial radio in the Baltimore/Washington area. OK, I could have just hyperlinked to the Bryant Park Project, but the show really deserves to be mentioned by typing it out. The BPP currently can only be heard via Sirius satellite radio or online, but it is well worth a listen. For those who are social network minded, they also have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and they have a blog.

Oh, and speaking of books, the book premier of "Oh, You Must Live in Columbia!" is coming up Friday. I encourage anyone who loves Columbia street names to stop by.

Anyhoo, I have a lot of stuff to talk about, but need to find the time soon. Keep checking in, the words should flow shortly.

Resident? Guess Again

Maybe it’s the monsoon-like rain. Maybe it’s the brilliant sunshine and clear skies. Maybe it’s the ebb and flow of the weather patterns over the last two weeks. The bottom line is, the Columbia Flier got it terribly wrong this week.

Of course, I am referring to the story, “Building Plans Worry Wilde Lake Residents,” that found itself on the front page of the Columbia Flier this week. After reading the story, one might get the impression that all the residents in Wilde Lake are named Lloyd Knowles.

But let’s not get too crazy here. Lloyd does get his name mentioned six times in the article (cha-ching). The reality; however, is that Lloyd does not live in Wilde Lake. He lives in an out-parcel (non-lien assessed property) in the middle of Harper’s Choice. The truth is, Lloyd and his wife (State Delegate Bobo) own a number of condos in Wilde Lake. I suppose the front page headline “Building Plans Worry Wilde Lake Landlords,” isn't as sexy.

The reality here is that Lloyd made a comment (he did not “testify”) that took up about two minutes of a two-hour event. What the Flier has discounted was many of the comments (that were positive with respect to downtown development) of residents that actually lay their heads on pillows in Wilde Lake.

Let’s hope in the future, there will be some balanced reporting, and maybe a correction next week.

2008-2009 CA Board Leadership Decided

Based on reports from the field, Tom O’Connor (DS) has been elected CA Board Chair for this year and Michael Cornell (RH) has been elected vice-chair. Congratulations to Tom and Mike.

Village Election Results – Unofficial

Initial reports indicate an elevated turnout for Village Board and CA Board elections. Nine of the ten Columbia Villages had elections for Village Board. Because the election in Owen Brown was not contested, Owen Brown did not have elections this year. Columbia Council Representative (aka CA Board Member) elections were held in Town Center, Wilde Lake, Oakland Mills, Hickory Ridge, and Harpers Choice.

In Oakland Mills, the CA Board contest proved to be quite close. The Alliance for a Better Columbia President Alex Heikmein defeated former Oakland Mills Board Member Phil Engelke by eight (8) votes. Voting in Oakland Mills was up over last year. I have no specific total from OM, but I believe it is in the neighborhood of 535 votes.

Town Center elected Suzanne Waller over Steve Meskin.

In Harper’s Choice, Cindy Coyle bested Lynda Maxwell 315-200, a more than 500 person turnout.

Early results from Hickory Ridge indicate a less than quorum turnout for the Village, and the lowest turnout (at lest in terms of percentage) in Columbia for an election with a CA Board position on the ballot.

In Wilde Lake, the CA Board position was a closely contested race between Linda Odum and Phil Kirsch. Phil took the day 260-225, with 499 people voting. Once again, this contest was overshadowed by Liz Bobo’s machine. Her emails, notes left on resident’s doorsteps, and an election day phone bank operated out of her house shows the level of dedication (or interference) that she holds for a Village that she does not even call home. Bobo asserts that her involvement in the Village elections stems from her ownership of rental property in Wilde Lake. Collectively, Bobo and her husband Lloyd Knowles are one of the largest property owners (in terms of number of units) in the Village of Wilde Lake. Anyhoo, her candidate Phil Kirsch, and the four Village Board members she backed won in the Wilde Lake election this year.

Incidentally, I received enough votes this year (thank you, brave people of Wilde Lake) to win the fifth spot on the Wilde Lake Village Board.

Thanks to everyone who ran and thanks to all that voted in Columbia.

Columbia Elections - Open Forum

Well, tomorrow is election day (and it has already started in Kings Contrivance). I would like to hear what people are thinking. Is there any juice about this year's election? Any races in your village that are interesting? Is there any particular candidate with new and interesting ideas? Anyone have any predictions?

Some topics to keep in mind on the CA level:

Hiring a new president.
Watershed management.
Downtown development.
Board infighting.

Let's hear what you think!

If the Wilde Lake Village Center is Discussed, Can the Slate Candidates Hear It?

Last night, I attended the Columbia Association Planning and Strategy Committee meeting to hear Kimco representative Kevin Allen discuss the Columbia Village Centers. For the record, Phil Kirsch, the current CA Board member from Wilde Lake serves on the Planning and Strategy Committee. Other than Phil, no other Wilde Lake slate candidate (Marando, Pivar, Simons, Mikkelsen) attended this informative meeting with Kimco.

Kevin began his discussion with a brief history of the Columbia Village Centers. He stated that the early Village Centers had relatively small grocery stores and as Columbia grew, new Village Centers had larger stores and those Village Centers that renovated saw an increase in the size of their grocery stores. As this happened, the larger grocery stores began to “poach” customers from each other. In addition, the Giant placed outside, but immediately adjacent to Columbia at the former Palace 9 movie theatre site has been problematic for the Village Centers.

Turning to the Wilde Lake Village Center, Mr. Allen stated that due to the uncertainty surrounding Wegmans, the uncertainty of Town Center development, and the relatively close proximity of the Safeway in Harpers Choice and the Giant in Hickory Ridge, potential grocers (both major national retailers and smaller regional establishments) have been reluctant to sign a lease.

Given this persistent response over the last eighteen months, Kevin said that Kimco started looking at other ways of investing in the property. He stated that their concept right now is a mixed use retail component of approximately 50,000 square feet, an office space component, and a residential component.

The meeting then progressed to a question-and-answer phase. Planning and Strategy Committee member Phil Kirsch stated that his wife did not like shopping at Safeway (in Harpers Choice) and Giant (in Dorseys Search) because they were too big. He followed this up with a question about the viability of a small grocery store. Kevin replied that Kimco would consider putting a small grocer in Wilde Lake, but a typical (50,000 square foot) grocery store was more than likely out of the question. He also stated that plans for Wilde Lake are evolving and most ideas are still on the table.

Evan Coren then asked about David’s Natural Market. Kevin replied that he had talked with David earlier in the day (Tuesday) and David did express an interest in having a larger presence in the Village Center. Kevin went on to say that he had seen David’s grow from a 3000 square foot storefront to its current size, and he would work with David’s.

Phil then countered with a question about attracting people to the Village Center, he asked why people would come to the reconfigured Village Center. In response Kevin stated that Giant had pulled out of Wilde Lake because they were not satisfied with sales and that some merchants in Wide Lake today are exceeding the sales of Giant before it left. Looking to the future, Kevin then expressed a desire to have restaurants, and smaller anchor stores in Wilde Lake. Later in the evening, I asked Kevin if the close proximity of Cheesecake Factory, Chammps, and the other restaurants nearby would result in restaurants being shy about signing a lease in Wilde Lake. Kevin said that he would like to see local restaurants in Wilde Lake, not national chains.

Questions were then opened up to the audience. Jay Bonstingl (a Wilde Lake resident) asked if Kimco was really committed to the concept of the Village Center as the “heart and soul” of the community. Jay went on to say that he had viewed renderings from Kimco and in his opinion, he saw upper income housing that did not take into account Slayton House.

Kevin answered by saying that the renderings were only concepts and the design will evolve and change. Kevin went on to say that Kimco is looking for input from the county and the Wilde Lake Village Board, and that Kimco has heard “let’s not lose sight of the core of the village.”

Upon reflection, many topics regarding the Wilde Lake Village Center were discussed. There were plenty of revelations, and at least for me, some new information was brought to light. I just wonder how the Wilde Lake Village Board slate candidates (Marando, Pivar, Mikkelsen, and Simons) are going to “enhance and protect the Village Center” if they continue to miss these types of meetings.

Columnist Claims Rouse Practiced Discrimination Before Building Columbia

Today columnist Antero Pietila of the Baltimore Examiner details the discrimination practices of several organizations James Rouse either led or was part of during the early 1960's. I would like to hear the comments of the Compass readers.

For Some in Wilde Lake, Diversity Stands in the Way of Getting Things Done

Last night, the Wilde Lake Community Association sponsored a Candidates Night for the upcoming Wilde Lake Village Board and Columbia Council Representative Elections. The event (based on past Wilde Lake Candidates Night standards) was well attended, with about forty residents and property owners in the audience. After opening statements of each of the candidates (including myself), a vigorous question and answer session ensued. Much of the discussion centered around the Wilde Lake Village Center. Other topics of discussion included the Plaza Tower in downtown and the recent Interfaith Center architectural decision.

At the end of the evening, a Wilde Lake resident asked about the mailer sent out to select people in the community that advocated for a “slate” of candidates. The question posed (and I’m paraphrasing here) was “Why should I vote for a particular slate of candidates, rather than vote for people based on their individual merits?” Wilde Lake Village Board Chairperson Vince Marando was first to answer the question and replied as follows (again, paraphrasing here) “I reached out to people of like mind because the only way to get things done is to have people who have the same opinion.”

As a statement of fact, the candidates running as a slate are Vince Marando, Mary Pivar, Lisa Mikkelsen, Phil Kirsch, and Elliott Simons. Lisa Mikkelsen was unable to attend the Candidates Night event. All five are Caucasian, with four of the five (Marando, Mikkelsen, Pivar, Kirsch) living within a few hundred yards of each other. A majority of slate candidates (Simons, Marando, Pivar) have lived in Columbia for more than thirty years. Phil Kirsch has been in Columbia for about twenty years and I believe Lisa Mikkelsen has been in Wilde Lake for a few years. Most are retired.

Given the racial, geographical, tenure and current occupational similarities of this group, it appears that Chairperson Marando has an additional requirement, a similarity between the ears.

In this time of great change in our Interfaith Center appearance, the continued Village Center concerns, and downtown development at Wilde Lake’s doorstep, it appears that Mr. Marando (and by extension, all other candidates that chose to sign on to the slate campaign), through the slate of candidates, seeks to limit ideas and input to the process. Certainly, residents are encouraged to speak out at meetings and contact elected representatives of the Village Board to voice their concerns, but Mr. Marando has implied that a single mindset should control the votes of the board.

I take the opposite view. Wilde Lake needs diversity in order to effectively address the current and future needs of the Village. By excluding differing viewpoints, the tools available to the Village Board will be diminished, and the solutions rendered will not fully address the needs of the community.

Attention to Detail – Wilde Lake 2008 Election Update

Well, once again, the Wilde Lake Village election machines are out there. One of the most interesting is a coalition of five candidates running (Vince Marando, Mary Pivar, Lisa Mikkelsen, Elliott Simons, and Phil Kirsch) that published a flier and mailed it to people all over the Village.

Figure 1. Mailer Page One

Figure 2. Mailer Page Two

I have to say, the graphics are pretty impressive. The mailer does have the look and feel of a ballot. They have a great picture of the gazebo on Wilde Lake. It shows a lot of time and effort put into the presentation.

That said, for all the sizzle, there is very little steak here. The “Open the Process” on the exterior of the tri-fold flap has no connection to any of the propaganda on the interior of the flier. What process are they talking about? What specifically needs to be open? Given the flier indicates support for mostly current and former board members, are they currently operating in a “closed” process? I suppose which process, and what needs to be “opened” is ultimately left up to the recipient.

The broad statement that “Together we will enhance & protect our Village Center” does not provide any specifics on how the Village Center is to be enhanced or protected. Given that four of the five candidates listed have been on the Village Board since the Giant closed, I believe a reasonable voter would infer the status quo would be maintained.

One last thing, if you look a little closer at the flier:

Figure 3 Mailer, Detail

C-O-L-U-M-I-B-A? Given that there are five names on this flier, I would have to think that each reviewed the content before allowing their name to be used. So what kind of “community focused leadership” can we expect from those who can’t even identify the correct spelling of the town name? At a minimum, it demonstrates a lack of attention to detail. I encourage all Wilde Lake voters to take this lack of attention to detail, the lack of detail in their platform, and the overemphasis on visuals (as opposed to message) into consideration before voting this year.

Wilde Lake Village Board Election – 2008

This month, each of the Columbia Villages will hold elections for their Village Boards. I am running for the Wilde Lake Village Board. As I have been talking to people in Wilde Lake, the Wilde Lake Village Center is the biggest issue this election season. The prolonged grocery store vacancy and the recent closing of Produce Galore have heightened the concerns about commercial viability in Wilde Lake.

As a candidate for the Wilde Lake Village Board, I wish to make clear my Village Center position: I want to see a food store in the Wilde Lake Village Center; however, the current “wait and see” policy of the incumbent Village Board can no longer be tolerated. Last August, Wilde Lake Village Board Chairperson Vince Marando was quoted in the Columbia Flier :

Vincent Marando wants a grocery store to open in the Wilde Lake Village Center
as much as everyone else, he says.

But while several business owners are desperate for a new market to open as soon as possible, Marando, the chairman of the village board, thinks a new market should wait until the grocery store and retail picture in Columbia comes more into focus.

Since this article, Produce Galore has closed its doors and Anthony Tringali of the Anthony Richards Barbershop is considering doing the same. I believe the continued loss of retailers in the Wilde Lake Village Center will make the case for a grocery store even harder.

Now is the time for proactive steps to be taken to ensure the Village Center remains commercially viable. If elected, I will do the following:

Work with my fellow elected board members to write a letter to the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning regarding the installation of signs directing people to the Wilde Lake Village Center.

Currently the Harpers Choice Village Center, Owen Brown Village Center, and
Oakland Mills Village Center have several signs that direct people to these Village
Centers. I wrote about the number of signs for each Village Center and their locations last year. I also contacted Mary Kay Sigaty, the County Council member that represents Wilde Lake. She indicated the Village Board needed to write a letter to get the signs put up. I communicated this to the Wilde Lake Village Board last November, and no action was taken. It is unclear whether the signs would have put off the Produce Galore closing, but I believe helping people find the Village Center could only improve merchant sales.

Establish a committee to write commercial architectural guidelines.

The need for commercial architectural guidelines has been known by the incumbent
Village Board for some time. In fact Vince Marando, the current Wilde Lake Village Board Chairperson, has contacted me by phone and during Village Board meetings about forming such a committee.(I cannot confirm, but I believe he has asked me repeated times because I have chaired past committees that rewrote/updated the Wilde Lake residential architectural guidelines and the Wilde Lake Architectural Procedures.) At each turn, I have indicated my willingness to serve on such a committee. The time has come to stop talking about commercial guidelines and to start writing the commercial guidelines.

Establish a protocol for communicating information to residents.

As the Wilde Lake Village Center issue has become more prominent, I have been concerned about the lack of information that Village residents possess. At a recent Wilde Lake Village Board meeting with Kimco representatives, a Wilde Lake resident offered that the Village of Wilde Lake has a population of 15,000 people. United States Census data indicates that Wilde Lake has a population closer to 5,300 people. Other residents have put forth particular grocery chains (Trader Joes, The Fresh Place, Grauls, Eddies, Macgruders…) that they believe (and quite frankly, I believe too) would be a good fit for Wilde Lake. Lamentably, Kimco has spoken to many (if not all) of these grocers (and many more), and each has declined to locate in Wilde Lake.

This information has been communicated to the Wilde Lake Village Board, but it has not been communicated to residents. To minimize repetition and reduce frustration, the Wilde Lake Village Board must adapt a structure to communicate the status of the Village Center to residents. Be it an email list, blog, web page, or printable flier available at Slayton House, there must be a means to update residents. An informed public can help make better choices.

Looking Beyond the Immediate

The three initiatives outlined above constitute what I believe should be enacted as soon as possible. However, I do not believe they will resolve the problems at the Wilde Lake Village Center. Other initiatives will take longer to implement, and need to be clarified. I respectfully submit the following, longer-term initiatives that I believe will help restore the Village Center.

Local Business Zoning

I have written about this idea before (here and here). It originated with towns that were being over-run by food chains like McDonalds. Simply said, zoning was enacted that stated if a business had at least eleven places of businesses that shared the same layout, architecture, menu or uniforms, they would have to undergo an additional round of review before being allowed to build. This allowed local businesses to thrive. I believe that the loss of many local businesses (Produce Galore, Bun Penney, Blue Cow Café, Fire Rock Grill…) in the last few months demonstrates a need to look at the zoning to ensure local entrepreneurs have a chance in the market. I believe a committee should be commissioned to study this type of zoning and make recommendations to the board. If favorable, the board may work with County officials to enact such zoning.

Commercial Sector Education

I believe it is critical for as many people to know and understand the mechanisms behind how a grocery store (or any other merchant) picks a location. Only with good information can good decisions be made. I believe this is so important that I would champion an initiative to bring in local experts on commercial retail leases, market segmentation, and demographics (and others) to Wilde Lake such that board members (including myself) and residents can understand what is in play when a retailer is deciding whether or not to locate in the Village Center.

I believe that taking these steps will start the process of revitalizing the Village Center. A place where local residents can meet their daily needs and also a destination place that draws from the entire Columbia/Howard County community. Please join me in this endeavor, and vote for me on April 26, 2008.

Last Night, the Columbia Community Changed

Last night the Wilde Lake Village Board, serving as the Wilde Lake Architectural Committee, reversed an earlier resident committee’s recommendation and approved the architectural style of a 48-foot tall church (that’s almost five floors high) with a 16-foot cross facing Wilde Lake residents and traffic on Twin Rivers Road.

Up until last night, it was the practice in Columbia (for more than 35 years) that Interfaith Centers did not have any religious symbols on the exterior of the buildings on New Town property. Promotional material from the early days of Columbia stated “You will be glad to know that people come before buildings in our Columbia Religious efforts.”

The evening featured a powerpoint presentation demonstrating the prominence of many corporate logos that are visible in the vicinity, to include the Columbia Association logo in downtown, the Exxon gas station at Banneker Road, and the Melting Pot restaurant in the Wilde Lake Village Center. The presentation concluded with the picture zooming in on the Wilde Lake logo on the Slayton House building.

This was followed by many people speaking out, in 3-minute bites, and relating their difficulty in finding the church in the current interfaith center. Some stated it took hours to find the church, others weeks, and one who stated months. Another participant stated that having churches without religious symbols was akin to taking the names of schools off the exterior of the surrounding school buildings.

After the decision was rendered, I heard many people quietly saying, “It’s not an Interfaith Center anymore, it’s a Christian Center,” as they departed the meeting room.

Regardless, in the near future, Columbia will be a different place. The magnitude of this difference will be hard to measure. Is this “new street sign” different? 22-story condo tower different? I believe it probably depends on who you are and what your perception of interfaith was. In the end, it is a difference, and it should be noted.

Ignorance

The CA Board of Directors recently approved the budget for 2008/2009 fiscal year. One of the casualties of the budget was the axing of funds to address maintenance and structural problems along the Kittamaquandi Lakefront. This budget item was removed over the protestation of the CA Open Space Division. Now, I understand that members of the highly influential Alliance for a Better Columbia (ABC) have been wailing for years that the CA Board should not give much weight to CA Staff requests, so I took some time the other day to assess the material condition of the lakefront.

One of the first things I noticed were the pylons at the Town Center Boat Docks and along the warf to the bell tower. Long ago, these pylons were decorated with vertical strips of wood (balusters). Today, not a single pylon has all of the wood intact.

Here is a picture of one that is nearly intact:



In addition, many of the pylons have a substantial coating of green mildew on the north side:



There are also several pylons that have the tops bored out:





On a related note, some of the lights attached to the pylons are in disrepair (safety issue?):







Over at the boat docks, mildew has become a prominent feature:





And it appears that this mud has been around long enough to allow for some of the dock to be reclaimed by nature:



Over at the bell tower (which, by the way, when I have the occasion to watch Baltimore TV news, I love the shot of the bell tower and the lakefront during the opening), this ramp looked a little odd to me:



Upon closer inspection (another safety issue?):



Moving on to the bell tower, I took a look at the wooden cross bracing, and found this:



And this:



It appears to me that the only thing that is holding this bracing to the tower is paint and hope. I would think that with no money for repairs in the budget for the next two years, there may (and hey, I have not run the wind loading numbers here, but really, look at the pictures) be a good chance that this thing could fall over within the next two years. And wouldn't THAT look good on the Baltimore evening news.

The Howard County Framework document calls the Kittamaquandi Lakefront “the heart of downtown Columbia,” and in my opinion, it is our front porch. It is along these lakefront promenades that Presidential Cabinet Secretaries and Royalty once strolled. Today, it is in a sad state of disrepair, has some serious safety issues associated with it, and has one of our landmarks in danger of falling into the lake. I think it is time for the CA Board of Directors to come down from their ivory tower of a board room and listen to their staff. There is a real need for corrective maintenance and repair now. I think the board should listen to Evan Coren (KC) who stated at a recent board meeting (paraphrasing here) “this isn’t the same thing as providing towels at the athletic club, ignoring these issues will get you voted out of office.”

Hmmm…there is an election coming up next month.

Oh, and I didn’t even mention the trash, I just wish we had a place to put it.

Call to Service 2008

It’s election season again in the Next American City. All Villages will hold elections for Village Board and CA Board elections will be held in Wilde Lake, Town Center, Hickory Ridge, Harpers Choice, Owen Brown and Oakland Mills. I encourage anyone who wants to contribute to their community to get a nominating petition, have your neighbors sign it, and run for office.

Clearly, each Village will have its own issues; the Village Center in Wilde Lake, Wegmans in nearby Owen Brown and Long Reach, revitalization and the recent departure of businesses in Oakland Mills.

The one issue I hope that does not come up this year is downtown Columbia. For the past few years, some candidates have made a career out of stating that downtown Columbia is the NUMBER ONE issue. I for one have not seen any results from any of these single-issue candidates. Years of service, and very little to show for it.

It seems to me that the downtown Columbia issue is a bit like a scary movie. Initially, there is a lot of buzz and excitement, and you go and see the movie (and it scares the crap out of you). People leave the theater genuinely scared, and some have bad dreams. When the sequel comes out, there is another big circus, and you buy the ticket again. But this time, the movie is not so bad, there are some unexpected moments, and you might even jump out of your seat. By the third time the movie comes around, you realize it is really just a sad guy in a hockey mask. So let’s hope this fear-mongering about downtown will subside this year.

Let’s also hope that this election season will be about issues that can be addressed by the elected boards. Some topics might include those mentioned above and the high number of closed meetings at the CA level, the high CA legal fees, and the inability of the current CA board to get along with each other. Addressing these issues will allow Columbia to be better prepared for future.

Back from Vacation

Just a quick mid-day note: The Compass will be back to posting more frequently starting this week. I suppose it was time for a break. Mind you, no big trips to the Caribbean or the American Rockies, just a little mental time out that has now passed.

In neighborhood news, a quick shout-out/howdy to the Tolson family of Oakland Mills. The Tolsons were featured in the Washington Post Magazine yesterday and it is well worth the read. The story includes several quotes from Evan Tolson (blue shirt, hand on head). Evan and my wife were classmates (K-12) in Oakland Mills. After graduating, Evan found his way into the Navy about the same time I enlisted. He and I were in the same Navy schools in Orlando, Florida. Sometimes the world is very small.

An Unprecedented Victory

Yes, the primaries last night did provide wins for Barak Obama and John McCain, but the big story last night was that Uno, a beagle, won the Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show at Madison Square Garden Last night. This is the first time that a Beagle has won Best in Show in the history of the event. When asked for comment, Boomer, the official beagle of casa de Santos, said ROWRRWWRRRWWRR!

Primary Observation

My son and I made our usual trek to daycare this morning underneath a subfreezing oatmeal sky. We were both a bit sleepy, so we opted for the Sirius satellite radio kids music channel this morning to ease us into the day. Rolling from west to east, we listened to the Dora the Explorer theme song and the Winnie the Pooh theme song. The commercialism was starting to get to me, but with my finger hovering above the radio button, on came Debi Derryberry’s rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” as we passed Thunder Hill Road on Rt. 108.

I know my son has heard the song before, I started singing, and he quickly picked up on the chorus. The car had warmed by then and we were having fun singing and driving. As we passed Howard High School, I noticed a woman, I would guess in her twenties, leaping, jumping and waving while clutching an Obama sign.

There was something that just hit me and made me smile. The folk music, the diffuse morning light, the woman waving her sign. From my brief observation, this woman was dancing with joy. I did not realize it, but I had stopped singing, leaving my son to carry the tune. As we passed the school, my eyes misted over just a little bit, and I heard from the back seat, “C’mon daddy, ‘this land was made for you and me.’” All I could say was, “Yes it is son.”

CA Board of Directors Violates Bylaws, Watchdog Appear s Silent

The Columbia Association issued a press release yesterday announcing a Special Meeting scheduled for Monday, February 11, 2008:

The Columbia Association (CA) Board of Directors is inviting Columbia residents to attend a public forum on Monday, February 11 to share their thoughts on what background, experience and qualifications the next CA president should possess. The search for CA’s next president will soon begin and the Board is eager to receive community input to aid in creating the job description. Each resident will have three minutes to share their thoughts. The meeting will be held at 7:30pm at CA Headquarters, located at 10221 Wincopin Circle in Columbia.

Currently, this notice has been posted on the CA Website and has also been picked up by the Explore Howard website. A search of the Washington Post, Baltimore Examiner, and Baltimore Sun reveals no notice of this meeting. This is in direct contradiction to meeting notices as spelled out in the Columbia Association Bylaws, Section 2.07(a):

Section 2.07. (a) Notice of Meetings. Except in the case of a closed meeting as provided in paragraph (b) of this Section 2.07, notice of the place and time of every regular meeting and, if time permits, of every special meeting, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in Columbia, Maryland at least one week prior to such meeting, and may state the business to be transacted thereat.

Given that the press release was issued after 3:30 PM on the afternoon of February 5, 2008, the February 11, 2008 meeting time is less than one week, even considering that it has not been placed in a newspaper as of yet.

Now, to be fair, the section does provide an “if time permits” caveat for Special Meetings. However, the selection of a new CA President is the most important issue this board will face. Public input on this issue is particularly critical, and to provide less notice for the meeting then is spelled out in their by-laws is bad form. I personally do not smell any foul play here, but a rigorous explanation of why a shorter period of notice is the least that the Board of Directors should provide. Even more appropriate would be for the Board of Directors to follow their by-laws and provide proper notice for the meeting.

Lastly, I am concerned that the Alliance for a Better Columbia (ABC) has not said anything on the matter. Granted, the press release is a little over 24-hours old, but in my opinion, ABC typically is quick to respond and loud in volume when CA is perceived to be violating their own rules. The HOA open meeting dust-up of last December comes to mind. I hope that ABC, with their considerable resources, comes out and denounces CA for violating their by-laws. On the other hand, if ABC remains silent, what is the public to think of a group that unevenly applies its voice?

One of Columbia’s Favorite Sons Endorses Obama

Pulitzer Prize winner and former resident (Longfellow, Phelps Luck) Michael Chabon, provides his perspective on the presidential candidate.

From the editorial pages of the Washington Post today.

Gettin' Bloggy

With an engaging football game tonight and Super Tuesday Right around the corner, the time to blog has been pretty limited. But I wanted to take a moment to call some features here at the compass to your attention. First off is a new tagging widget called Jiglu. Located over there on the right, this widget automatically searches my blog for different things and people that I have been writing about. It is not perfect (it thinks Kendall Ridge is a person), but if you wanted a quick reference search, its there for you to use.

I am also exploring a few applications that will allow people to rate the comments posted on the blog here. Stay tuned for this to appear in the coming weeks.

In other news, if any of you out there are registered Yahoo or Flickr users, you can now use these ID's when posting comments on blogs. Please refer to this press release.

Talk to you all soon.

Planning Board Approved most of Wegmans Plan

Last night the Howard County Planning Board held a worksession on the proposed Wegmans site development plan. The discussion, in front of a full house of onlookers, was marked by the serious tone of the board members and the wide range of topics covered. Ultimately, the Planning Board approved the SDP, but refused to allow a 92 foot clock tower.

The basis for denying the tower height lies within an apparent disconnect between New Town Zoning and the height restrictions in the Final Development Plan.

The Howard County Zoning Regulations, Section 125 – New Town District, Part E(4) states:

4. Adjustments to Bulk Regulations for Individual Lots

Upon the request of the owner of a particular lot, the Planning Board may approve parking, setback, height, lot coverage, or other bulk requirements for such lot or parcel which differ from those required by the applicable Final Development Plan, in accordance with the following procedures:

The procedures detail review in a public meeting, required drawings, and part C states:

In addition to the notice for public meetings required by the Planning Board’s Rules of Procedure, the property that is the subject of the application shall be posted with the date, time, and place of the meeting for at least 15 days immediately before the public meeting.

This was contrasted with the text regarding height in the Final Development Plan. The test states (and I am paraphrasing here):

The maximum height limit will be 50 feet, except that height determined by the Planning Board.

So the discussion by Planning Board members oscillated between the Zoning Regs and the Final Development Plan. Was a height limit beyond 50 feet on this lot different from what was required in the Final Development Plan? Ultimately, the Planning Board decided that signs should have been posted to allow a change in height.

So the Site Development Plan has been approved and (at least for now) the clock tower has been dis-allowed. I suppose moving forward, Wegmans will most likely seek building permits for the site. Meanwhile, the Final Development Plan change is on appeal and will be heard by the Howard County Hearing Examiner in the next few weeks.