| OWINGS MILLS Usually, builders and community groups are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to resolving development issues. But
the two sides recently came together - along with county regulators,
environmental experts and engineers - for the Builders for the Bay
Roundtable. Created
last year, the roundtable was formed to evaluate development and
environmental regulations, especially those concerning infill projects
in urban areas, to recommend changes to county codes, policies and
processes. The goal
was to increase protection of natural resources while eliminating
unnecessary burdens on citizens and builders, according to county
officials. On June
15, County Executive Jim Smith and roundtable participants signed a
consensus agreement that includes an implementation plan. A committee
will continue to meet and track the implementation of about 80
recommendations over the next one to three years. "This
is an opening up and formalizing of that development process," said
David Carroll, director of the county's Department of Environmental
Protection and Resource Management. "A lot of nice new relationships have been formed between agencies, developers and community organizations," he said. The
goals of builders are not that different from community activists and
government, said David Altfeld, president of the Baltimore County
chapter of the Home Builders Association of Maryland based in Woodlawn. "We're
driven by economics and lot density, but we have a conscience to
mitigate our damage to the environment and the bay," said Altfeld, a
partner with Baltimore-based Southern Land Co., which has developed
subdivisions in the county. The
roundtable was "designed to bring all these groups together and talk
about these issues without the emotion of a specific project," Altfeld
said. breaking into groups More
than 70 people - including representatives of roundtable partners The
Centers for Watershed Protection in Ellicott City, the Alliance for the
Chesapeake Bay in Towson and the Home Builders Association of Maryland
- were divided into groups to examine: *Site planning and lot design; *Streets, parking and infrastructure; *Natural resource management; *Storm water management and *Site plan review and approval process. "Our main thrust was - because we have strong urban-rural development - how do we apply this to development," Carroll said. Participants
agreed on 44 model development principles and recommended specific
changes, including reducing parking- space requirements, redesigning
cul-de-sacs, encouraging green roofs on top of parking garages and
posting more information about projects on the county's Web site. The
roundtable's implementation plan takes each recommendation and
designates appropriate action, the agency or partner responsible and a
time frame for getting it done. Prudent
management of development dates back 40 years in Baltimore County, but
redevelopment offers a chance to correct environmental problems, Smith
said. The county will
follow up with the recommendations through legislative changes,
educational presentations to builders and community groups and the
financing of innovative programs, Smith added. Teresa
Moore, executive director of the Valleys Planning Council, a private
land-planning group representing much of northwest Baltimore County,
said it's a good idea to revisit codes and regulations. "They're very complicated and it's hard for people to know how to influence the process," Moore said. E-mail Lauren Taylor at Lauren Taylor@patuxent.com | 
