December 21, 2006
The Howard County Citizens Association (HCCA) is a
not-for-profit citizens association whose mission is to voice the needs and
concerns of county residents on a broad array of issues. We have four focus
areas this year: responsible land use, environment, affordable housing and
transportation. Within those we wish to bring the following matters to your
attention.
Route 40 Enhancement Task Force
Recommendations
Two years ago the Task Force issued recommendations to improve
the appearance and functioning of the Route 40 corridor from Marriotsville Road
through Ellicott City, to revitalize this commercial area. These included
zoning changes, road and pedestrian improvements, improvements to the appearance
of the commercial area, and drafting a Route 40 Manual. DPZ was to be the lead
agency; it hired an urban planner to carry out this mandate. In fact, the
planner was assigned to other projects and DPZ mistakenly construed a few zoning
changes in Comp Lite to be an impediment. Few of the measures which were to be
completed within two years have been initiated and the manual has not been
drafted. The matter has stagnated. HCCA has encouraged DPZ to act on this but
DPZ explains that it awaits direction from the County Executive before doing
so. Therefore, we respectfully ask that the Executive make Route 40
revitalization a priority and direct DPZ to begin implementation.
Green Technology
HCCA advocates that the county become a leader in the movement
to 'go green,' by establishing standards for construction of new buildings and the associated zoning
amendments, educating the public, and promoting
or legislating many other aspects of this technology. These include, for
example, planting trees, preserving the rural west and other green areas,
reducing county vehicle emissions and many other measures. This could involve
establishing a Department of the Environment, and convening a task force of
experts, agency representatives, members of the public and business to develop a
list of priorities and recommended actions.
Mass Transit
Citizens are concerned that the roads are becoming increasingly
congested. One-third of our residents commute to Washington, D.C. and one-third
to Baltimore, causing the rush hour road congestion. Building and maintaining
roads is very expensive; we need to invest in mass transit to these destinations
to reduce traffic and save money spent on roads. Local public transportation
also needs our attention. The county bus system is in serious physical
disrepair; all of the fixed-route fleet of 26 buses need replacement within one
to two years and more bus shelters are needed, with only 42 for 400 bus stops.
We ask that transportation be a high priority.
Affordable
Housing
HCCA advocates that affordable housing be greatly
expanded, with a target of at least 20% of all new construction. Details of the
county program should be worked out as soon as possible with more citizen
involvement.
We appreciate this opportunity to communicate with the new
administration and look forward to assisting in any appropriate capacity,
including task forces and committees.
Respectfully submitted,
Bridget Mugane, President
Howard County Citizens Assn.
9250 Red Cart Ct.
Columbia, Md. 21045
301-596-4547