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| Web Log Tracks Preservation Studies
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Carolyn Adams, PHC's vice president, is working toward a Master of Arts degree in Historic Preservation. Goucher College's unique program consists of two weeks of on-campus meetings, then independent study. Carolyn is keeping a Web log (blog), chronicling her experiences as she wends her way through the program.
Read her blog... |
Barn Cleanup Is First Step to Preservation
In June 2003, volunteers, including representatives from the Howard County
Conservancy, Preservation Howard County, Howard County Heritage Division,
and Americorps Civilian Conservation Corps program, assembled at Mount Joy, one of Howard County's Top Ten Endangered Historic sites, to remove the
hay stored in the loft of the barn.
The Howard County Conservancy plans to move the barn to another location to save it from demolition by a developer.
Read more...
Maryland's Rehab Tax Credit Saved!
Thanks to the hard work of advocates across the state and the support of key leaders in the House of Delegates, the General Assembly voted to continue Maryland’s Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program.
On March 27, the conference committee between the House Ways & Means and Senate Budget & Taxation Committees reached a compromise establishing an aggregate cap on tax credits for commercial projects while leaving the credit for homeowners unchanged. Leading into the conference committee the House supported continuing the program, but the Senate had voted to eliminate the credit for commercial properties.
The following amendments were agreed upon by the conference committee and included in the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (HB935) that was passed by both the House and Senate over the weekend.
- $23 million cap on credits for commercial properties for the period from February 1 through December 31, 2003
- $15 million cap on credits for commercial properties for calendar year 2004 (with the June 1, 2004 sunset)
- The cap applies to Part II approvals that will be given on a first-come, first-served basis
- The existing sunset date of June 1, 2004 for the entire program remains in place
As you know, the debate over the tax credit program went down to the wire. While we had been successful in keeping the original bills (SB203 & HB341) from moving out of committee, language eliminating the commercial credit was placed in the budget bill by the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee late in the session. We could have lost the tax credit if it were not for the strong support of the House conferees (Delegates Hixson, Healey, Jones, Rawlings, and Conway) and the efforts of Delegates Maggie McIntosh and Pete Hammen, who championed the program in the House leadership. Senator David Brinkley offered the cap as a compromise to persuade his Senate colleagues to continue the program. They are the folks that kept the program alive, so please thank them!
Saving the Rehabilitation Tax Credit program is a real victory in light of the intense pressures surrounding the budget cuts being made as the session comes to a close. We look forward to working with Secretary Hoskins and staff of the Maryland Historical Trust over the summer to help shape the future of the program. Comptroller Schaefer, who testified in support of the tax credit, has taken the lead and offered to convene a task force to formally review the costs/benefits of the program and make recommendations for its continuation.
Our thanks to Tyler Gearhart, Executive Director of Preservation Maryland, for providing this news.
MHT Granted Howard County $40,000 to Update the Historic Sites Inventory
PHC is pleased to report that Howard County has received $40,000 from the Maryland Historical Trust
to update the Historic Sites Inventory. The
funds will allow the County to hire a Historic Preservationist and an
Assistant who will review and update the Inventory at a rate of about 90
properties per year. Additionally, this Historic Preservationist will be
available to assist Planning and Zoning with other historic preservation
matters, including consulting with the Howard County Historic District
Commission on an as-needed basis to help with their determinations.
The first policy/action listed in the Howard County 2000 General Plan
was entitled "Official Inventory of Resources" and states, "Give high
priority to reviewing, expanding, and updating the Historic Sites
Inventory." This was also one of the goals that came out of the "A United Vision"
effort. That goal states,
"Howard County will create and publish a
comprehensive inventory of historically significant sites using a
Non-Capital Historic Preservation Grant from MHT [Maryland Historic Trust]. The current inventory will be revised and updated to include any additional properties,
including cemeteries, that meet historical/architectural/cultural
guidelines as designated by the County or as set forth by the National
Register or the Maryland Historic Trust. Sites currently listed on the
Inventory will be evaluated to ascertain that the information is current
and correct."
This project lays a solid foundation for further historic preservation
initiatives by the County. Using this Grant to update the Inventory
will be a first step toward creating a culture of historic preservation
within the County and within Planning and Zoning. It is hoped that
this process will lead to yet another General Plan initiative, the
creation of a County Historic Preservation Plan that will list and
prioritize historic preservation goals and detail actions to achieve
these goals.
Deadline Extended for Comments on Communications Tower
After first announcing that the Communications Tower would be built at the District Court Site,
the FCC extended the deadline for comments on the Environmental Impact, to allow for input from community groups.
Read more
King Cemetery in Jessup is Saved!
PHC and family representatives received a letter dated May
7, 2001 from Ron Lepson, Chief of the Bureau of Engineering at the
Department of Public Works. The letter confirms a previous phone
conversation regarding the King/White cemetery (Capital Project J-4175) and states:
"This office has decided that any proposed improvements to Guilford
Road, constructed under our capital improvement program, will not
include land acquisition from the White/King Cemetery. The County is
still planning to make improvements to Guilford Road, north of Dorsey
Run Road, but the project design will specify construction on the south
side of the road, or a transitional adjustment to the existing roadway.
Any proposed improvements will be presented to the public in a workshop
meeting to be scheduled following refinements to the project design."
The family is ecstatic about the news. PHC is impressed that the County
worked so hard to develop an alternative that was sensitive to this
historic family cemetery.
The 1800's era King Cemetery along Guilford Road was being threatened by
road expansion. The initial sketch plan indicated that approximately 31 feet would have been taken from the cemetery,
and the taking could have included unmarked graves of King family. Family lore indicates that slave
graves may be included in this area. According to the
sketch plan, no space was scheduled to be taken from the other side of the
road, which has a 15- to 20-foot, grassy swath of land and
parking areas of a commercial site.
One Stone Mile Marker Spits into the Wind...
From Mary Catherine Cochran:
I attended to observe the last of what I believe were three long, drawn-out
hearings before the Board of Appeals regarding the property on Route
144 and Marriottsville Road. I sat there observing the room. In the far
corner of the room were the applicants, replete with high-powered
attorneys, developers, and visual aids stacked to the ceiling. In the
other corner, one lone soul prepared to tilt windmills. That old Croce
song came to mind. You know, the one that goes: "You don't tug on
Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask
off the ole Lone Ranger..and you don't mess around with Jim..."
At the end of three nights of grueling testimony by the applicant.. Ann Jones, one lone
voice in the wilderness, stood to testify against the development. She
mentioned the fact that the property was contiguous to one of the
largest blocks of Agricultural preservation land, that the Department of Planning & Zoning had
rejected the development for many reasons, that the creation of the
largest-ever septic system in Howard County would have ecological
repercussions, that if the septic failed (the sacred Planned Service
Area (PSA) boundary would have to be expanded to provide septic for the
147-unit retirement community, which in turn provides a bigger threat to
Doughoregan Manor), that the intensive use planned for the property did
not fit with the surrounding area, and last - that a little stone mile
marker stood in the way of this intensive development.
The Board of Appeals voted unanimously to approve the development plan -
with one condition, detailed here in a quote from the Baltimore Sun:
"Board member...Pfefferkorn wanted the developers to make one
concession to local conservation: He requested that they keep a stone
mile marker on the site that dates to when Frederick Road (Route 144)
was the National Pike."
Saved: one stone mile marker.
County Council Passed Resolution CR 5-2001
When any of the 120 sites in the Historic Inventory enter the subdivision process,
they will now be subject to guidelines that seek to preserve the integrity of the historical sites.
Read more
Preservation and Revitalization Conference
Representatives from PHC attended Preservation Maryland's annual Preservation and
Revitalization Conference in Annapolis in April. The conference was
excellent. We attended many valuable seminars and met other
preservationists from around the State. The Governor gave a speech at
the beginning about smart growth and historic preservation, where he
consistently listed Frederick, Annapolis and Ellicott City as the top
three heritage tourism areas and preservation and economic boons for the
State. We learned about some new State legislation involving restoration
projects that are very exciting. We'll write more about them later.
Read more about what happened at the conference
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Easement Donation Saves Keewaydin