Two Baltimore County Council members are pushing back against efforts by County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., which they see as a threat to their authority, to make it easier to repurpose aging strip malls and empty office buildings and speed up housing production.
The Democratic county executive introduced legislation Jan. 16 to permit multiple-use developments without council approval in certain areas that would be targeted for redevelopment in the 2030 Master Plan. The bill would also offer incentives to developers who build affordable housing.
In response, two council members are trying to amend the draft Master Plan, already four years overdue, to allow them to remove such areas from their districts. Their effort is one the county planning director said he could not assist, according to emails obtained by The Baltimore Sun.
“As stated in the Master Plan draft, the place types map provides general recommendations for land use and is conceptual and intended to reflect future land use patterns to support the plan’s land-use objectives,” Planning Director Stephen Lafferty wrote Jan. 19 in response to a council attorney’s request for help answering questions. “Respectfully, the department will not provide assistance to the County Council in preparing amendments to the maps that are in the draft Master Plan 2030.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Lia Russell over at The Baltimore Sun
