Eldersburg mall gets new chance at life

Finally.. there appears to be movement in the plan to redevelop Carrolltowne Mall..

Details are noted in this Examiner Article..

The Developers will be at the next FACC Meeting that is being held on February 22nd... details can be found on their website: http://www.freedomareacitizens.org/

Black Oak Associates, the owner of Carrolltowne Mall is also working on a new development called Eldersburg Marketplace.

Apathy

Apathy:

1. Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.

2. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

This seems to be a persuasive problem in our society. This is noted quite well by the low voter turnout in National Elections. We get caught up in the day to day details of our lives we do not devote enough time to larger issues. Whether they are Local, National, or World based issues…

We only become engaged on issues that we feel directly have an impact on our lives or futures.. we are passionate about a select few… whether they are For/Against the War.. or For/Against a development, For/Against Sex Education at school.… we passionately fight for or against our “cause” then fade back into the static of our lives once it has been accomplished. Because of this pattern…we end up Activists on our school boards, commissions, and planning committees who are mainly concerned with their limited agendas. They typically do not speak for the majority of our society even for their limited agenda but because they are energized for their issue… they work themselves into a place of power.

How do we move forward and improve this situation…. We must become a more educated society on issues that directly impact our lives. The silent majority must pull our heads out of the sand and speak up for what we believe in…We must educate ourselves enough and dedicate enough time to have beliefs, opinions, and convictions....

What does Eldersburg need??

What would you like to see in Eldersburg?? Stores, restaurants, etc... What is missing??

Path of life....

Having recently exited my 20’s and enter life in my 30’s.. I’ve been amazed how my life has changed in the last few years. People always joke about growing old or maturing but lately it has really hit home. A few humorous facts:

Common magazine in my bathroom:
5 years ago: Maxim or FHM
Today: Parenting, American Baby or Business Week

Common Friday evening activity:
5 years ago: Happy Hour, then bar hoping (average bedtime: 2:30 AM)
Today: Chasing kids around the house, fall asleep on couch by 10:00 PM

Car:
5 years ago: Sports car
Today: SUV soon to be minivan (fighting this)

Common items you’d find in the backseat of my car:
5 years ago: basketball, gym bag, sleeping bag
Today: Baby seat, diapers, dirty diapers (not funny)

With all of the changes, I would not change a thing about my life. It is amazing how your life changes once you make the jump to parenthood.

Water resources vs sprawl

An interesting dilemma is discussed in this Article in the Baltimore Sun.

“The Maryland Department of the Environment can say we don't have enough water, but that means you have to build those houses out in rural areas, with well and septic, on 1- or 2- or 5-acre lots. That's called sprawl.”

Summit faces issue of water vs. sprawl. A shortage of water in population centers is threatening to undermine the state's pioneering anti-sprawl policies by forcing new homes into previously undeveloped areas, a national exert on water rights said yesterday.

'There seems to be a real disconnect between state water policy and the state Smart Growth policy,' Jesse J. Richardson Jr., an attorney and planning professor at Virginia Tech, said at a water summit in Westminster yesterday. 'The Maryland Department of the Environment can say we don't have enough water, but that means you have to build those houses out in rural areas, with well and septic, on 1- or 2- or 5-acre lots. That's called sprawl.'”

There have been a lot of advances in low flow plumbing fixtures and water conservation technologies. A few facts:

Residential water usage accounts for 47% of all water supplied to communities (75% in urban areas)

The average family of 4 uses approx. 400 gallons/day.

Approx. 40-60% of residential water usage gets “flushed” down the toilet

Conventional toilets use 5 gallons/flush.. Low flush toilets use 1.6 gallons and “dual flush" fixtures use less.

** I installed low flow toilets in my home and they work better than my old standard (5 gallon) fixtures.

A google search or a search of the EPA website will bring up a plethora of different strategies and fixtures to reduce water usage.

Perhaps we should start looking at putting limits on the amount of water new (and maybe existing) developments can use in an effort to limit their affects on our limited natural resources. The Federal Government as minimum requirements but perhaps we should go farther. We should be looking toward areas of the county with severe water shortages for ideas, like Arizona and the Southwest .

With today’s high real-estate costs, we walk a dangerous path if we limit residential construction further. There are a lot of people moving into our area and they do need places to live. It is already difficult for a lot of our public professionals (teachers, police officers, etc) to afford a home in our community. Where will these people live if we allow the building stock to be severely restricted and allow prices to escalate out of control (supply vs. demand). By controlling the amount of water new homes use, we’d be better able to focus development around core areas and limit further sprawl.

I would support mandatory and permanent water usage restrictions if it provided more homes for our communities with less sprawl. The right to have an affordable home is more important then the right to have a green lawn. As long as the water regulations where mandatory across the community, I wouldn’t have to worry about having the only brunt out lawn on the street.

Same story, different location

Traffic vs. development seems to be a recurring problem in our area. A recent article in the Eagle discusses traffic woes in the Mineral Hill area and its relation to a new senior center.

In an ideal world, we would have a master plan in place that would focus developments in key, core areas and limit traffic in more rural/residential areas. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world.

*** Been MIA the past couple weeks. Been down and out with a bad cold and travel for work. Should have a few new posts the next few days.