Neighborhood NEWS Spring 2009 Ruxton-Riderwood-Lake Roland Area Improvement Association RRLRAIA Prevails Church Denied Oversized Sign on I-695 INSIDE By Kathy Mountcastle The petition was denied, and Trinity went to the Please Mr. Postman Trinity Assembly of God’s six-year battle to erect a Board of Appeals. Pastor George Raduano testified huge sign facing the eastbound lanes of I-695 has that parishioners and visitors complained that the Page 4 been dealt a potentially fatal blow by the state’s church is difficult to find because it is hard to see Greater Ruxton highest court. In a Christmas Eve ruling, the from the beltway, and the I-695/I-83 interchange is Area Maryland Court of Appeals upheld decisions by the confusing. Witnesses for Trinity, including a Baltimore County Zoning Office, Baltimore County consultant for the sign industry’s largest trade Foundation Board of Appeals, Baltimore County Circuit Court and association, argued that an oversized sign was Update necessary because of limited visibility. the Court of Special Appeals to deny a zoning Page 5 variance for the proposed sign. RRLRAIA had joined People’s Counsel Peter Zimmerman was joined by with the People’s Counsel of Baltimore County to numerous community groups, including RRLRAIA and Lug Your Rug oppose the variance. the Greater Towson Council of Community and Save – The Kleenize Story The case began in September 2002 when the church Associations (GTCCA), and residents of the at 2122 W. Joppa Road filed a Petition for Variance surrounding neighborhoods in opposition to the Page 5 with Baltimore County to erect a 25-foot high, 250 variance. They argued that the proposed sign’s Holiday Party square foot sign to help travelers on the Beltway unprecedented size would pose a traffic hazard, Spreads find the church. The proposed sign would have been diminish the aesthetics of the area, and lower Warmth ten times larger in face size than the current limit. property values in the neighborhood. RRLRAIA members Fred Hudson, Tom Peace and Rick Huether The church also sought to have a portion of the sign Page 6 contain changeable copy features to allow the and current and former executive directors Peggy posting of scripture or information about upcoming Squitieri and Nancy Horst were among those who Home Sales testified in the cases. events. Page 8 After the Board of Appeals ruled against the church, Trinity took the case to Baltimore County Circuit Slow Down Court claiming that the denial of the variance Page 9 violated the church’s religious freedom under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Victory Clean The Maryland Court of Appeals found that “the denial Gardens of Trinity’s requested variances does not impose a Page 10 Your Stream substantial burden on Trinity’s religious exercise,” and it concurred with decisions by the Board and the Signs April 4th lower courts that the church “reasonably could of the Time identify itself and conduct outreach without a 250 RRLRAIA has joined with the Jones Falls Page 13 Watershed Association to help improve water square-foot sign.” quality, not only in our area, but for the Towson West entire Jones Falls watershed. Elementary Update JFWA is currently recruiting site captains and cleanup volunteers for the April 4th Project Spring Walk in R. E. Lee Park Page 14 Guided walks in R. E. Lee Park will again be Clean Stream. If you want to join this effort, Volunteers offered beginning Monday, March 30th from 1:00 please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Needed For Jenny Sabatier at [email protected] or – 2:30. Please watch for an email for directions Stream 410-366-3036. and further information, or contact the RRLRAIA office at 410-494-7757 or [email protected]. Clean-up Page 15 Ruxton-Riderwood- Lake Roland President’s Letter Neighborhood NEWS Dear Neighbors: and places you thought you knew. Keep this experience in mind as you read this issue of I learned something new at a meeting I Spring 2009 Neighborhood News, especially the articles recently attended on learning styles and I’d related to signs. like to share it with you. The audience was Table of Contents given a piece of paper and oral In 2001 RRLRAIA created 1 RRLRAIA Prevails instructions for folding it. No Community Plan 2001 for the 2 President’s Letter other clues were given—no Ruxton, Riderwood, and Lake 3 “Knock, Knock. pictures, no sample of the Roland areas. Our plan was Who’s There?” finished product, no individual adopted by the Baltimore County 3 Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company directions—just verbal Council and became an official 4 Please Mr. Postman, instructions and a piece of part of the County’s Master Plan. Look and See paper. The task was This impressive document was the 5 Lug Your Rug and Save – challenging and not one result of hours of input from The Kleenize Story attendee ended up with the community members like yourself 5 Greater Ruxton Area final product—a paper cup. In and was led by land planning and Foundation Update a second exercise we were design consultant Chris Batten of 6 Holiday Party Spreads Warmth in Community instructed to form a circle, J. Christopher Batten, Inc. Many 8 Home Sales hold hands and pass a hula of the goals of that plan have 9 Slow Down, hoop around without unlinking been accomplished. our hands. Once we You May Save A Life One of the Board’s objectives for this year is accomplished that, we were asked to do it 10 Victory Gardens to review and update the RRLRAIA again, but with our eyes closed. Since many 11 Spring Recipes from Community Plan. The process of updating is Graul’s Market of us rely heavily on our vision for learning less daunting than creating it from scratch, 12 Charles Street/I-695 we felt severely handicapped. During both but every aspect of the plan must be Interchange Project exercises, the speaker was teaching us to reviewed and addressed for the coming 13 Signs of the Time recognize our learning styles and strengths 14 Towson West decade. The more volunteers we have to work Towson West which are skewed toward the visual, but are Elementary Update on the plan, the better the end result will enhanced by oral, tactile and kinetic input. 15 Volunteers Needed be. Please contact our executive director, for Stream Clean-up On my way home, with my newfound Peggy Squitieri, to join in our efforts and let awareness, I looked at my neighborhood with her know what your areas of interest may be. a better understanding of my learning The key focus areas in the current plan are strengths. I was now acutely aware of Traffic & Light Rail; Zoning & Development; Board of Governors absorbing information with my eyes. I saw Land Preservation; Walkways & Bikeways; the sweep of manicured lawns lit by soft gray Historic Preservation; and Community President – Kathy Palencar 1st Vice President – Scott Murphy shadows from the huge moon. I noticed the Enhancements. It is a wonderful vehicle for 2nd Vice President – Barbara Guarnieri intricate detail of a new iron fence, the us to get to know each other better as we Treasurer – Julie D’Ambrogi fretwork on a Victorian porch and the clean work together to improve and preserve our Secretary – Judy Wright lines of a lovely wooden lamppost. I saw my community. Steven A. Allen own home, the refuge I return to each night, Francis D. ‘Fran’ Anderson Best Regards, Daniel S. Baird and the tiny heads that popped up at a Debrorah Burker window to welcome my arrival. When I took Kathy Frederick Palencar Kris Culp Linda Eisenbrandt the time to really look, I was surprised by RRLRAIA Community Plan 2001 Frederick Hudson what I learned about a route that I had is available online at Elyse E. Jacob taken so often before. Our eyes have much to www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/plan Bliss McCord teach us. David Meese ning/community_planning/adopted_comm Helga Morrow As you travel through your own unity_plans/ruxton.html Kathy Mountcastle neighborhood, take in the details of spaces Keith Murray Rob Nelson Beth Purvis Nancy Worden Horst – Editor Newsletter Committee: Marsha Ramsay Neighborhood NEWS is published quarterly by the Ruxton- Riderwood-Lake Roland Area Improvement Association, Inc., Julie D'Ambrogi – Advertising Barbara Guarnieri – Chair Kent Walker Candice Dalrymple Nettie Washburn P.O. Box 204, Riderwood, MD 21139 Tel: (410) 494-7757 Graphic Production – DesignConcept Mary Sue McCarthy Tom Weadock Deadlines for copy, including announcements and calendar Bliss McCord Ande Williams items, are February 1st for Spring issue, May 1st for Summer Kathy Mountcastle Executive Director, issue, August 1st for Fall issue, and November 1st for Winter Nettie Washburn Peggy Squitieri issue. Advertisers contact: [email protected] 2 “Knock, Knock. Who’s There?” How easy is it for an emergency vehicle to reach your house? Information gathered by Nettie Washburn and Barbara Guarnieri With today’s GPS technology you might think that your house can easily be found. Not always true! For This old childhood game would elicit gales of laughter with its emergency crews a delay in finding the right house can be silly responses. But last December no one was laughing after frustrating and might be deadly. paramedics were called to an emergency on Circle Road and had to play the game in order to find their patient. Many of the ■ Make sure the numbers on your driveway, or mailbox, or homes were without house numbers clearly visible from the street. fencepost are visible day or night. Some were without numbers at all. Paramedics lost valuable time ■ Post numbers on the front of your house, preferably on searching for the home of the person needing medical assistance.