Video Testimony on ZRA 113
January 30, 2009The video testimony has been posted in the 3 windows below (we are limited to 8 minutes per clip, thus the 3 separate clips!). We’ve had several requests for another video opportunity, so we’re working on another date accommodate more of you who want to be heard but can’t get to the hearings. We’re hopeful that the Planning Board will recognize the importance of accepting this video testimony in order to make the process more inclusive to you.
We’ve even included the only person who came with an opposing view. But, it should highlight the obvious differences between who supports the plan and who does not.
Ticket To Testify
January 22, 2009
Voices Heard – A Huge C20 Event Next Week
January 16, 2009Thursday Jan 22
5:00-7:00
Zapata’s (Harpers Choice Village Center)
www.ZapatasOnLine.com
5485 Harpers Farm Rd. 21044
410-715-6929
Show your support for the county’s plan to redevelop downtown Columbia into the urban, vibrant and innovative COMPLETE CITY it was intended to be! Join us for food and networking - then drive right over to the the Planning Board hearing just around the corner at Wilde Lake HS. This is the first opportunity for citizens to speak out in support of the plan to the county’s Planning Board and numbers are important.
Just can’t attend the hearing? We’ll have a video booth set up at Zapata’s to record your testimony! Help show Howard County’s elected officials how important their approval of this plan is to us. After lots of long meetings, workshops and events, we’re in the playoffs now. We need to win Planning Board approval to move on in the process!
This event is open to anyone who wants to show their support!
Becoming A City
January 12, 2009JOIN OUR FRIENDS, BRING BACK THE VISION, FOR A COOL EVENT THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT! READ BELOW FOR DETAILS – VANTAGE HOUSE 7-8:30!
In the fall of 1989, noted architect Roger K. Lewis wrote an article for Columbia Magazine entitled, “Are We A City Yet?”. In it he gives quite a sober assessment, stating, “whenever I come to Columbia, I always think about what’s wrong, what’s missing….I find no ‘there’ there.”
However, Lewis went on to explain that it was still possible to “salvage” downtown. He recommended that we should, “retrofit and infill the town center, adding new buildings with a rich mixture of uses, including housing. Downtown needs more bones and flesh, not just makeup or a face-lift. Only then would downtown Columbia feel like the city center it was intended to be. I could visit and find a ‘there’ there.”
Now, 20 years later, as we are inching closer to realizing our full potential as a city, Lewis is back. THIS WEDNESDAY, our friends Bring Back The Vision are hosting him for a talk entitled, “Becoming a City: Lessons for Downtown Columbia” from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Vantage House. It’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts on the current plan which was submitted to the County back in April. We hope to see you all there.
Interview With Greg Hamm Part II
December 15, 2008Here is the 2nd part of our interview with Greg Hamm. This video talks about the focus on attracting young professionals to the new downtown.
Also save Janaury 22 on your schedule. This is the first Planning Board meeting and we’ll be having a huge rally before the event!
Columbia and Reston
November 27, 2008GGP’s Greg Hamm was instrumental in the redevelopment of Reston, VA. He recently sat down with David Yungmann to discuss how Columbia can learn from their experiences as we inch closer to our own transformation.
Warfield, Lakefront and Symphony Overlook
November 19, 2008Here it is! We’re still working on the sound, so thanks for your patience!
GGP and Sigaty Meeting
November 13, 2008There’s lots of scary news out there about GGP these days. The fact is that they have over a billion dollars of debt coming due in the next few weeks and the capital markets are so screwed up that extending or refinancing the debt might not be possible. So, don’t be surprised if they file for bankruptcy protection.
BUT…. Anyone using this as a reason to delay the process of evaluating and approving this plan doesn’t get it. First, this is a COMMUNITY plan and a COUNTY effort, regardless of who the developer(s) might be. Howard County needs a new downtown and if GGP and we can’t abandon that effort due to GGP issues that we can’t control.
Frankly, the prospect of the Columbia properties being sold off in pieces should create even MORE URGENCY to get them pulled together within a binding general plan. Having parcels sold off one by one to be developed without regard to an overall plan would be terrible for the County. So let’s use the GGP uncertainty as a reason to speed things up, not slow them down as the opposition will surely try to do.
Katie, Mac and I met with Councilwoman Mary Kay Sigaty today. She is 100% behind getting a general plan in place sooner than later and agrees that the GGP issues create even more urgency. She’s also been reaching out to young people (high school and college ages) trying to keep them informed about the plan. We talked about the many ways we can help each other reach our respective audiences through vehicles such as our videos. We’re fortunate to have such an impressive advocate of a new downtown on the County Council!
