Residents Argue Against Proposed Fire Station In Columbia

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A proposed fire station to be located along Cedar Lane Park East in Columbia has drawn ire from the residents in the area who someday might need the services of the controversial fire station.

Chris Chlumsky started an online petition to oppose the plans to build the fire station, which Chlumsky said is estimated to be located approximately 200 feet from a residential housing development to the west along Cedar Lane Manor and an estimated 400 feet from a development to the east along Eliots Oak Road below Route 108.

Chlumsky emphasized that the goal isn't to take the idea of a fire station off the table completely for the area, but rather find an alternative location that wouldn't "add to the current congestion and dangers that drivers experience in this area of Route 108" and "remove a highly valued park resource." The petition also included concerns about the loudness of sirens, hazardous materials stored at the fire station and a smaller sized fire station that wouldn't allow for community events.

Resident Heidi Lugmayer commented on the petition that she deliberately sought a home nowhere near a fire station, so to have one built in her "backyard" anyway would be frustrating.

"Too many green spaces have already been lost in Columbia; let's find an already commercialized area to put this admittedly much needed station," she wrote.

Angela Cook agreed that the green space should be preserved. Cathy Robinson said her family uses the park daily and it would be "devastating" to see it removed.

"I walk the paths from Cedar Lane East to Cedar Lane West often. Cedar Lane East is closest to me, and when I'm limited for time, I just walk there. I love that park. Build a fire station elsewhere, because this busy part of 108 and this quiet park is not the right place," Kim DuPree posted.

Yaya Fanusie also regularly uses the park for family events at the cookout pavilion and playing with her children at the playground and basketball courts.

"The current park is a great destination at the end of the walking trail through the nearby woods. Route 108 is easily congested and this would add to that problem. Keep in mind that on Friday afternoon, the large mosque across the street needs room for congregants to get in and out of its parking lot. In the event that emergency vehicles must enter and exit on Friday afternoons, it will cause a trafficking nightmare," she wrote.

Resident Linda Kangrga noted that the location of a much-needed fire station has been "debated for years."

"The Banneker Station is too small to serve the density that is now West Columbia. I implore my neighbors to do more than sign a NIMBY petition, but to educate themselves about the needs of our fire department that exists for our own protection and those we love," Kangrga posted.

Mark Miller, administrator for Howard County, said the original proposed location for the North Columbia Fire Station was at the site of the old Cedar Lane School.

"After receiving concerns from residents and the councilmember of this district about the proximity of this site to school-aged children at Harpers Choice Middle School and the decision of HCPSS to not pursue a property exchange with the county providing the land needed at the Cedar Lane School for the fire station, the location was shifted to the current proposed site at Cedar Lane Park East," Miller told Patch.

A number of other locations, including the originally considered location at the old Cedar Lane School, have been evaluated for the placement of the fire station, Miller said. The Cedar Lane Park East location was selected because of the ease of access onto Route 108, the opportunity to improve emergency response times in an area where call volume is increasing and response time are slowing, and the cost savings realized by locating the fire station on property already owned by the county, he noted.

Miller also recognized the myriad concerns raised in the online petition, which he said were brought up during four community meetings held during the past two years to obtain community feedback. To provide solutions to some of those concerns, Miller said a turf field and other park amenities will be installed to help offset the loss of park space from the construction of the fire station. Two traffic signals will be installed and a traffic study will examine additional concerns. Extensive landscape buffers will be installed to shield the fire station from residential dwellings.

"It should also be noted that the distance between the fire station and residential property is not atypical for other fire stations located in the county or in the region," Miller said.