Almond, Oliver Want to Establish Development Discussion Group

With moving along and plans to being drawn up, Owings Mills may be inching toward a boom in retail centers.

That's why Baltimore County Council members Vicki Almond (District-2) and Ken Oliver (District-4) will introduce a resolution at Tuesday's council work session. It aims to create a community group to discuss ideas on how to have those centers work in concert during development stages.

"There's going to be a healthy competition, we know that," said Jonathan Schwartz, an Almond aide. "We just want to brainstorm ways to deal with foot traffic. ...[These are] things to think about at the beginning of this process."

Representatives from community organizations like the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Coordinating Council would be invited to join the group, in addition to "major land owners" like , and , Schwartz said. None were immediately available for comment.

"It's a visualization exercise," Schwartz said, admitting any recommendations the group comes up with cannot be forced upon developers at either location. "We'll just try and see what we can do."

ROG President George Harman appeared ready to jump on board, asking Schwartz about the group’s timetable during Monday night’s coordinating council meeting.

The group would not likely be formed until October at the earliest, Schwartz said, since the resolution would need to be voted on. The next legislative session for the council is only six days away, on Monday. The next opportunity to vote would not be until Oct. 3, according to the council’s monthly meeting schedule.

Schwartz said he expected the group, once formed, to meet for a short period, perhaps only six to eight months.

“It’s about getting everyone working together,” Schwartz said. “It’s a great opportunity to make Owings Mills what it should be.”