Perry Hall Community Plan on Track for Council Approval

A sparsely attended Baltimore County Council Tuesday evening set the Perry Hall Community Plan on track for final approval.

"I'm almost 100 percent sure it will be approved," said Dennis M. Robinson, Jr., president of the Perry Hall Improvement Association, following the hearing. Robinson was the only member of the Perry Hall community to testify.

Discussion over the approval of two other community plans—the Greenspring East Pikesville Community Plan and the Ruxton-Riderwood-Lake Roland Area Improvement Association Community Plan 2010—largely dominated the meeting, held in the Old Courthouse in Towson.

Robinson took the PHIA's lone presence as a sign of encouragement and an indication that community members largely favor the plan. "It demonstrates how residents, businesses and government all came together," he said. 

During his testimony, Robinson explained the plan's major goals related to development, the environment and cultural preservation. He also acknowledged Councilman David Marks' contribution to the final plan.

"I wrote most of the plan that I now get to vote on," said Marks, following the hearing. Prior to becoming a councilmember, Marks chaired the plan's steering committee as then-president of the PHIA.

Marks added that over the course of two years, more than 70 people, including county community planner Donnell Zeigler, have actively contributed to the plan's final form.

He speculated that bad weather may have prevented more Perry Hall community members from attending the hearing.

Councilwoman Cathy Bevins of District 6, which includes a portion of Perry Hall, joined with Marks in sponsoring a resolution that the county council adopt the plan into law.

The plan's final vote will most likely be scheduled for the end of February or early March, said Marks.