PHIA Outlines Perry Hall's Priorities for County Council

On Friday, Jan. 14, the Perry Hall Improvement Association sent a letter outlining Perry Hall's current priorities to District 5 Councilman David Marks and District 6 Councilwoman Cathy Bevins.

PHIA President Dennis M. Robinson, Jr. provided a copy of the following letter to Patch this week:

Dear Councilman Marks & Councilwoman Bevins:

Consistent with the Perry Hall Improvement Association’s (PHIA) longstanding history of advocating on behalf of the Perry Hall community, I am writing on behalf of the PHIA to provide you with a list of the organization’s current priorities for Perry Hall. Although we understand that budget constraints will limit what can be accomplished in the short term, we believe it is important to continue planning for the future in anticipation of better economic circumstances in the years ahead. The following are the PHIA’s priorities for the Perry Hall community:

• Maintaining essential services. In light of the anticipated budget constraints over the next several years, we ask you to focus primarily on ensuring that essential services, such as education and public safety, remain a priority.
• Adoption of the Perry Hall Community Plan. Although we recognize that the plan is part “wish list” and part blueprint, and would be expensive to implement in its entirety, it includes many excellent suggestions for progress in Perry Hall. We ask that you move promptly to have the plan adopted into law.
• Completion of parks. Completion of Asbury Park, one of two parks proposed on Honeygo Boulevard across from Camp Chapel United Methodist Church, is a realistic short-term goal. Baltimore County received state support to develop this park in, and additional funds are available from the planned unit development at Nottingham Ridge. Once Asbury Park is finished, hopefully we can secure funding for other unfinished parks, such as Gough Park, Indian Rock Park, and Joppa Trail Park.
• Redevelopment of Perry Hall Square. The PHIA supports flexible zoning and financing options to encourage the owners to creatively develop the shopping center for multiple uses, including the designation of the surrounding area as a “commercial revitalization” area pursuant Baltimore County’s Commercial Revitalization Program.
• Additional senior living options. The PHIA supports the construction of housing for seniors in close proximity to a local shopping center. As Perry Hall residents advance in age, there are limited options if they want to remain in Perry Hall. We believe that the construction of senior housing would help residents remain in Perry Hall if they wish to do so. Having the housing adjacent to a shopping center would provide the residents access to various amenities and also provide a regular stream of customers for local businesses, such as grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants.
• Forge Road. The PHIA strongly supports maintaining the traffic signal at the intersection of Belair Road and Forge Road. The PHIA is not opposed to considering options that permit eastbound and/or westbound vehicular traffic on Forge Road between Honeygo Boulevard and Belair Road, but we have not been presented with specific proposals. Safety is the PHIA’s primary concern regarding this issue.
• Graffiti. Perry Hall residents are noticing an increasing amount of graffiti on public and private property. Although we know the police are taking steps to identify and arrest suspects, please encourage the appropriate government agencies to coordinate their efforts to remove the graffiti on public property as soon as possible.
• Construction of a new high school. At the risk of sounding like a “broken record,” the PHIA strongly supports the construction of a new high school to reduce overcrowding and accommodate future growth in the northeast area. Although we recognize that funds are currently not available to complete the project, Baltimore County should, at least, identify a possible site for the school and preserve it from development.
• Development of trail system for hiking and biking. The PHIA generally favors making Perry Hall more pedestrian and biker friendly. Specifically, the PHIA supports completion of the “Perry Hall Boulevard Trail” between Linover and Perry Hall and a trail with access to Gunpowder Falls State Park where Gunview Road would have been extended until it was eliminated from the Baltimore County Master Plan.
• “Strip” shopping centers. The PHIA requests a moratorium on new “strip” shopping centers in Perry Hall until the existing centers are at or near capacity.
• Perry Hall Mansion. The PHIA supports the complete renovation of the Perry Hall Mansion through a combination of public and private funding sources, provided that the property will be used for worthwhile purposes that the local residents support.

Thank you for your consideration of these issues. We look forward to working with you to ensure that residents continue to be proud to call Perry Hall “home.” Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to discuss these issues in more detail.

Very truly yours,

Dennis M. Robinson, Jr.
President, Perry Hall Improvement Association

Editor's Note: This letter was slightly reformatted from its original form for publication.