You are invited to a special event!

 We are ex cited to invite you to a special event entitled: Community Brainstorm for River Hill's Future; Share the Journey as We Develop the Plan for the Village Center of Tomorrow.

Are you interested in seeing changes in our Village Center? Do you have a fantastic idea on how the Village Center can be improved? Would you like to have your voice heard by fellow members of our community?

You are invited to attend a Community Brainstorming Session that will be held concurrently with Village Elections on April 30 at Claret Hall. Meet and greet, and a light breakfast will be at 10 a.m. A Presentation and interactive session will begin at 10:10 a.m.

The Village Center Master Plan Committee wants to know what is important to you. Your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions are essential in formulating the plan for our Village Center’s future. The Committee will share its analysis of the existing Village Center and seek input from members of the community to identify long term priorities for the center and immediately adjacent area.

To aid in obtaining feedback and stimulating conversation, the MPC encourages residents to complete and return the questionnaire located on page 6 of the Villager. Questionnaires will also be available at the event.  Attendees who bring a completed questionnaire to the Brainstorming Session on April 30 will be eligible to win prizes!

Merchants in River Hill Village Center Area

Two members of the Master Plan Committee worked extremely hard making a list of many of the merchants and stores located in the River Hill Village Center and the area the MPC is defining as the "High Impact Area."  After scanning the list, I was shocked just how many establishments there are in walking distance from the 108/Great Star Drive intersection. 

The list is written twice, once grouped by location, and once group by type of service. 

If there is anything we left off the list, let us know.  And, without further ado... the list:

(NOTE: This list was last updated 2/23/2010)

River Hill Village Center and High Impact Area Facilities and Services

IN VILLAGE CENTER:

Claret Hall

Tower Federal Credit Union

Massage Envy

The UPS Store

Ledo Pizza

Everett Jewelry

Bagel Bin

Panda Kitchen

Subway

The Columbia Bank

River Hill Optical

Vintage Cellars

Maggie Moos

River Hill Sports Grille

Hair Cuttery

Columbia Gym

Giant Supermarket

M&T Bank

McDonalds

Ruby Tuesdays

Capital One Bank

Ten Oaks Ballroom

Sunoco

River Hill Station (Medical Bldg)

Fire House

The Gathering Place

Professional Bldg (Across from Columbia Gym)

NEAR/AROUND 108 & TURNING LEFT

Kendalls

Pizza Hut

Walgreens

Sandy Spring Bank

Post Office

AutoPark Drive dealerships (Antwerpen, Win Kelly, Jim Coleman etc)

Exxon

Oral/Dental/Maxillofacial Surgery 

Hillmuth Certified Automotive

Showcase Real Estate

ABC Satellite

Bank of America

St. Louis Church and School

Clarksville Plaza (across from St. Louis) 

not full, several empty retail spots

Clarksville Nails and Spa 

Flitz Hair Designs 

CRC Martial Arts 

Pizza Place 

Clarksville Crossing (off Ten Oaks near Bank of America)

Brookfield Christian School

Jostin Cafe

Over the Rainbow Salon and Spa

Clarksville Chiropractic

Clarksville Crossing Dental Center

Dr. Lea Lazar MD Family Practice

Pro-Nails

Kitana Japanese Restaurant

Siloam Cleaners

Art Partners Framing and Art Gallery

Tropical Tan tanning salon

Family Dentistry -- Dr Varsha Shah

Freestanding "House" near Clarksville Crossing

Hair Loft

Artistic Accents (permanent cosmetics)

Ten Oaks Gallery

Nina’s Closet Exchange

Plaza with Long and Foster

Long and Foster/Creig Northrop

Columbia Family Eye Care

Clarksville Barber

Mimis Kabob

Verizon Wireless

Sherwin Williams paint store

Clarksville Square Shopping Center(Across 108 from Village Ctr)

Wendy’s

Pasta Blitz

Bark

State Farm Insurance

Salon Tusey

Computer Installation, Etc.

Cleaners

Roots

Great Sage

Nest

Biago Salon and Day Spa

Kids Time Out

Woodbridge Music Shop

Charles Luck Stone Center

Dr. Benavent (dentist)

Flooring and Painting

Orthondontix

PNC Bank

Dogtopia

Shopping Center Next to and East of Clarksville Square

Jiffy Lube

Clarksville Car Wash

Clarksville Auto Center

Cleaners

Fast Wok

Charm City Run (Athletic shoes and clothing)

Pet Vet

Village Liquors

El Azteca

Tina’s Nails

Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbin

East of Linden Linthicum Lane

Linden Linthicum Church

Free State Gas (Across the street)

Lutfi’s

River Hill Garden Center

Memorial Park

Categories of Facilities and Services

In the Village Center:

Specialty Stores:

Everett Jewelry

Dining/Food and Beverage:

Ledo Pizza

Bagel Bin

Panda Kitchen

Subway

Maggie Moos

McDonalds

Ruby Tuesdays

River Hill Grille

Groceries/Food at Home:

Giant Supermarket

Vintage Cellars

Consumer Retail Services:

Tower Federal Credit Union

Massage Envy

The UPS Store

The Columbia Bank

River Hill Optical

Hair Cuttery

Columbia Gym

M&T Bank

Capital One Bank

Auto Related:

Sunoco

Public/Gov’t/Community Services:

Claret Hall

Columbia Gym

Ten Oaks Ballroom

Fire House

The Gathering Place

Professional Bldg (Across from Columbia Gym)

River Hill Station (Medical Bldg)

Categories of Facilities and Services in the High Impact Area:

Specialty Stores:

Art Partners Framing and Art Gallery

Ten Oaks Gallery

Bark

Computer Installation, Etc.

Nest (environment friendly items)

Woodbridge Music Shop

Charm City Run (Athletic shoes and clothing)

Dining/Food and Beverages:

Pizza Hut

Pizza Place 

Jostin Café

Kitana Japanese Restaurant

Mimis Kabob

Wendy’s

Pasta Blitz

Great Sage

Fast Wok

El Azteca

Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins

Village Liquors

Groceries/Food at Home:

Roots

Consumer Retail Services:

Kendalls

Walgreens

Sandy Spring Bank

Showcase Real Estate

ABC Satellite

Bank of America

Clarksville Nails and Spa 

Flitz Hair Designs 

CRC Martial Arts 

Over the Rainbow Salon and Spa

Pro-Nails

Siloam Cleaners

Tropical Tan Tanning Salon

Hair Loft

Artistic Accents (Permanent Cosmetics)

Long and Foster/Creig Northrop

Clarksville Barber

Sherwin Williams Paint Store

Verizon Wireless

State Farm Insurance

Salon Tusey

Cleaners (2)

Biago Salon and Day Spa

Kid’s Time Out

Charles Luck Stone Center

Flooring and Painting

Nina’s Closet Exchange

PNC Bank

Dogtopia

Tina’s Nails

Lutfi’s

River Hill Garden Center

Auto Related:

Exxon

Auto Park Drive dealerships

Hillmuth Certified Automotive

Jiffy Lube

Clarksville Car Wash

Clarksville Auto Center

Free State Gas

Public/Gov’t/Community Services:

Post Office

Oral/Dental/Maxillofacial Surgery

Clarksville Chiropractic

Clarksville Crossing Dental Center

Dr. Lea Lazar MD Family Practice

Family Dentistry – Dr. Varsha Shah

Columbia Family Eye Care

Dr. Benavent (dentist)

Otrhodontix

Pet Vet

Memorial Park

     Religious:

St. Louis Church and School

Brookfield Christian School

Linden Linthicum Church

Virtual Walk-A-Bout #3 - South on Route 108

Welcome back to our Virtual Walk-A-Bout tour of the area around the River Hill Village Center.  Though we haven't posted recently, much work has gone on "behind the scenes" to create a Village Center Master Plan. 

The Master Plan Committee (MPC) has held several meetings to define the scope of the plan.  As discussions continue, and as we receive feedback of the desires of members of our community, the MPC is working to focus the plan in a manner which maintains the positive elements of our Village Center while improving areas about which people have concerns.  Please continue to give us feedback so we can make the plan meet your needs and desires.

In today's post we will venture south from the River Hill Village Center along route 108.

Here we are looking south on Route 108 (the road on the left of the photo).  This is at the intersection of Route 108 and Auto Drive.  This is the route you would have to take if you wanted to walk from the River Hill Village Center to the bridge that crosses route 32.  If a pedestrian or biker wanted to travel from River Hill to the Bank of America, St. Louis Church, or the popular biking routes of western Howard County, this is the only way to go, without going several miles out of the way.

This photo is just a few feet down route 108.  Notice the nice sidewalk that abuts the new Walgreens.  Also notice that the sidewalk magically ends right at the beginning of Antwerpen Toyota property.  A pedestrian would have to walk on the grass at this point.  A biker would have to be brave enough to ride along this extremely busy stretch of route 108. 

As an interesting side-note, it was reported that soon route 32 will be widened to two lanes in each direction going west from route 108.  When that is done, bikers will be allowed to ride along route 32.  A likely access point for bikers to get onto route 32 is the exit ramp in this photo.  Certainly improvements could be made in this area to make it safer for both pedestrians and bikers.

Now we have traveled south on route 108 about 200 yards, and are on the other side of the bridge over route 32, and the other side of the road, looking north.  You can see the area we came from in the distance in the middle of the photo.  Notice the incredibly poor condition of the sidewalks in this area.  More importantly, notice the lack of crosswalks in this highly used stretch of road.  Additionally, notice this dangerous intersection.  The right lane is told that it can only turn right, but other than this sign there is no deterrent from drivers in the right lane going straight.  I have seen several near accidents in this area as drivers in the right lane attempt to go straight while drivers coming in the other direction assume drivers are turning, and narrowly avoid missing them when they also turn.

Now we turned 90 degrees to our left.  We are looking west down Ten Oaks Road, and going left to right in the photo is route 108.  To the right of the photo is an undeveloped (and frankly, unkempt and sunsightly) parcel of land.  To the left is Bank of America.  Notice, again, the complete lack of crosswalks.   You want to walk or ride your bike across the street here?  Fine, but you are taking your life into your hands.

Just to get the point across, we are now standing on the other side of 108 looking north.  Ten Oaks Road is to our left.  Imagine pushing a stroller or riding a bike across this busy, and confusing intersection.  Also, though there is a sidewalk right where we are standing, there are none on the opposite side of the street.

Now we are back on the other side of route 108, looking south.  St. Louis Church is on the other side of the pine trees in the back of the photo.  The former location of Artie's Ice cream is on the left of the photo.  Though the landscaping is pleasant in this area, imagine being a pedestrian and trying to walk along here.  It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to realize the danger in this area.

We are still looking south along 108.  This is the former location of Artie's.  A new pizza place called "Pudgies" will be opening up here.  Is this area designed to handle the traffic and parking needs of this establishment?  Time will tell.  Certainly, it is clear that it is not safe for pedestrians from River Hill to travel to this location.

Turning around 180 degrees we see the Clarksville Plaza shopping center.  This plaza, though aesthetically pleasing, has many vacancies.  Could this be partially due to the difficult turn lane and lack of safe pedestrian access?

We are, once again, a little further south on Route 108.  Artie's is to our left.  We are looking south at the shopping center that houses Craig Northrop Real Estate and Mimi's Kabobs, amongst other businesses.  Again, there is no sidewalk and no crosswalk in this area.  A proposal has been submitted, and is working its way through the legal system, to build a funeral home slightly further down route 108.  If built, this funeral home, though providing an important service to the community, would likely increase the amount of traffic and pedestrians along route 108, making an already dangerous situation more-so.

Now we venture to a different location.  We are on Ten Oaks Road, just past the Bank of America, looking west towards the shopping center that houses Katana Japanese Cuisine as well as a pre-school and several other businesses.  Again, like the rest of this area, there is a complete lack of crosswalks and sidewalks.  This area is very popular with bikers, and much could be done to improve safety in the area. 

To sum up, the area south of the River Hill Village Center, along Route 108 and Ten Oaks Road is in need of major improvements for pedestrian and bike safety.  Additionally, much growth is anticipated in this area, as new homes are constantly being built (even during the tough economic times).  As we drag ourselves out of the recession, it is anticipated that further growth will occur in this area, increasing the amount and speed of traffic.  With increased pedestrian access, it is likely that the businesses in this area would see additional customers and revenue.  This revenue is needed to help these mostly small businesses survive and thrive.

With some relatively minor improvements, such as improved signage, painted crosswalks, and the fabrication of sidewalks, this area could be vastly improved.

Virtual Walk-A-Bout #2 - Crossing Route 108

For the second part of our Virtual Walk-A-Bout pretend you are at the village center.  Perhaps you are pushing a stroller, riding a bike, or utilizing a wheel-chair.  You would love to go to the other side of Route 108 to shop, eat, or browse.  Let's see how that would work.

 You would start your voyage somewhere around here.  This is one of the main ways to leave the village center by car.  On the right of the photo is the Capital One bank.  The left of the picture is Great Star Drive.  The pedestrian access to here is relatively good, with crosswalks and traffic calming features to keep you moderately safe.

So, you walk down the sidewalk to the intersection of Great Star Drive and Route 108.  In this photo, you are looking left, or South, down route 108 now.  Notice there is a crosswalk to get across Great Star Drive.  What you can't tell from the picture is the sidewalk ends right there at the other side of Great Star.  You can't continue further down 108, and you can't backtrack along Great Star Drive, unless you want to walk on the grass, of course.  This would prove difficult for someone in a wheelchair, on a bike, or with children.

 Now, you turned right, and are looking across Route 108, at Great Star Drive.  On the left side of the photo you can see Kendell's Hardware store.  On the right side of the photo you can see the former Gateway School site.  Time to cross 108.  Fortunately, there is a crosswalk.  This is one of only two crosswalks across Route 108 anywhere near Clarksville.  The other crosswalk across Route 108 is at Signal Bell Lane, one intersection south of Great Star Drive.  There is no crosswalk across 108 at Linden Linthicum Lane or south of 32.  If you want to cross in one of these areas your only option is to either make a long detour to one of the two crosswalks, or take your life into your hands and j-walk (which is STRONGLY discouraged).

Even though there is a crosswalk here at Great Star and Route 108, it is still difficult to make it across.  Route 108 is extremely busy.  The "walk" light stays lit for only a few seconds.  An able bodied individual has to run across to 108 to make it in time.  An individual with difficulty walking probably would not be able to make it across in time.

 Phew!  You made it across Route 108.  Now you are looking at the former Gateway School site.  As of the writing of this blog post, Howard County is still negotiating with Green Stone Ventures on the site.  It is likely though, that there will be significant development in this area very soon.  The development will likely spur an increase in traffic at the intersection of Route 108 and Great Star Drive, making it that much harder for pedestrians to access this side of Route 108.  As soon as details are made public over the exact intentions of the developer in this area, we will update the blog, and let the world know.

 Again, we are looking at the Gateway School site.  In the distance you can see Kendall Hardware.  Will Kendall hardware or the shopping center site to the north be redeveloped or integrated as the Gateway School site is developed?  Can their development be integrated in a harmonious, pedestrian friendly manner, conducive to the economic and social success of the entire area?

We are looking at the grass just between the west side of Route 108 and the old sidewalk next to the Gateway School site (a sidewalk, by the way, that is about 30 feet long and connects to no other sidewalks).  Notice this big white grave-stone looking marker.  It is one of only four remaining mile markers in Howard County.  For more information about this historical object read this article from "Preservation Howard County."

 Next, we will continue our tour south along Route 108.   Here we are looking at Kendall Hardware.  Notice that, if we want to walk south along Route 108, say to go to Pizza Hut, pick up our car from the mechanic, or walk to the Park-And-Ride at Ten Oaks, there is no way to go without walking along the grass.  There is no sidewalk (on either side of 108) and no pedestrian amenities.

Stay tuned for the next post of our Virtual Walk-A-Bout, in which we will highlight various features further south on 108, and venture south of Route 32.

Virtual Walk-A-Bout #1 - The Village Center Proper

The next few posts will highlight various areas of our community.  These are areas that we do not necessarily want to change, but are areas of interest.  If you have any thoughts in regards to these areas, or the comments made about them, please comment away!

Remember, while reading this virtual walk-a-bout, to think about 4 topics:
1. Economic Viability
2. Connectivity and Circulation
3. Visibility and Signage
4. Design and Land Use Issues

Here you see one of the main access points into the Village Center off of Great Star Drive.  Notice the painted crosswalk and the crosswalk warning bumps.  The River Hill Traffic and Safety Committee recently won "Volunteers of the Year" in River Hill, due to their hard work making River Hill safer.  The Committee, along with the Village Board, the staff of River Hill, and the Howard County Department of Public Works have worked hard to put in numerous improvements to our community, including the area directly around the Village Center.  Pedestrians in the area now have the advantage of walking across Great Star Drive on newly painted crosswalks, kept safe by a variety of new safety features.

You are looking at the road directly "behind" the Village Center, Daylong Lane, looking north.  Claret Hall is on the left of the photo.  At the top left of the photo is the Columbia Gym.  Daylong Lane is often utilized as a through street, or as a "short-cut" from Great Star Drive to Linden Linthicum Lane.  Kimco, the owner of this part of the Village Center, put in traffic calming features, such as stop signs, and speed bumps/humps.  The speed bumps, until recently, were quite high, and many complained about damage to cars.  Recently, after discussing the issue with the Village Board, Kimco agreed to flatten out the speed bumps, and convert them into speed humps.

You are looking behind the Columbia Gym, at the north end of the Village Center.  Directly in the middle of the photo is a storm water management pond.  When this photo was taken, in early November, the area looks quite aesthetically pleasing.  In summer, though, the pond often becomes overrun with green algae.

We are fortunate to have a Columbia Association amenity in River Hill, the Columbia Gym.  This gym is heavily used, and the north parking lot of the Village Center is often quite full.

This photo highlights the courtyard in the middle of the Village Center.  It is a lightly used gathering place.  Currently, the Village Center has no retail vacancies.  A few questions to think about: Do you feel safe in the Village Center at night?  Is there any changes that would make you shop in the Village Center more or less?  Are you happy with the Village Center the way it currently is?  Is there anything you'd like to see changed about the Village Center?

You are looking at a patch of undeveloped land between Giant supermarket and Ruby Tuesday's restaurant.  Most of the land the comprises the Village Center is owned by Kimco.  This undeveloped tract of land, and Giant itself, are owned by Giant.  Would you like to see changes to this patch of land to make it more pedestrian friendly?  If it ever was developed, what would you like to see there?


Thanks for reading the first Virtual Walk-A-Bout.  In the next installments, we will be looking further north and south along Route 108, and across Route 108, around the former Gateway School Site.

Master Plan Background

On Saturday, 11/13/10, the River Hill Master Plan Committee held a "Walk-A-Bout" of the community.  In order to conduct the tour, an outline of the topics to be covered  was created.  Here is selections from the text of that outline:

a.  What is the River Hill Master Plan Committee?  The Committee was organized by the Village Board several months ago and is comprised of River Hill residents interested in being proponents for positive future development of the River Hill area.
    b.  Why are we doing this? We want to have a say in future development.  If we don’t speak up, nobody will.  We want to be a voice for the interests of the Greater River Hill Community.  We believe it is always better to be proactive rather than reactive.  The committee gives us a way to be proactive about development.
    c. Let me give you some history of this process.-

i.    When I first joined village board about 1.5 years ago, the big issue in front of the board was the rezoning of the River Hill Garden Center.   The wanted to rezone their property to allow a restaurant to be built.  Flash forward to a few months ago.  It was announced, that about 1/2 mile south on 108, a proposal was put forth to build a funeral home.  Recently, negotiations over the Gateway School site have been ongoing between Howard County and Greenstone Ventures, LLC. Clearly, development is happening in our area, and will continue to happen whether or not we are involved

ii. Meanwhile About 1 year ago CB 29 2009 passed the Howard County Council.  This bill provided a method for Village Boards to define the borders of their Village Centers and create a master plan for the development of their Village Centers.   The passage of the bill was the perfect incentive for us to get started on our master plan.

iii.  River Hill is taking a different focus than many of the Villages.  In regards to our Village Center, River Hill has the opposite problem from many villages.  Where many village centers are growing old and underutilized, our Village Center is thriving.  Where many other village centers are not growing, the area all around us is bustling, with the promise of future development.

iv.  We want to create a master plan for this area in order to help development occur in a manner which is mutually positive for the Residents of River Hill, The Business Owners along 108, and all other interested parties.

    These are the four issues we will focus on as the master plan is developed.  The four issues are:
1. Economic Viability- we want this area to remain successful and viable, especially in the face of competing businesses and growth
2. Connectivity and Circulation - safety and traffic issues
3. Visibility and Signage - environmental and architectural features
4. Design and Land Use Issues -   What do you want in the area?  Does it meet your day to day needs?  What are we lacking, and what do we have too much of. For example, in River Hill, do we have enough banks?

Sorry for the poor quality, but this is an image of the proposed boundaries within the master plan.  These are just preliminary boundaries, and are subject to change.  The inner red line is what we are defining as the boundary of our Village Center.   Additionally, the master plan committee defined a “high impact area” that we would like to focus our plan on.  This area is about a 2 mile diameter circle, with the center of the circle in claret hall.  The "high impact area" is marked by the circular red line. The high impact area ends just past the intersection of Sheppard Lane and 108 to the north and just past the proposed funeral home and 108 to the south.

Next post: we will start a "Virtual Walking Tour."  Members of the committee have taken photos of many of the areas with-in the "high impact area."  We will provide details about these areas in the photos, and what we see as the problems. 

We will attempt to update this blog regularly to keep the community updated on the progress of the Master Plan.  Please remember, we want your feedback.  We want your ideas.  And we absolutely want your criticism.  We are not making this plan for us, rather the plan is for the community.  We want to know what the community wants.  So please, post any comments, thoughts, or questions!  We look forward to hearing from you.

Master Plan Committee Charter

Charter

River Hill Community Association

Master Plan Committee

    The River Hill Community Association (“RHCA”) Board of Directors, being fully authorized and empowered under Article 3 of the RHCA Articles of Incorporation and Article 3 of the RHCA Bylaws, and in order to enhance the well being of the River Hill Community by addressing issues relating future development, hereby approves and adopts this Charter to establish the River Hill Community Association Mater Plan Committee (“MPC”), to wit:

Article 1:  Organization

    The MPC shall be a special committee of the RHCA Board of Directors comprised of interested residents and one or more members of the RHCA Board of Directors and shall be generally organized as follows:

    a.    Name – The River Hill Community Association Master Plan Committee may be referred to as the “RHCA Master Plan Committee” and/or the “MPC”.

    b.    Members - The members of the MPC shall include no more than ten (10) interested residents of the communities making up the River Hill Community Association, members of communities near to properties within the territorial boundaries of the Village of River Hill, residents of properties near to the territorial boundaries of the Village of River Hill, owners and tenants of business properties within and near to the territorial boundaries of the Village of River Hill, and such other persons as the MPC deems appropriate and necessary.  Members will be appointed by the RHCA Board of Directors.

    c.    Authority -

    1.    The MPC, under the auspices of the RHCA Board of Directors, shall have the authority to do all acts necessary, subject to the approval of the RHCA Board of Directors, to develop, implement and achieve the objectives and underlying intent of this Charter.

    2.    Final authority for the approval and adoption of the recommendations, plans and concepts created by the MPC shall be solely vested with the RHCA Board of Directors. 




`Article 2:  Objectives

    The objectives of this Charter and the establishment of the MPC shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

    1.    To define, develop and establish a River Hill Community Advisory Master Plan (herein “Master Plan”) that will serve the best interests of the residents of the Greater River Hill Community Area with respect to future development within and adjacent to the territorial boundaries of the Village of River Hill.  The Master Plan, after approval by the Board of Directors, will be submitted to the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) in order to be made available to the public pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act.  Similarly any changes to the Master Plan must be approved by the Board of Directors prior to submittal to Howard County DPZ.

    2.    To define and establish the territorial boundaries of the Greater River Hill Community Area. situated within  Columbia, Maryland, Clarksville, Maryland, Fulton Maryland and Highland Maryland,  for which future development, in or adjacent to said boundaries, may impact and/or influence the objectives of the Master Plan.

    3.    To collaborate with local government entities regarding future development within and adjacent to the Greater River Hill Community Area territorial boundaries which may influence, impact and/or affect the Master Plan.

    4.    To collaborate with local businesses and merchants in connection with future development that may influence, impact and/or affect the Master Plan.

    5.    To collaborate with local residents in connection with future development that may influence, impact and/or affect the Master Plan.

    6.    To collaborate with other adjacent local communities in connection with development that may influence, impact and/or affect the Master Plan.


Article 4:  Legislative History and Background

    Over the course of the past several years there have been several legislative initiatives related to planning and zoning that have both direct and indirect impact on the global communities known as Columbia, Maryland, Clarksville, Maryland and Fulton, Maryland.   The result of these initiatives has included, in part, the enactment of Howard County Council Bills 29-2009 and 59-2009 (ZRA-102) and CB59-2009 (downtown redevelopment).  In addition, there have been many new development proposals and projects in the River Hill, Clarksville and Fulton areas which will have an impact on the residents, business owners and property owners in these areas which may affect their personal interest, property interest, health, safety and well being, and their general quality of life including, but not limited to, day-to-day activities.  For this reason, the RHCA Board of Directs recognizes the need to be actively involved in the planning process for future development in, around and adjacent to the Village of River Hill.

    Pursuant to CB No. 29-209 (ZRA-102), the Howard County Council amended the Howard County zoning regulations to empower and/or allow the owner of any portion of a village center in the New Town zoning district to petition to amend certain approved development plans for the owner’s property; establishing public notice, information, and justification requirements for such petition; establishing standards to be used by the Zoning Board in evaluating and considering such petition; and generally relating to the New Town zoning district.  This Council Bill, as amended and enacted, is incorporated by reference herein for guidance in connection with the planning process and future development of the River Hill Community area and the creation of the Master Plan.


Article 5:  Responsibilities

    Among other things, the MPC will promote collaboration, coordination, interaction and/or communication in pursuit of the establishment and development of the Master Plan, including, but not limited to, other documents and mechanisms that position the community to take an active role in shaping the future composition of property, related improvements and uses in the Greater River Hill Community Area.  The MPC will have the authority and responsibility to produce position papers, correspondence, presentations, comments on documents produced by others, interviews, petitions, testimony and such other matters deemed beneficial to the MPC and the RHCA Board of Directors.  Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to, the following:

    1.    Providing an open forum for the discussion of topics and issues related to future development in the Greater River Hill Community Area.

    2.    Coordinating input from key stakeholders, including residents, property owners, merchants, tenants and local/state government officials.

    3.    Seeking input from representatives of other local communities and/or Columbia Villages that have developed or are in the process of developing master plans.

    4.    Leveraging additional resources and expertise made available by the County, State, the Columbia Association and/or other to be determined sources.

    5.    The development of a vision, goals and objectives for the Master Plan.

    6.    The creation of a framework, process and timeline to realize the successful creation of the Master Plan.

    7.    To collaborate with other committees and working groups that are pursuing common goals of the MPC, including but not limited to the RHCA Traffic/Safety Committee and the RHCA Architectural Committee.

    8.    To be a part of and influence any zoning review processes and zoning amendments to be consistent with the goals of the Master Plan and the objectives of this Charter.

    9.    To define the local territorial properties that should be included in considerations which are a part of the establishment, development and perpetuation of the master plan. 

    10.    To establish and promote concepts that will enhance and/or achieve environmental objectives relating to the master plan.

    11.    To establish and promote concepts that will enhance and/or achieve sustainable energy resources relating to the master plan.

12.    To define historical aspects of the Greater River Hill Community Area that should be considered in the Master Plan.

13.    The MPC will provide quarterly updates to the RHCA Board of Directors.


Article 6:  Amendment and Perpetuation

    The RHCA Board of Directors reserves unto itself the authority to amend this Charter and the role, responsibilities and authority of the MPC.  Further, the RHCA Board of Directors reserves unto itself the authority to perpetuate this Charter and the master plan sought to be established pursuant to this Charter including all aspects of the master plan.

    This Charter has been approved by the RHCA Board of Directors.

APPROVED:  11/1/10