March 28th (CB-07/09) 2009
The Prince George’s County Council will be taking up two bills to suspend certain rules of development in order to assist a major business force economically. Specifically CB-007-2009 and CB-008-2009 would remove time caps on valid development plans which otherwise might expire because the capital or market is not currently available. Under current provisions, development plans must commence with in a specific time or the plans expire and the process must start over.
On bill is pertains to the sub-division code and the other amends zoning: AN ORDINANCE concerning Validity Periods for Detailed Site Plans and Specific Design Plans For the purpose of temporarily suspending or tolling the validity periods of all approved applications for Detailed Site Plans and Specific Design Plans that are currently in a valid status….
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the County Council of Prince George's County, Maryland, sitting as the District Council for that part of the Maryland-Washington Regional District in Prince George's County, Maryland, that the provisions for the running of validity periods contained in Sections 27-287, 27-527, 27-528, 27-546.07, and 27-548.08 of the Zoning Ordinance of the County Code, are hereby temporarily suspended until April 15, 2011.
SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that the suspension of the validity period for a given application shall only be applied if the application is, at the date of the adoption of this Ordinance, in an active, current validity period. This suspension shall not be applied to any application where a validity period has expired prior to the date of the adoption of this Ordinance or to any application whose validity period begins after the date of the adoption of this Ordinance
SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that the provisions of this Ordinance shall be abrogated and be of no further force and effect after April 15, 2011.
SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that the provisions of this Ordinance shall take effect on the effective date of CB-8-2009.
PLANNING, ZONING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 1, 2009 – 10:00 a.m.
ROOM 2027
ORDER OF PROCEEDING
a) Presentation by Committee Staff
(including comments received by the Committee)
b) Comments from Sponsor
c) Questions from Committee Members
d) Comments from Agencies
e) General Discussion
f) Motion and Vote
AGENDA
LEGISLATION
1. CB-7-2009 (Dean) - An Ordinance concerning Validity Periods for Detailed Site Plans and
Specific Design Plans for the purpose of temporarily suspending or tolling the validity periods of all
approved applications for Detailed Site Plans and Specific Design Plans that are currently in a
valid status.
2. CB-8-2009 (Dean) - A Subdivision Bill concerning validity periods for Preliminary Plans of
Subdivision for the purpose of temporarily suspending or tolling the validity periods of all approved
applications for Preliminary Plans of Subdivision that are currently in a valid status.
PZED Committee Members:
Samuel H. Dean, Chair
Eric C. Olson, Vice Chair
Marilynn M. Bland
Thomas E. Dernoga
Andrea C. Harrison
Friday, March 27, 2009
Prince George's County Considers a Strip Mall in the Rural Tier
Prince George’s County is going to consider in a few weeks altering the geo-political boundaries of its rural tier in order to bring a strip mall into and on top of an historic register nomination district near a major east coast waterway. They public claim is that there is a need for the neighborhood do be destroyed because it does not have enough strip malls. The idea that this project is for the neighborhood is purposely vague because the developer and the neighbors, as well as Prince George’s County’s politicians who will decide this use, know that “[a] strip mall is a collection of several stores located in the same building that share a common parking lot. Typically strip malls contain stores like video rental stores, small grocery stores, fast food restaurants or small independent cafes. The strip mall is often located at major intersections in a town or city and is normally most easily accessed by car. Due to a typically high volume of traffic, bicycling or walking to a strip mall can be difficult.” [1]
My sense of the will of neighborhood is limited, but I suspect that we are not against shopping malls, and are in fact happy to see a project which conforms to the broad outline of the general plan. We would support of course the will and desires of the local neighborhoods impacted and would most likely not weigh in on way or another. We known that as we drive along the large and small highways of Prince George’s County, it is all too easy to wave our hand and say: "look at all these unseemly strip malls that make this place look like every other!" But if we are looking for a hardware store, need a cup of coffee, or need some engine repair, our tune changes: we are grateful that we can easily spot the Home Depot, the local independent supply store, the Starbucks, or the tractor & lawnmower dealers. The locale saves search costs, for which we are glad indeed, and we demonstrate this feeling by voting for them with our own money. [2]
But most of us chose to live slightly disconnected from the infrastructure of urban living, instead opting for the infrastructure of nature. We chose to live removed from a small walk to a bakery or 7-11. Because we so chose to be slightly removed from these perceived necessities, we do not feel underserved. If we are underserved, it is by the outside traffic which takes a short-cut through the historic Woodland District, making it hard of us to go to….shopping malls. Adding one more right in our midst would only exacerbate this traffic infrastructure “under-service”. I might also suspect a slight “under-services” when it comes to school facilities but that is another story which this strip mall will not address.
[1] Tricia Ellis-Christensen WiseGeek, copyright © 2003 – 2009 ; http://www.wisegeek.com/
[2] In Defense of Strip Malls, Mises Daily by Brad Edmonds Posted on 5/24/2007 12:00:00 AM; http://mises.org/story/2576
My sense of the will of neighborhood is limited, but I suspect that we are not against shopping malls, and are in fact happy to see a project which conforms to the broad outline of the general plan. We would support of course the will and desires of the local neighborhoods impacted and would most likely not weigh in on way or another. We known that as we drive along the large and small highways of Prince George’s County, it is all too easy to wave our hand and say: "look at all these unseemly strip malls that make this place look like every other!" But if we are looking for a hardware store, need a cup of coffee, or need some engine repair, our tune changes: we are grateful that we can easily spot the Home Depot, the local independent supply store, the Starbucks, or the tractor & lawnmower dealers. The locale saves search costs, for which we are glad indeed, and we demonstrate this feeling by voting for them with our own money. [2]
But most of us chose to live slightly disconnected from the infrastructure of urban living, instead opting for the infrastructure of nature. We chose to live removed from a small walk to a bakery or 7-11. Because we so chose to be slightly removed from these perceived necessities, we do not feel underserved. If we are underserved, it is by the outside traffic which takes a short-cut through the historic Woodland District, making it hard of us to go to….shopping malls. Adding one more right in our midst would only exacerbate this traffic infrastructure “under-service”. I might also suspect a slight “under-services” when it comes to school facilities but that is another story which this strip mall will not address.
[1] Tricia Ellis-Christensen WiseGeek, copyright © 2003 – 2009 ; http://www.wisegeek.com/
[2] In Defense of Strip Malls, Mises Daily by Brad Edmonds Posted on 5/24/2007 12:00:00 AM; http://mises.org/story/2576
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Prince George's County's 19th century land use plan
When it comes to protecting the environment, to enhancing quality of life for everyone, Prince George’s County recently seems to have gotten off the train and begun walking backwards towards the past. First it decided that placing a waster transfer station right next to and slightly overlapping an nationally, as well as state recognized critical area and wildlife habitat, ½ mile from one of the Chesapeake Bay’s major tributaries is a great idea. In deed this site was specifically noted in the general plan for Prince George’s County has part of the rural tier not suitable for industrial development. So of course the county decided using 19th century mentality to place the waste transfer station in the most environmentally sensitive location they could find.
This placement was a 19th century land use decision; land is to be used, it is a blank worthless canvas unless we can put the artifices of man on top and tame unruly nature. Of course such thinking did not consider where drinking water or clean air might come from, because, 19th century thinking knew that clean air and clean water came from God at no charge. The 19th century also thought that some people deserved to work in bondage, or begrudgingly, work and live in an apartheid society, a situation remembered in family lore, but paved over for shopping malls, because the land is cheaper in the rural tier, and endless, why pay more in the city when you can pave over history and the environment at the same time?
The 21st century, seemingly foreign to this county idea that the environment enhances quality of live and that, for instance, biologically harmful, not readily degradable, black trash bags arriving un-beckoned from the composting facility with its state of the art wire mesh protection device are a signal of far worse destruction to come. The bags blow on the wind with the usual litter and will make a perfect landscape addition for guests at the proposed hotel and neighborhoods in the vicinity of Upper Marlboro across from the waste transfer station.
Did I mention community ambiance the smell will create for the new cutting edge up-scale strip mall just north of the waste transfer station? Of course the county will say, “Don’t worry about the odor at Crain Corner, in the rural tier, on currently residential zoned property. We are siting the strip mall just far enough away that you will not be able to smell anything and besides the prevailing winds will mostly ensure that the bags, debris and litter will not make it north to the brand new, yet-another, much needed strip mall.
and just in a report from the news media:
Residents skeptical of retail center near Marlboro Meadows
Developer stresses community input
by Greg Holzheimer Staff Writer
This placement was a 19th century land use decision; land is to be used, it is a blank worthless canvas unless we can put the artifices of man on top and tame unruly nature. Of course such thinking did not consider where drinking water or clean air might come from, because, 19th century thinking knew that clean air and clean water came from God at no charge. The 19th century also thought that some people deserved to work in bondage, or begrudgingly, work and live in an apartheid society, a situation remembered in family lore, but paved over for shopping malls, because the land is cheaper in the rural tier, and endless, why pay more in the city when you can pave over history and the environment at the same time?
The 21st century, seemingly foreign to this county idea that the environment enhances quality of live and that, for instance, biologically harmful, not readily degradable, black trash bags arriving un-beckoned from the composting facility with its state of the art wire mesh protection device are a signal of far worse destruction to come. The bags blow on the wind with the usual litter and will make a perfect landscape addition for guests at the proposed hotel and neighborhoods in the vicinity of Upper Marlboro across from the waste transfer station.
Did I mention community ambiance the smell will create for the new cutting edge up-scale strip mall just north of the waste transfer station? Of course the county will say, “Don’t worry about the odor at Crain Corner, in the rural tier, on currently residential zoned property. We are siting the strip mall just far enough away that you will not be able to smell anything and besides the prevailing winds will mostly ensure that the bags, debris and litter will not make it north to the brand new, yet-another, much needed strip mall.
and just in a report from the news media:
Residents skeptical of retail center near Marlboro Meadows
Developer stresses community input
by Greg Holzheimer Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Green is the color of the Prince George's County RuralTier
The trees and the green space of the rural tier in Prince George’s County is a fundamental pillar of human experience. Psychologists, sociologist and many residents agree on the view that the quality of urban life depends largely on the amount and quality of nearby green spaces. Urban green space not only improves ecological and psychological environment of urban population but also uplift economic conditions of the community. Thus Central Park in New York City, which no doubt has more developmental value than say Crain Corner in Upper Marlboro is off limits for commercial, industrial or residential development.
Green is the color most restful for our eyes, presumably because we evolved in a predominantly green environment. The Prince George’s County general plan recognizes this basic precept. Green spaces, significantly, bring a certain harmony to the urban environment and therefore, play a vital social role in ceasing urban tensions. In presence of trees, city dwellers take part in the rhythm of day and night so that their minds come to rest and find peace (Bernatzky 1978). The rural tier along with the park system serves several important functions like maintenance and sustenance of natural process such as water, gaseous nutrient cycles, support of flora and fauna, and maintenance of psychological health through beautification and enhancement of the appearance of a particular area to paraphrase (Wenger 1984). Recently planners and residents have come to understand the critical and crucial ecosystem service that green areas provide. From carbon storage and storm effect dampening, to habitat and refugium functions, to agriculture and yes to cultural informing services, the rural tier has a value beyond pavement, building, purchases and employment (all of these are important, we needs stores and the jobs they produce).
Of course a vibrant Prince George’s County needs businesses and healthy businesses need customers and employees who want to live in the area. We need both quality businesses and quality of life patterning in harmony, not one at the expense of the other. That is why there is a general plan which provides for both development and urban green spaces which managed and, to the extent under the plan allowed, exclusively on the basis of their aesthetic and spiritual values than on utilitarian benefits.
The enormous rate of growth of Prince George’s County along with the growth of urban development, has led to sometimes drastic exploitation of the nature resulting to an unhealthy and unwealthy ecology. Cities are experiencing the problems like deterioration of air quality, higher air temperature, increased noise levels, greater psychological stress and decreased sense of community. Increasingly society recognizes the need for urban green spaces. “With lack of green space, the exponential population increase in the twentieth century will make physical, social, psychological and environmental hazards in the third world countries.” [1]
[1] Miyan Rukunuddin Ahmed, Rakibul Hassan People's Perception toward Value of Urban Greenspace in Environmental Development; http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/ARTICLE/WFC/XII/0347-B5.HTM
1
Green is the color most restful for our eyes, presumably because we evolved in a predominantly green environment. The Prince George’s County general plan recognizes this basic precept. Green spaces, significantly, bring a certain harmony to the urban environment and therefore, play a vital social role in ceasing urban tensions. In presence of trees, city dwellers take part in the rhythm of day and night so that their minds come to rest and find peace (Bernatzky 1978). The rural tier along with the park system serves several important functions like maintenance and sustenance of natural process such as water, gaseous nutrient cycles, support of flora and fauna, and maintenance of psychological health through beautification and enhancement of the appearance of a particular area to paraphrase (Wenger 1984). Recently planners and residents have come to understand the critical and crucial ecosystem service that green areas provide. From carbon storage and storm effect dampening, to habitat and refugium functions, to agriculture and yes to cultural informing services, the rural tier has a value beyond pavement, building, purchases and employment (all of these are important, we needs stores and the jobs they produce).
Of course a vibrant Prince George’s County needs businesses and healthy businesses need customers and employees who want to live in the area. We need both quality businesses and quality of life patterning in harmony, not one at the expense of the other. That is why there is a general plan which provides for both development and urban green spaces which managed and, to the extent under the plan allowed, exclusively on the basis of their aesthetic and spiritual values than on utilitarian benefits.
The enormous rate of growth of Prince George’s County along with the growth of urban development, has led to sometimes drastic exploitation of the nature resulting to an unhealthy and unwealthy ecology. Cities are experiencing the problems like deterioration of air quality, higher air temperature, increased noise levels, greater psychological stress and decreased sense of community. Increasingly society recognizes the need for urban green spaces. “With lack of green space, the exponential population increase in the twentieth century will make physical, social, psychological and environmental hazards in the third world countries.” [1]
[1] Miyan Rukunuddin Ahmed, Rakibul Hassan People's Perception toward Value of Urban Greenspace in Environmental Development; http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/ARTICLE/WFC/XII/0347-B5.HTM
1
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Prince George's County & the Crain Corner Strip Mall
There are, apparently, approximately 1 shopping center of some description for every 5600 residents in Prince George’s County. (161 centers 890,000 residents) Development plans call for the addition of at least three more of various sizes near Crain Corner in Upper Marlboro. Some of these are in the plan and to some extent; one is a gross violation of the general plan for Prince George’s County. Local proximate residents are told that we are under served. We are also told that our two local, showing signs of age shopping centers do not fit the new standards of strip mall quality. So we are to infer that we should discard the old centers, not rehabilitate them, and develop three new ones. This of course would give us five, plus Home Depot, two or so car dealerships and a variety of convenience stores. But we are under served.
On the environmental side, we have exactly one river, which cannot be replaced, and one nominee for Historic National Register recognition and should residents want it, Historic District status which will be irrevocably lost if the strip mall goes forward. And the open space ecosystem services which will be paved and built over cannot be recovered at a cost anyone would be willing to pay. We who did not ask will receive as a benefit of the proposed development at Crain Corner an influx of outside traffic we do not want, rural property facing a 40 foot buffer of invasive species hiding parking lots which we are told will not lower the value of our properties. Ever wonder why there are so few strip malls on River Road in Potomac? Could it be because they do not bring value to the quality of life?
Of course a few of us will profit handsomely from the sale of land, but because the rest of us were not prescient enough to also file to destroy this section of the rural tier near to the Patuxent River, the winners will be fewer then the economic losers. This is the free market we are told; if so let us also rezone our land, and move away too, leaving future generations with our dilapidated, out-of-date shopping mall, our gift to our children, concrete and environmental degradation. We only know what we have lost when we look around and it is no longer there.
On the environmental side, we have exactly one river, which cannot be replaced, and one nominee for Historic National Register recognition and should residents want it, Historic District status which will be irrevocably lost if the strip mall goes forward. And the open space ecosystem services which will be paved and built over cannot be recovered at a cost anyone would be willing to pay. We who did not ask will receive as a benefit of the proposed development at Crain Corner an influx of outside traffic we do not want, rural property facing a 40 foot buffer of invasive species hiding parking lots which we are told will not lower the value of our properties. Ever wonder why there are so few strip malls on River Road in Potomac? Could it be because they do not bring value to the quality of life?
Of course a few of us will profit handsomely from the sale of land, but because the rest of us were not prescient enough to also file to destroy this section of the rural tier near to the Patuxent River, the winners will be fewer then the economic losers. This is the free market we are told; if so let us also rezone our land, and move away too, leaving future generations with our dilapidated, out-of-date shopping mall, our gift to our children, concrete and environmental degradation. We only know what we have lost when we look around and it is no longer there.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Does Prince George's County have a Plan - that means anything?
The Prince George's County General Plan,approved by the County Council in October 2002, provides long-range guidance for the future growth of the county. It identifies Centers and Corridors where intensive mixed use (residential, commercial and employment development) is to be encouraged. The plan also divides the county into three development tiers (Developed, Developing, Rural) recognizing the different development goals and needs of different parts of the county. The plan also makes recommendations for infrastructure elements: green infrastructure, transportation systems, and public facilities. The plan includes guidance for economic development, revitalization, housing, urban design and historic preservation. Future implementation efforts are outlined.
The question would seem to be: is the county following the guidelines or are we simply making decisions on the fly with the plan as eye candy for the rest of us not in the development business? Reading the General Plan for the rural Tier one wonders how we were blessed to get a Waste Transfer Station, and with in a few miles yet another, strip mall.
The Rural Tier is comprised of the eastern and southern portions of the county in the Patuxent River, Potomac River, and Mattawoman Creek watersheds. The Rural Tier is the most scenic part of the county and is characterized by fine landscapes, most of the county’s remaining farms, extensive woodlands, numerous streams, and diverse wildlife habitat. Development activity includes mining and widely dispersed, large-lot residential home sites. The preservation of the remaining environmentally sensitive features in this Tier is a priority for any future development. Transportation system policies seek to ensure the operational integrity of the road network for a development pattern that is envisioned as remaining essentially as it is today. The hiker and biker trails system in this Tier is principally recreational in purpose and design.
The vision for the Rural Tier is protection of large amounts of land for woodland, wildlife habitat, recreation and agricultural pursuits, and preservation of the rural character and vistas that now exist. Land use, environmental, transportation, and public facilities policies recommended for the Rural Tier are intended to balance the ever-increasing pressure for residential development and landowners’ equity with the desire to maintain rural environments and character. The policies address: retaining or enhancing environmentally sensitive features and agricultural resources; designing future development to retain and enhance the rural character; providing for a transportation system that helps protect open space, rural character, and environmental features and resources; and assigning minimal priority to public sector capital improvements.
The Environmental Infrastructure Element emphasizes the need to protect important environmental assets - by placing the Waste Transfer Station in the middle of the critical area - and make wise use of the county’s resources. The plan proposes the identification and protection of a green infrastructure. Green infrastructure is defined as a network for large, undisturbed land areas (hubs) connected by designated pathways for the movement of wildlife and humans (green corridors). In addition to the identification of the green infrastructure elements, this plan includes policies that are important to sustainable, liveable communities. Preserving ecological functions - by placing one more strip mall with imperivous surface parking lots -, providing for energy conservation, reducing light pollution, and encouraging construction that uses green building techniques are essential elements of sustainable communities in the twenty-first century and are addressed in this plan.
The question would seem to be: is the county following the guidelines or are we simply making decisions on the fly with the plan as eye candy for the rest of us not in the development business? Reading the General Plan for the rural Tier one wonders how we were blessed to get a Waste Transfer Station, and with in a few miles yet another, strip mall.
The Rural Tier is comprised of the eastern and southern portions of the county in the Patuxent River, Potomac River, and Mattawoman Creek watersheds. The Rural Tier is the most scenic part of the county and is characterized by fine landscapes, most of the county’s remaining farms, extensive woodlands, numerous streams, and diverse wildlife habitat. Development activity includes mining and widely dispersed, large-lot residential home sites. The preservation of the remaining environmentally sensitive features in this Tier is a priority for any future development. Transportation system policies seek to ensure the operational integrity of the road network for a development pattern that is envisioned as remaining essentially as it is today. The hiker and biker trails system in this Tier is principally recreational in purpose and design.
The vision for the Rural Tier is protection of large amounts of land for woodland, wildlife habitat, recreation and agricultural pursuits, and preservation of the rural character and vistas that now exist. Land use, environmental, transportation, and public facilities policies recommended for the Rural Tier are intended to balance the ever-increasing pressure for residential development and landowners’ equity with the desire to maintain rural environments and character. The policies address: retaining or enhancing environmentally sensitive features and agricultural resources; designing future development to retain and enhance the rural character; providing for a transportation system that helps protect open space, rural character, and environmental features and resources; and assigning minimal priority to public sector capital improvements.
The Environmental Infrastructure Element emphasizes the need to protect important environmental assets - by placing the Waste Transfer Station in the middle of the critical area - and make wise use of the county’s resources. The plan proposes the identification and protection of a green infrastructure. Green infrastructure is defined as a network for large, undisturbed land areas (hubs) connected by designated pathways for the movement of wildlife and humans (green corridors). In addition to the identification of the green infrastructure elements, this plan includes policies that are important to sustainable, liveable communities. Preserving ecological functions - by placing one more strip mall with imperivous surface parking lots -, providing for energy conservation, reducing light pollution, and encouraging construction that uses green building techniques are essential elements of sustainable communities in the twenty-first century and are addressed in this plan.
Prince George's County will consider another strip mall
In an effort to present a level playinf field and a complete understanding of the situation in the Woodland Historic area strip mall re-zoning plan just east of Upper Marlboro, I am posting a letter from Fred Tutman.
"I feel fervently that if we can overhaul some of the planned development craziness being proposed in our vicinity it might buy us some breathing room while the economy slows down a bit and the stuff in the pipeline evaporates. There are some business interests that are hell bent on infusing economic growth for themselves by floating projects for which there are no commercial tenants, or houses where there is negligible consumer demand and no capacity. It’s old school stuff. For example Columbia, MD’s current plan to put 5,500 new homes in the middle of the existing planned community in downtown Columbia (even while the developer is facing bankruptcy) is just such a cockamamie plan-- I suspect to inflate the stock value of the company involved and create the illusion of prosperity for the stockholders and politicians. When in doubt about hard times, let’s build a stadium or a housing development. Better still let’s build some Federally funded roads and that way economic growth will just drive to your doorstep! I think that sort of unsustainable nonsense will soon be deader than most of us care to admit even now, but it’s a convulsive reflex for a segment of the economy that knows no other way of doing business except to build new stuff instead if investing in existing communities and replacing old facilities. The same folks who think that traffic jams are a great business opportunity and who want to build an ICC and a second Bay Bridge too. It is basically publicly subsidized growth and I think it is gradually sun-setting through the current economic collapse and tough straits--but the business practices and the societal ethic need a bit more time to catch up with reality.
We don’t plan our “economic growth” in a vacuum. As citizens have pointed out, some holistic look at impacts makes a lot more sense than just looking at this single project and arguing that it is good for the area without some discussion of capacity, traffic, schools, the environment and so forth. So far as I know the only clear cut arguments in favor of the Faison project is the usual jive about “jobs” and shopping opportunities but some folks I suspect will make money from building it whether or not it ever actually thrives as a viable retail center or not.
To me the bottom line is that this project requires a zoning change and special consideration from the people we elected. The most obvious outcome is that it will enrich the builder and the people who want their land rezoned. If the project goes forward, neither of those parties will live here. There is no question of an entitlement or property rights at all. Nobody is entitled to get whatever zoning they might dream of on their own parcel of land without a fairly high standard of review. Otherwise let’s all rezone and move someplace else? I think we need to just keep raising the level of review and public transparency on exactly what about this specific project and this specific site warrants all the percs that the County is prepared to lavish on them. Surely there is more information available to the County than we were offered the other night by Faison reps? What are the merits to the project that they have alluded to and which the County is favorable to? Beyond that a comparable discussion of what’s in it for the community most effected by the planned project is a natural corollary. The vague nonsense about what’s good for the overall retail economy therefore must be good for Crain Highway is just plain shallow and silly and we need to keep drawing attention to the deficit of merit based arguments….. "
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patuxent Riverkeeper
18600 Queen Anne Road
Rear Barn
Upper Marlboro, MD 20774
301-249-8200
www.paxriverkeeper.org
Member, Waterkeeper Alliance
"I feel fervently that if we can overhaul some of the planned development craziness being proposed in our vicinity it might buy us some breathing room while the economy slows down a bit and the stuff in the pipeline evaporates. There are some business interests that are hell bent on infusing economic growth for themselves by floating projects for which there are no commercial tenants, or houses where there is negligible consumer demand and no capacity. It’s old school stuff. For example Columbia, MD’s current plan to put 5,500 new homes in the middle of the existing planned community in downtown Columbia (even while the developer is facing bankruptcy) is just such a cockamamie plan-- I suspect to inflate the stock value of the company involved and create the illusion of prosperity for the stockholders and politicians. When in doubt about hard times, let’s build a stadium or a housing development. Better still let’s build some Federally funded roads and that way economic growth will just drive to your doorstep! I think that sort of unsustainable nonsense will soon be deader than most of us care to admit even now, but it’s a convulsive reflex for a segment of the economy that knows no other way of doing business except to build new stuff instead if investing in existing communities and replacing old facilities. The same folks who think that traffic jams are a great business opportunity and who want to build an ICC and a second Bay Bridge too. It is basically publicly subsidized growth and I think it is gradually sun-setting through the current economic collapse and tough straits--but the business practices and the societal ethic need a bit more time to catch up with reality.
We don’t plan our “economic growth” in a vacuum. As citizens have pointed out, some holistic look at impacts makes a lot more sense than just looking at this single project and arguing that it is good for the area without some discussion of capacity, traffic, schools, the environment and so forth. So far as I know the only clear cut arguments in favor of the Faison project is the usual jive about “jobs” and shopping opportunities but some folks I suspect will make money from building it whether or not it ever actually thrives as a viable retail center or not.
To me the bottom line is that this project requires a zoning change and special consideration from the people we elected. The most obvious outcome is that it will enrich the builder and the people who want their land rezoned. If the project goes forward, neither of those parties will live here. There is no question of an entitlement or property rights at all. Nobody is entitled to get whatever zoning they might dream of on their own parcel of land without a fairly high standard of review. Otherwise let’s all rezone and move someplace else? I think we need to just keep raising the level of review and public transparency on exactly what about this specific project and this specific site warrants all the percs that the County is prepared to lavish on them. Surely there is more information available to the County than we were offered the other night by Faison reps? What are the merits to the project that they have alluded to and which the County is favorable to? Beyond that a comparable discussion of what’s in it for the community most effected by the planned project is a natural corollary. The vague nonsense about what’s good for the overall retail economy therefore must be good for Crain Highway is just plain shallow and silly and we need to keep drawing attention to the deficit of merit based arguments….. "
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patuxent Riverkeeper
18600 Queen Anne Road
Rear Barn
Upper Marlboro, MD 20774
301-249-8200
www.paxriverkeeper.org
Member, Waterkeeper Alliance
Historic Sites in and near Woodland Historic District -Crain Corner
0.15 Miles
79-063-10
National Register
Compton Bassett, Dependencies and Cemetery
0.42 Miles
79-063-11
National Register
Ashland
0.51 Miles
82B-036
Historic Site
Ashland Hay Barn
0.66 Miles
82B-001
Historic Resource
House at Hills Landing
0.78 Miles
82B-002
Historic Site
Marlboro Hunt Club
0.86 Miles
79-063-08
Historic Site
Eckenrode-Wyvill House
1.07 Miles
79-063-07
Historic Site
Bowling-Buck House (burned and lost)
1.12 Miles
79-063-50
Historic Site
Wyvill House (Linden Hill)
1.15 Miles
79-063-06
Historic Site
Bleak Hill
1.44 Miles
82B-026
Historic Resource
Archaeological Site 126, Western Branch
1.5 Miles
79-019-25
National Register
St. Marys Beneficial Society Hall
1.5 Miles
79-019-27
Historic Site
Crandell-Rothstein House
1.54 Miles
82B-003
Historic Site
Billingsley
1.58 Miles
79-019-28
National Register
Darnalls Chance/Buck House
79-063-05 across the street from the strip mall to be
National Register
Bowling Heights
1.65 Miles
79-019-61
Historic Site
Upper Marlboro Post Office
1.69 Miles
79-019-23
Historic Resource
Magruder Law Office
1.7 Miles
82B-027
Historic Resource
Archaeological Site 128, Billingsley
1.73 Miles
79-019-22
Historic Resource
Dr. William Beanes Grave
1.73 Miles
79-038
Historic Site
Pentland Hills
1.74 Miles
79-019-51
Historic Resource
Old Marlboro Elementary School
1.76 Miles
79-019-52
Historic Resource
Old Marlboro High School
1.78 Miles
79-019-16
National Register
Content
1.79 Miles
79-019-15
Historic Site
Trinity Episcopal Church and Cemetery
1.79 Miles
79-019-17
Historic Site
Trelawn
1.82 Miles
79-019-18
Historic Site
Digges-Sasscer House
1.83 Miles
79-019-64
Historic Resource
Crain Highway Monument
1.83 Miles
79-004
National Register
Mount Pleasant and Cemetery
1.84 Miles
79-019-14
Historic Site
Church Street House/Talbott House
1.87 Miles
79-019-02
Historic Site
Jarboe-Bowie House
1.88 Miles
79-019-01
Historic Site
Turner House, Thomas J.
1.9 Miles
79-019-20
Historic Site
Union (Memorial) Methodist Church
1.91 Miles
79-019-13
National Register
Kingston and Cemetery
2 Miles
82A-035
Historic Site
Chews Bridge
2.1 Miles
82A-034
Historic Site
Ellerslie
79-063-10
National Register
Compton Bassett, Dependencies and Cemetery
0.42 Miles
79-063-11
National Register
Ashland
0.51 Miles
82B-036
Historic Site
Ashland Hay Barn
0.66 Miles
82B-001
Historic Resource
House at Hills Landing
0.78 Miles
82B-002
Historic Site
Marlboro Hunt Club
0.86 Miles
79-063-08
Historic Site
Eckenrode-Wyvill House
1.07 Miles
79-063-07
Historic Site
Bowling-Buck House (burned and lost)
1.12 Miles
79-063-50
Historic Site
Wyvill House (Linden Hill)
1.15 Miles
79-063-06
Historic Site
Bleak Hill
1.44 Miles
82B-026
Historic Resource
Archaeological Site 126, Western Branch
1.5 Miles
79-019-25
National Register
St. Marys Beneficial Society Hall
1.5 Miles
79-019-27
Historic Site
Crandell-Rothstein House
1.54 Miles
82B-003
Historic Site
Billingsley
1.58 Miles
79-019-28
National Register
Darnalls Chance/Buck House
79-063-05 across the street from the strip mall to be
National Register
Bowling Heights
1.65 Miles
79-019-61
Historic Site
Upper Marlboro Post Office
1.69 Miles
79-019-23
Historic Resource
Magruder Law Office
1.7 Miles
82B-027
Historic Resource
Archaeological Site 128, Billingsley
1.73 Miles
79-019-22
Historic Resource
Dr. William Beanes Grave
1.73 Miles
79-038
Historic Site
Pentland Hills
1.74 Miles
79-019-51
Historic Resource
Old Marlboro Elementary School
1.76 Miles
79-019-52
Historic Resource
Old Marlboro High School
1.78 Miles
79-019-16
National Register
Content
1.79 Miles
79-019-15
Historic Site
Trinity Episcopal Church and Cemetery
1.79 Miles
79-019-17
Historic Site
Trelawn
1.82 Miles
79-019-18
Historic Site
Digges-Sasscer House
1.83 Miles
79-019-64
Historic Resource
Crain Highway Monument
1.83 Miles
79-004
National Register
Mount Pleasant and Cemetery
1.84 Miles
79-019-14
Historic Site
Church Street House/Talbott House
1.87 Miles
79-019-02
Historic Site
Jarboe-Bowie House
1.88 Miles
79-019-01
Historic Site
Turner House, Thomas J.
1.9 Miles
79-019-20
Historic Site
Union (Memorial) Methodist Church
1.91 Miles
79-019-13
National Register
Kingston and Cemetery
2 Miles
82A-035
Historic Site
Chews Bridge
2.1 Miles
82A-034
Historic Site
Ellerslie
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Prince George's County Considers the Destruction of History
From the Historic District National Historic Register Nomination PG79-63 June 1990
The proposed commercial zoning and eventual construction between US 301 and Old Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro will permanently destroy a potential national treasure in Prince George's County. We cannot go back and save the land once we destroy its character. A people who do not have a history worth remembering, do not have a future worth saving. We are defined by our current problems and our common past.
The Woodland Historic District includes land on both sides of Old Crain Highway and Marlboro Pike, for a length of approximately two and one half miles between Bowling Heights on the North and the Patuxent River at Hills’ Landing on the south. This is the national nomination which will be destroyed if the politicians of Prince George’s County ignore the rural tier plan for development in the rural tier. Buildings on the over 1300 acres of the national register nomination district range from 1780 to the present, including one federal style brick plantation house (1780), a Greek revival style frame plantation house (1852), an Italianate farm dwelling (1867), a Gothic mansion (1870), Queen Anne style houses and many houses from the early to mid 20th century. The area consists of rolling farm land, woods and cultivated fields, with streams which are tributaries to the nearby Patuxent Rover. The road itself is one of the oldest roads in Prince George’s County.
Virtually all of this land was at the end of the 18th century the possession of Clement Hill. Four of the important architectural buildings in the district were built for members of the Hill family. In addition to the houses built by the local carpenter John Wyvll for the Hill families, there were buildings constructed for members of the Wyvill family. Also in the district are two dwelling build by freed-men after the Civil War. At the time of the survey, there were 88 sites and building in the proposed district.
There is ample oral history not yet recorded of the African Americans who lived, build and died in this area; if we pave it over and do not hear their stories, we will have nothing left to remind us of their hardships and tribulations which built this county. We will have a few houses with no memory of the unwilling partnership that shaped this county; we shall have history without context.
The proposed commercial zoning and eventual construction between US 301 and Old Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro will permanently destroy a potential national treasure in Prince George's County. We cannot go back and save the land once we destroy its character. A people who do not have a history worth remembering, do not have a future worth saving. We are defined by our current problems and our common past.
The Woodland Historic District includes land on both sides of Old Crain Highway and Marlboro Pike, for a length of approximately two and one half miles between Bowling Heights on the North and the Patuxent River at Hills’ Landing on the south. This is the national nomination which will be destroyed if the politicians of Prince George’s County ignore the rural tier plan for development in the rural tier. Buildings on the over 1300 acres of the national register nomination district range from 1780 to the present, including one federal style brick plantation house (1780), a Greek revival style frame plantation house (1852), an Italianate farm dwelling (1867), a Gothic mansion (1870), Queen Anne style houses and many houses from the early to mid 20th century. The area consists of rolling farm land, woods and cultivated fields, with streams which are tributaries to the nearby Patuxent Rover. The road itself is one of the oldest roads in Prince George’s County.
Virtually all of this land was at the end of the 18th century the possession of Clement Hill. Four of the important architectural buildings in the district were built for members of the Hill family. In addition to the houses built by the local carpenter John Wyvll for the Hill families, there were buildings constructed for members of the Wyvill family. Also in the district are two dwelling build by freed-men after the Civil War. At the time of the survey, there were 88 sites and building in the proposed district.
There is ample oral history not yet recorded of the African Americans who lived, build and died in this area; if we pave it over and do not hear their stories, we will have nothing left to remind us of their hardships and tribulations which built this county. We will have a few houses with no memory of the unwilling partnership that shaped this county; we shall have history without context.
Developing Prince George's; a letter to the Council
Ms. Redis Floyd
Clerk of the Council for
Prince George’s County, MD
CAB
Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772 18 February 2009
Re: OPPOSITION to Zoning Change for Meyers Property/Subregion 6 SMA
Dear Ms. Floyd,
I submit this letter in OPPOSITION to the proposed zoning change from R-A to C-S-C within the sub region 6 sectional map amendment for the 43 acre Meyers property. I request that the original zoning be retained. The current residential 2 acre development is in keeping with the rural nature of the greater context in which this parcel is located.
The context of the property falls with in a National Register Historic District (PG79-63) eligibility nomination area as defined in a survey and study produced by M-NCPP in June of 1990. The complete disregard for both the rural tier designation as well as the destruction of a national historic registry area is beyond comprehension except to add yet one more strip mall to eventually connect with endless strip malls of Charles County. Prince George’s will not be enhanced by this commercialization but rather made poorer by the loss of ecosystem services which once gone are irreplaceable.
The “Woodland” historic district within which this property falls is a last chance in Upper Marlboro to have both open space and historic memory of those events in the past that provided the foundation for our future. A community with no past has no definition and no future, but is rather loose upon the whims of the moment adrift without connection to those fundamental concepts and efforts which define quality of life.
The proposed Woodland Historic District (PG79-63) includes land on both sides of Old Crain Highway and Marlboro Pike extending for approximately 2.5 miles including Old Crain Highway a designated historic highway which will be completely subsumed and destroyed by this project. Homes range from ca. 1780 to the present in a text book presentation of the complete history of this county. Included but not limited to are architectural styles ranging from a Federal style plantation house to Greek revival plantation home, to Gothic and Queen Anne style buildings right up to the present vernacular. All told there are approximately 80 plus historic buildings in this 2 mile stretch of uniqueness that will be negatively impacted and forever altered by the proposed strip mall. In addition the probability of slave quarters and graves not yet located are by necessity within the historic district waiting to be studied and recognized and added to our common past.
If the proposed destruction of history is not enough, the concept of the rural tier and the protection of the Patuxent as well as the ecosystem services which we all take for granted and assume are free, must stop before it is too late. The decision to have a rural tier was a wise decision and arbitrary encroachment does a disservice to the idea of countywide planning. Ecosystem services range from informing such as the historic nature discussed above to regulation and supporting services such as erosion control into the Patuxent, storm water management, carbon cycle management, climate change, clean air and clean water management and processes. Open space and the plants found on the open spaces provide these services for free. But once lost they cannot be replaced as noted so long ago in Aldo Leopold’s seminal warning to those who think in short horizons of even shorter gain.
I am well aware as a property owner the immediate return on investment that the first exception will get. I am equally aware that if this goes through I will be compelled to work to aggregate my property with my neighbors and begin seeking equal remedy through rezoning asking for equal consideration of rezoning as my residence will ultimately be untenable facing the rear of a shopping mall and that then the best use of my land would perhaps be a professional office park. The snowball effect will destroy the unique character of this land and the natural area it supports. The idea that one of us should prosper and the others then be denied an equal opportunity to rezone violates all sense of fairness and equality. I am prepared for residential development as I am prepared to seek rezoning for commercialization of my property should this proposal goes through. Once the train leaves the station it is unreasonable to expect some of us to loose property value opportunity when another neighbor has been granted such an exception, so it becomes a matter of all or none.
I note further that property exists along Route 301 currently which could be used for enhanced commercial siting and that the need for yet another strip mall does not on the face of it offer a compelling need except for the benefit of the current property owner. The additional traffic which because of the wonderfully thought out idea of a centralized trash collection station would make Old Crain Highway a major alternative use road, and the strip mall would simply add to the impossibility of safely driving through the community. In the end this project will benefit the current owner and the developer leaving the rest of us with long term negative impacts to deal with. There is no way of saving what we have and allowing this concept to go forward, so the question is the public good and public value versus short term short sighted market choices.
In closing I am opposed to this project which is in violation of the spirit of the master plan and of the county plans for a new Prince George’s. I am asking respectfully to keep the present zoning, to preserve the historic nature, to honor your own plans, and to enhance our already diminishing ecosystem infrastructure. Do not continue to enable short term exceptions to the planning process but support fully your vision of a common good for every citizen on equal footing.
Respectfully,
John Peter Thompson
4400 Old Crain Highway
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
301 952 1933
Clerk of the Council for
Prince George’s County, MD
CAB
Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772 18 February 2009
Re: OPPOSITION to Zoning Change for Meyers Property/Subregion 6 SMA
Dear Ms. Floyd,
I submit this letter in OPPOSITION to the proposed zoning change from R-A to C-S-C within the sub region 6 sectional map amendment for the 43 acre Meyers property. I request that the original zoning be retained. The current residential 2 acre development is in keeping with the rural nature of the greater context in which this parcel is located.
The context of the property falls with in a National Register Historic District (PG79-63) eligibility nomination area as defined in a survey and study produced by M-NCPP in June of 1990. The complete disregard for both the rural tier designation as well as the destruction of a national historic registry area is beyond comprehension except to add yet one more strip mall to eventually connect with endless strip malls of Charles County. Prince George’s will not be enhanced by this commercialization but rather made poorer by the loss of ecosystem services which once gone are irreplaceable.
The “Woodland” historic district within which this property falls is a last chance in Upper Marlboro to have both open space and historic memory of those events in the past that provided the foundation for our future. A community with no past has no definition and no future, but is rather loose upon the whims of the moment adrift without connection to those fundamental concepts and efforts which define quality of life.
The proposed Woodland Historic District (PG79-63) includes land on both sides of Old Crain Highway and Marlboro Pike extending for approximately 2.5 miles including Old Crain Highway a designated historic highway which will be completely subsumed and destroyed by this project. Homes range from ca. 1780 to the present in a text book presentation of the complete history of this county. Included but not limited to are architectural styles ranging from a Federal style plantation house to Greek revival plantation home, to Gothic and Queen Anne style buildings right up to the present vernacular. All told there are approximately 80 plus historic buildings in this 2 mile stretch of uniqueness that will be negatively impacted and forever altered by the proposed strip mall. In addition the probability of slave quarters and graves not yet located are by necessity within the historic district waiting to be studied and recognized and added to our common past.
If the proposed destruction of history is not enough, the concept of the rural tier and the protection of the Patuxent as well as the ecosystem services which we all take for granted and assume are free, must stop before it is too late. The decision to have a rural tier was a wise decision and arbitrary encroachment does a disservice to the idea of countywide planning. Ecosystem services range from informing such as the historic nature discussed above to regulation and supporting services such as erosion control into the Patuxent, storm water management, carbon cycle management, climate change, clean air and clean water management and processes. Open space and the plants found on the open spaces provide these services for free. But once lost they cannot be replaced as noted so long ago in Aldo Leopold’s seminal warning to those who think in short horizons of even shorter gain.
I am well aware as a property owner the immediate return on investment that the first exception will get. I am equally aware that if this goes through I will be compelled to work to aggregate my property with my neighbors and begin seeking equal remedy through rezoning asking for equal consideration of rezoning as my residence will ultimately be untenable facing the rear of a shopping mall and that then the best use of my land would perhaps be a professional office park. The snowball effect will destroy the unique character of this land and the natural area it supports. The idea that one of us should prosper and the others then be denied an equal opportunity to rezone violates all sense of fairness and equality. I am prepared for residential development as I am prepared to seek rezoning for commercialization of my property should this proposal goes through. Once the train leaves the station it is unreasonable to expect some of us to loose property value opportunity when another neighbor has been granted such an exception, so it becomes a matter of all or none.
I note further that property exists along Route 301 currently which could be used for enhanced commercial siting and that the need for yet another strip mall does not on the face of it offer a compelling need except for the benefit of the current property owner. The additional traffic which because of the wonderfully thought out idea of a centralized trash collection station would make Old Crain Highway a major alternative use road, and the strip mall would simply add to the impossibility of safely driving through the community. In the end this project will benefit the current owner and the developer leaving the rest of us with long term negative impacts to deal with. There is no way of saving what we have and allowing this concept to go forward, so the question is the public good and public value versus short term short sighted market choices.
In closing I am opposed to this project which is in violation of the spirit of the master plan and of the county plans for a new Prince George’s. I am asking respectfully to keep the present zoning, to preserve the historic nature, to honor your own plans, and to enhance our already diminishing ecosystem infrastructure. Do not continue to enable short term exceptions to the planning process but support fully your vision of a common good for every citizen on equal footing.
Respectfully,
John Peter Thompson
4400 Old Crain Highway
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
301 952 1933
The Sucker's Bet; Destruction of the Prince George's Rural Tier
Does undeveloped land provide value? This is taken from a presentation that I give around the United States but not here in this county http://www.ipetrus.blogspot.com/. While others are trying to preserve or save or get back what we have, we blithely pave it over copying the mistakes of other people from other times thinking we have arrived. This thinking is like the person who rolls the dice at a craps table making the same bet as the previous earlier winning bet one roll later, a cousin of the sucker's bet.
"The services and value provided by undeveloped land and waters that people enjoy from healthy ecosystems are the unobtrusive foundation of daily life. Yet people often underestimate or simply ignore the values from these "ecosystem services" when making land-use decisions— only to realize later how difficult, expensive, and sometimes impossible it is to replicate services once they are lost. Vegetation and soil help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere by capturing and storing it for use in producing roots, leaves and bark. Use of vegetation, shade structures, and other techniques to cool the air can reduce costs associated with urban heat islands. Vegetation provides cooling through shading and evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration alone can reduce peak summer temperatures by 2 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Around the country, polluted and contaminated stormwater runoff accounts for 70 percent of water pollution in urban areas and is the leading cause of poor water quality and the degradation of aquatic habitat.7 According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Wadable Streams Assessment (WSA) in 2006, 42 percent of U.S. stream miles are in poor condition compared to the best available reference sites in their ecological regions. The WSA found that the most widespread stressors across the country are nitrogen, phosphorus, excess sedimentation, and riparian disturbance(i.e., evidence of human disturbance in or alongside streams). When development results in an overall reduction in tree canopy cover, buildings are more exposed to both direct sunlight and wind. This exposure increases the demand for air conditioning in the summer and for heating in the winter." Copyright 2008, Sustainable Sites Initiative http://www.sustainablesites.org/ from my work on the technical subcommittee see also http://www.ipetrus.blogspot.com/
Exactly what kind of high end retail will want to be near the county trash station?
"The services and value provided by undeveloped land and waters that people enjoy from healthy ecosystems are the unobtrusive foundation of daily life. Yet people often underestimate or simply ignore the values from these "ecosystem services" when making land-use decisions— only to realize later how difficult, expensive, and sometimes impossible it is to replicate services once they are lost. Vegetation and soil help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere by capturing and storing it for use in producing roots, leaves and bark. Use of vegetation, shade structures, and other techniques to cool the air can reduce costs associated with urban heat islands. Vegetation provides cooling through shading and evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration alone can reduce peak summer temperatures by 2 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Around the country, polluted and contaminated stormwater runoff accounts for 70 percent of water pollution in urban areas and is the leading cause of poor water quality and the degradation of aquatic habitat.7 According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Wadable Streams Assessment (WSA) in 2006, 42 percent of U.S. stream miles are in poor condition compared to the best available reference sites in their ecological regions. The WSA found that the most widespread stressors across the country are nitrogen, phosphorus, excess sedimentation, and riparian disturbance(i.e., evidence of human disturbance in or alongside streams). When development results in an overall reduction in tree canopy cover, buildings are more exposed to both direct sunlight and wind. This exposure increases the demand for air conditioning in the summer and for heating in the winter." Copyright 2008, Sustainable Sites Initiative http://www.sustainablesites.org/ from my work on the technical subcommittee see also http://www.ipetrus.blogspot.com/
Exactly what kind of high end retail will want to be near the county trash station?
Friday, September 19, 2008
Endangered Species of the Western Branch of the Patuxent River
Prince George's County has decided that placing a waste transfer station at or near a "stronghold watershed" is a strong statement of county stewardship and a clear signal of the county's long term commitment to the environment. The clear unique properties of the site and the surrounding land and water is ignored as the the one of a kind site is proposed for intensive industrial use. This is the county's idea of protecting the environment. No matter the significant endangered species, Prince George's County has decided that there would be no impact.
"Nearly every person in Maryland lives within one mile of a headwater stream. Successful protection and restoration of Maryland's rivers and the Chesapeake Bay require protection and restoration of the thousands of miles of headwater streams that drain our mountains and upland areas. A "stronghold watershed", the Western Branch, a tributary to the Patuxent River, is one of a few unique watersheds in the State with special ecological landmarks. "Stronghold watersheds" are like no other places in Maryland because of the species that live within the watershed. Three state-endangered fish species, including the stripeback darter (which lives no where else in the State) live in the Western Branch. The Western Branch watershed ranked 8 th out of 84 watersheds in Maryland for its unique contribution to Maryland's biodiversity. With the help of more than 700 stream waders, the Maryland Biological Stream Survey monitors the health of more than 10,000 miles of streams to provide critical information needed to protect and restore our aquatic resources, including the Chesapeake Bay. For more information visit http://%3ca//streams/mbss>http://www.dnr.maryland.gov//streams/mbss. "
In addition, the county blithely tells its residents that there is adequate protection for building on or near wetlands and that there is no need to be concerned about polluting the Patuxent river. The facts of the current inappropriate use are quickly swept away as is the current trash and debris.
"http://www.jugbay.org/jugbay/JB_Summer-08_view.pdf
"First we felt the effect of last summer’s severe drought, followed bybelow-average rainfall throughout the winter and spring. Low groundwater levels affected trees and other plants, as well as the hydrology of ponds, vernal pools, and river flow.Then, in early May, nearly 10 inches of rain fell in five days.The resulting Patuxent River flood was reminiscent of Tropical Storm Isabel: water levels rose eight feet upstream near Bowie, and 16 feet in Western Branch. At the Sanctuary, the Railroad Bed Trail and River Pier were under water. The swiftly moving, sediment-laden water reached a volume of 25,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) in Western Branch, overwhelming the Western Branch wastewater treatment plant. The plant’s 30-million-gallon per day capacity was flooded by 80 million gallons on May 9 when only 20% of the rainfall had occurred. In the end, 16 million gallons of sewage flowed into river—a result of Combined Sewer Overflows. These are common conduits that carry both sewage and stormwater.When heavy storms occur, the pipes containing sewage flood and bypass the wastewater treatment facility.The result: raw sewage in Western Branch and the river. After the storm, we witnessed logs from hundred-year-old trees sailing swiftly down the river, like canoes with no passengers. An entire floating dock with pontoons washed up against the Sanctuary’s small pier by the boardwalk. And a pile of debris a half an acre wide and five feet deep, dotted with plastic bottles and a variety of snakes escaping the rapid waters, was shoved up against the river pier. At last, the vernal pools filled to maximum capacity. (See Spadefoots Toads, p. 5) "
"Nearly every person in Maryland lives within one mile of a headwater stream. Successful protection and restoration of Maryland's rivers and the Chesapeake Bay require protection and restoration of the thousands of miles of headwater streams that drain our mountains and upland areas. A "stronghold watershed", the Western Branch, a tributary to the Patuxent River, is one of a few unique watersheds in the State with special ecological landmarks. "Stronghold watersheds" are like no other places in Maryland because of the species that live within the watershed. Three state-endangered fish species, including the stripeback darter (which lives no where else in the State) live in the Western Branch. The Western Branch watershed ranked 8 th out of 84 watersheds in Maryland for its unique contribution to Maryland's biodiversity. With the help of more than 700 stream waders, the Maryland Biological Stream Survey monitors the health of more than 10,000 miles of streams to provide critical information needed to protect and restore our aquatic resources, including the Chesapeake Bay. For more information visit http://%3ca//streams/mbss>http://www.dnr.maryland.gov//streams/mbss. "
In addition, the county blithely tells its residents that there is adequate protection for building on or near wetlands and that there is no need to be concerned about polluting the Patuxent river. The facts of the current inappropriate use are quickly swept away as is the current trash and debris.
"http://www.jugbay.org/jugbay/JB_Summer-08_view.pdf
"First we felt the effect of last summer’s severe drought, followed bybelow-average rainfall throughout the winter and spring. Low groundwater levels affected trees and other plants, as well as the hydrology of ponds, vernal pools, and river flow.Then, in early May, nearly 10 inches of rain fell in five days.The resulting Patuxent River flood was reminiscent of Tropical Storm Isabel: water levels rose eight feet upstream near Bowie, and 16 feet in Western Branch. At the Sanctuary, the Railroad Bed Trail and River Pier were under water. The swiftly moving, sediment-laden water reached a volume of 25,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) in Western Branch, overwhelming the Western Branch wastewater treatment plant. The plant’s 30-million-gallon per day capacity was flooded by 80 million gallons on May 9 when only 20% of the rainfall had occurred. In the end, 16 million gallons of sewage flowed into river—a result of Combined Sewer Overflows. These are common conduits that carry both sewage and stormwater.When heavy storms occur, the pipes containing sewage flood and bypass the wastewater treatment facility.The result: raw sewage in Western Branch and the river. After the storm, we witnessed logs from hundred-year-old trees sailing swiftly down the river, like canoes with no passengers. An entire floating dock with pontoons washed up against the Sanctuary’s small pier by the boardwalk. And a pile of debris a half an acre wide and five feet deep, dotted with plastic bottles and a variety of snakes escaping the rapid waters, was shoved up against the river pier. At last, the vernal pools filled to maximum capacity. (See Spadefoots Toads, p. 5) "
Upper Marlboro development to feature a hotel with trash site over look
The leaders of Prince George's County, Maryland have decided that the county seat should feature a waste transfer station located on a multi-layer environmentally sensitive site. Even more improbably, they have suggest at the same time that Upper Marlboro should have a hotel located across the street to house the droves of people who would want to come to the county seat for government business and personal pleasure. The very idea that we will be marketing views of a waste transfer station boggles the mind. "Come to the County seat of the New Prince George's and view our trash" is perhaps one of the many concepts which are being consider at a pay grade above mine.
While one might understand coming to the historic town to visit blue heron rookeries or to walk the green way trails, or to paddle along the scenic Patuxent river, it is rather harder to imagine why anyone would desire to rent a room in a hotel across the street from the transfer facility watching the trash truck rumble in and out and recording the rail road cars of trash leaving the site. Of course the hotel is simply part of the planning process and will quietly disappear from consideration as will any reason to visit or develop this part of the county, which is perhaps the ultimate goal. The motivation of the day seems to be, "let us take somewhat undeveloped land and trash it, so that it might match the other already environmentally degraded parts of the county which our unbridled tendency to concrete over with storage units and parking lots without consideration of neighborhoods or the environment." Why should we have environmentally significant parcels of land when we can pave them over?
While one might understand coming to the historic town to visit blue heron rookeries or to walk the green way trails, or to paddle along the scenic Patuxent river, it is rather harder to imagine why anyone would desire to rent a room in a hotel across the street from the transfer facility watching the trash truck rumble in and out and recording the rail road cars of trash leaving the site. Of course the hotel is simply part of the planning process and will quietly disappear from consideration as will any reason to visit or develop this part of the county, which is perhaps the ultimate goal. The motivation of the day seems to be, "let us take somewhat undeveloped land and trash it, so that it might match the other already environmentally degraded parts of the county which our unbridled tendency to concrete over with storage units and parking lots without consideration of neighborhoods or the environment." Why should we have environmentally significant parcels of land when we can pave them over?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Prince George's County proudly decides:A waste transfer station in the county seat
Waste Transfer Stations: A Manual for Decision-Making
It is so much easier copying from some one in the know than trying to make an argument from scratch. Upper Marlboro’s new development center piece will bring the “… economies of scale that can significantly reduce capital and operational costs. “ In addition, as we plan the future of the county seat , this new, wonderful addition to our neighborhood and political center of power, we shall inevitably ‘…tend to concentrate impacts to a single area, which can create the perception of inequity, especially when one neighborhood is shouldering the burden for the entire city. A single facility can result in longer travel times, which leads to increased down time for the collection crew and increased wear and tear on collection vehicles. Another consideration is that a single facility cannot divert waste to a backup facility if a need arises.”
The EPA manual goes on to note that “ In general, it is best to avoid siting in these areas. Exclusionary criteria might include areas such as:"
• "Wetlands and floodplains." Our politicians have chosen to ignore this point.
• "Endangered and protected flora and fauna habitats. " It may be that the area is not home to endangered species, but if there is a place with some this would be one. One way or another we shall find out in the state permitting process.
• "Protected sites of historical, archeological, or cultural significance." History continues to be none issue or at best a nuisance in this county; just recall that we tried this once before and no one seems to recall the obvious odors of remembrances past. And the historic structure of Billingsley is obviously meaningless to our leaders.
• "Prime agricultural land." Well they win on this point because only the poorest farmers would have plowed and planted in a flood plain and marsh.
• "Parks and preserves." Of course we just spent millions to by lands which are part of our park system; this fact conveniently over-looked, and any thoughts for the protection of the Patuxent are conveniently forgotten by our environmental stewards on the county council
It is so much easier copying from some one in the know than trying to make an argument from scratch. Upper Marlboro’s new development center piece will bring the “… economies of scale that can significantly reduce capital and operational costs. “ In addition, as we plan the future of the county seat , this new, wonderful addition to our neighborhood and political center of power, we shall inevitably ‘…tend to concentrate impacts to a single area, which can create the perception of inequity, especially when one neighborhood is shouldering the burden for the entire city. A single facility can result in longer travel times, which leads to increased down time for the collection crew and increased wear and tear on collection vehicles. Another consideration is that a single facility cannot divert waste to a backup facility if a need arises.”
The EPA manual goes on to note that “ In general, it is best to avoid siting in these areas. Exclusionary criteria might include areas such as:"
• "Wetlands and floodplains." Our politicians have chosen to ignore this point.
• "Endangered and protected flora and fauna habitats. " It may be that the area is not home to endangered species, but if there is a place with some this would be one. One way or another we shall find out in the state permitting process.
• "Protected sites of historical, archeological, or cultural significance." History continues to be none issue or at best a nuisance in this county; just recall that we tried this once before and no one seems to recall the obvious odors of remembrances past. And the historic structure of Billingsley is obviously meaningless to our leaders.
• "Prime agricultural land." Well they win on this point because only the poorest farmers would have plowed and planted in a flood plain and marsh.
• "Parks and preserves." Of course we just spent millions to by lands which are part of our park system; this fact conveniently over-looked, and any thoughts for the protection of the Patuxent are conveniently forgotten by our environmental stewards on the county council
Waste transfer station on the Patuxent River
As Prince George's County decides to place a county -wide transfer station one mile from a major waterway of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay, I wonder how the decision squares with the "green" ideas of some of the county's leaders.
From the US EPA we get some of the ideas of problems the site will bring to the environment and ecosystem of the Patuxent river:
1. Avoid dispersing pollutants into the public air, including diesel fuel particulates, carbon monoxide, other gases, airborne microbes, dusts, etc. Naturally the county claims there will be non of this because we will use a mysterious technology to control air pollutants
2. Avoid discharging pollutants into the public sewers We are told that we will be using the county sewer treatment facility and system
3. Avoid creating breeding sites in discharge sewers for bacteria immune to current medicines We can hardly wait to see the details
4. Avoid collecting any hazardous waste in the waste stream at a transfer station. We are going to look into every bag that comes on site; a sure thing
5. Protect the transfer station neighbors from explosions and fires in the waste at the transfer stations. Wow bet they forgot to tell us about this possibility!
6. Avoid spills of hydraulic fluid, fuel and other liquids from trucks and machinery at transfer stations. Of course we are right next to the Patuxent River so who would notice?
7. Contain and collect such spills. Excellent idea. let's do this next to a floodplain to show our collective environmentally sound advanced cutting edged thinking
8. Assure that the transfer station has adequate space to do all of the necessary supporting work needed now and in the future to handle the trucks' parking, maneuvering, fueling, weighing, cleaning, repair, storage as well as all of the other activities at the transfer station.
9. Detecting and immediately controlling nuisances associated with the transfer station. Really?
Given all of these considerations building this next to wetlands and parkland in the low lying ground of a major river way on a site prone to air inversions is our county's environmentally savvy political leadership's idea of green thinking
From the US EPA we get some of the ideas of problems the site will bring to the environment and ecosystem of the Patuxent river:
1. Avoid dispersing pollutants into the public air, including diesel fuel particulates, carbon monoxide, other gases, airborne microbes, dusts, etc. Naturally the county claims there will be non of this because we will use a mysterious technology to control air pollutants
2. Avoid discharging pollutants into the public sewers We are told that we will be using the county sewer treatment facility and system
3. Avoid creating breeding sites in discharge sewers for bacteria immune to current medicines We can hardly wait to see the details
4. Avoid collecting any hazardous waste in the waste stream at a transfer station. We are going to look into every bag that comes on site; a sure thing
5. Protect the transfer station neighbors from explosions and fires in the waste at the transfer stations. Wow bet they forgot to tell us about this possibility!
6. Avoid spills of hydraulic fluid, fuel and other liquids from trucks and machinery at transfer stations. Of course we are right next to the Patuxent River so who would notice?
7. Contain and collect such spills. Excellent idea. let's do this next to a floodplain to show our collective environmentally sound advanced cutting edged thinking
8. Assure that the transfer station has adequate space to do all of the necessary supporting work needed now and in the future to handle the trucks' parking, maneuvering, fueling, weighing, cleaning, repair, storage as well as all of the other activities at the transfer station.
9. Detecting and immediately controlling nuisances associated with the transfer station. Really?
Given all of these considerations building this next to wetlands and parkland in the low lying ground of a major river way on a site prone to air inversions is our county's environmentally savvy political leadership's idea of green thinking
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Upper Marlboro's New Development Center Piece
The County of Prince George’s will by act of its Council today choose to place a waste transfer station one mile from the Patuxent River. Because the current landfill site is due to close in three years, the county is moving forward with this transfer station that will be located south east of the county seat in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. For the good of the county, all the trash will come to this site, processed and shipped out to somewhere, in theory, by rail. The short term solution at hand, the current deciders, the political class, quietly and efficiently worked a not-in-my-backyard solution, finessing a superb short term solution.
The thought that the county might actually need the free eco-system services that the wetlands provide is lost in near term expediencies. The idea we should spend tax dollars on securing parkland to enhance a major waterways ecosystem for the production of clean water is quietly ignored. And any thought of higher level eco-system services such as production and habitat services to the river are shrugged off. Given two hundred acres to play with, enough to hide the site, but not contain odors, the county deciders feel that they have been good environmental stewards.
The historic memory of Prince George’s County seems to be about 8 years, perhaps due to term limits, so thoughts of the last time the county tried to put the land to a similar disastrous use, has failed to capture the County Council’s imagination. In the 1980’s, the great decision makers placed a sludge processing site in the middle of a geological bowl prone to air inversions, and then found that no one could open windows in the County seat. Now the County politicians calmly state that the new trash will have no odors because the trash will be inside a state of the art building with odor control. Of course we in Upper Marlboro can hardily wait for this technology to be installed on each freight car that passes through the town of Upper Marlboro on their way to wherever trash goes.
No thought is given to the on going sector plan which is reviewing and updating land use in the area. Citizens who have participated in the enhancement of the community’s life through development were not told that the center piece of new development would be industrial use in and environmentally fragile area. No opportunity has been given to allow the citizens to rethink their desire to enhance the local ecology and to protect it. If the citizens of the area had known that a waste transfer station was the center piece perhaps the majority could have begun the process of joining in and rezoning their land for similar uses, and then leave the area and the county to its own devices.
The thought that the county might actually need the free eco-system services that the wetlands provide is lost in near term expediencies. The idea we should spend tax dollars on securing parkland to enhance a major waterways ecosystem for the production of clean water is quietly ignored. And any thought of higher level eco-system services such as production and habitat services to the river are shrugged off. Given two hundred acres to play with, enough to hide the site, but not contain odors, the county deciders feel that they have been good environmental stewards.
The historic memory of Prince George’s County seems to be about 8 years, perhaps due to term limits, so thoughts of the last time the county tried to put the land to a similar disastrous use, has failed to capture the County Council’s imagination. In the 1980’s, the great decision makers placed a sludge processing site in the middle of a geological bowl prone to air inversions, and then found that no one could open windows in the County seat. Now the County politicians calmly state that the new trash will have no odors because the trash will be inside a state of the art building with odor control. Of course we in Upper Marlboro can hardily wait for this technology to be installed on each freight car that passes through the town of Upper Marlboro on their way to wherever trash goes.
No thought is given to the on going sector plan which is reviewing and updating land use in the area. Citizens who have participated in the enhancement of the community’s life through development were not told that the center piece of new development would be industrial use in and environmentally fragile area. No opportunity has been given to allow the citizens to rethink their desire to enhance the local ecology and to protect it. If the citizens of the area had known that a waste transfer station was the center piece perhaps the majority could have begun the process of joining in and rezoning their land for similar uses, and then leave the area and the county to its own devices.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Scientific Jobs in Prince George's County are leaving
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center is the flagship location of the Agricultural Research Service. It is the only ARS location with research spanning all areas of food and agriculture. It is a National Laboratory in the same way that Los Alamos is, and it is here, in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Now we are faced with a continuing decline in funding over more than a decade resulting in the loss of over 200 scientific research positions. At the same time, we are clamoring to get more federal offices in Prince George’s while we let world class research and one of a kind scientific achievement slip through our fingers.
This multi-disciplinary strength allows BARC to take broad, systems-based approaches to solving problems. BARC scientists also benefit tremendously from the intellectual environment of the Baltimore-Washington corridor, which is one of the largest scientific workforces worldwide.
The nature of science has changed markedly in the past 30 years, and in all areas of science, multi-disciplinary work is needed to make progress. Science is also much more instrumentally intensive than formerly, and scientific instrumentation continues to get bigger and more costly. Larger research centers such as BARC provide a multi-disciplinary environment that is also able to leverage investments in research equipment across many areas of science, thus delivering more bang-for-the-buck.
As a result, the impact that BARC scientists have on solving problems is huge. A measure of this is that 20% of BARC’s GS-15 scientists are in the 99th percentile worldwide for having their research cited by other scientists. Another indication of high impact on both science and solving problems for agriculture is that BARC scientists are promoted about 30% faster than the average for scientists in the rest of the agency, in an anonymous peer-review system where promotion is based primarily on such impact. One BARC scientist was cited for two of the top ten achievements in plant pathology in the entire 20th century! Another is the most cited animal health scientist worldwide for the past ten years.
There is even a slight possibility of loosing a priceless scientific collection, which is used to keep our food supply safe, to another state because the funding here in Prince George’s County, in the State of Maryland is woefully inadequate, and to make things worse, the receiving state is sure that their delegation in Congress will find the needed funding. This is outrageous. We beg for clerical jobs, and hope for something better, and meanwhile we are loosing world class scientists because we do not know, and we do not act.
Now we are faced with a continuing decline in funding over more than a decade resulting in the loss of over 200 scientific research positions. At the same time, we are clamoring to get more federal offices in Prince George’s while we let world class research and one of a kind scientific achievement slip through our fingers.
This multi-disciplinary strength allows BARC to take broad, systems-based approaches to solving problems. BARC scientists also benefit tremendously from the intellectual environment of the Baltimore-Washington corridor, which is one of the largest scientific workforces worldwide.
The nature of science has changed markedly in the past 30 years, and in all areas of science, multi-disciplinary work is needed to make progress. Science is also much more instrumentally intensive than formerly, and scientific instrumentation continues to get bigger and more costly. Larger research centers such as BARC provide a multi-disciplinary environment that is also able to leverage investments in research equipment across many areas of science, thus delivering more bang-for-the-buck.
As a result, the impact that BARC scientists have on solving problems is huge. A measure of this is that 20% of BARC’s GS-15 scientists are in the 99th percentile worldwide for having their research cited by other scientists. Another indication of high impact on both science and solving problems for agriculture is that BARC scientists are promoted about 30% faster than the average for scientists in the rest of the agency, in an anonymous peer-review system where promotion is based primarily on such impact. One BARC scientist was cited for two of the top ten achievements in plant pathology in the entire 20th century! Another is the most cited animal health scientist worldwide for the past ten years.
There is even a slight possibility of loosing a priceless scientific collection, which is used to keep our food supply safe, to another state because the funding here in Prince George’s County, in the State of Maryland is woefully inadequate, and to make things worse, the receiving state is sure that their delegation in Congress will find the needed funding. This is outrageous. We beg for clerical jobs, and hope for something better, and meanwhile we are loosing world class scientists because we do not know, and we do not act.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Chief Justice Taney sits hidden in plain sight
Hidden in the bright light of our time; buried by an unwillingness to learn from history; shrouded in the refuse of the past, the statue of Chief Justice Roger Taney sits quietly in unforgiving prominence outside the State House of Maryland. Reasonable questions are being asked about the motives that led to the placement; succinct arguments are presented for the removal of the offending monument, but, the complexity of history compels the interested parties to set forth their own unique and individual solutions prior to defining the problem, and thereby, confound and confuse any potential educational dialogue. [Maryland State House, Annapolis. Roger B. Taney in front beneath the dome under trees]
For those, who by chance of birth or by intellectual abhorrence, view the memory of the racist judge as an abomination before God, any discussion about the issues of lifetime are secondary and irrelevant to the end goal of removal. For those, who might propose to enter into a discussion about slavery, and its tentacles of evil which reach even to us today, any conversation is attacked as a support of the man’s dreadful legal contortion. In the light of history, we judge him, by standards we currently hold and without listening to those who knew him
The removal without discussion, and hoped for learning, simply white-washes the past. Judging Taney, a complex man, is a perilous exercise, as is judging Lincoln or Jefferson, Washington or Marshall, if we use only the emotions of the present seen through the spectacle of sixty-second history sound bites and factoids. “Taney also became involved in projects to aid American blacks. He was no abolitionist, but did believe that slavery was an unfortunate institution and should be ended someday.” Like Lincoln, “He (Taney) supported the African colonization movement for free blacks and measures to protect free blacks from unscrupulous slavers who would kidnap them for sale as slaves in the lower South, freed his own slaves, and was always kind and attentive to their interests. Yet while he agreed that slavery must be ended, he believed that it must be done slowly and solely by the actions of the individual states. He was deeply concerned all his life that the federal government would intrude and end slavery abruptly and destroy the South.”[1] [Roger B. Taney]
This idea that of slow non-federal-government abolition was in keeping with other revolutionary progressive moderate thinkers such as John Marshall, the first Chief Justice who was noted for his humane treatment as a slave master. And yet even with Marshall’s intentional avoidance of the question of slavery, it is Taney who judged but the horrendous decision of Dred Scott. Meanwhile, we conveniently forget the details of Marshall and slavery. “He (Marshall) had no trouble with slavery either. Marshall's sanguine attitude toward slavery clearly disturbs Newmyer, for Marshall devoted almost no mental energy to and found no moral fault with slavery (pp. 414-434). As Newmyer succinctly puts the case, Marshall "showed little interest in the subject" (p. 416).[8] This disinterest had consequences; for at no point did Marshall's Court show the slightest concern for the constitutional nature of slavery. When Mima Queen v. Hepburn, 11 U.S. [7 Cranch] 290 (1813), gave the Court a chance to place human rights before property rights, only Justice Gabriel Duvall (Prince George’s County) argued, "It will be universally admitted, that the right to freedom is more important than the right of property" (p. 428). Unfortunately the rest of the Court, including Chief Justice Marshall, did not hold to this universal value; for Marshall, property rights always came first. As Newmyer concludes of The Antelope, 23 U.S. [10 Wheaton] 66 (1825), "property trumped freedom again" (p. 433) [See Paul Finkelman, An Imperfect Union: Slavery, Federalism, and Comity (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1981), and Thomas D. Morris, Southern Slavery and the Law, 1619-1860 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996).][2]
The whole idea that we can properly place blame on Taney and then find convenient ways to excuse the other southern revolutionaries seems unreasonable to me. Except for John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, our whole pantheon is loaded with men at least as offensive, with our modern views, as Maryland’s Roger Taney. I suggest that obscuring and ignoring does not help heal the deep wounds and pain that we inherit from slavery, If we are to write an American history then we must address the great conundrum of the revolutionary ideals of America and its unspeakable facts. Trying to juggle the contradictions is a dynamic best served by constant conversation.
The removal without discussion, and hoped for learning, simply white-washes the past. Judging Taney, a complex man, is a perilous exercise, as is judging Lincoln or Jefferson, Washington or Marshall, if we use only the emotions of the present seen through the spectacle of sixty-second history sound bites and factoids. “Taney also became involved in projects to aid American blacks. He was no abolitionist, but did believe that slavery was an unfortunate institution and should be ended someday.” Like Lincoln, “He (Taney) supported the African colonization movement for free blacks and measures to protect free blacks from unscrupulous slavers who would kidnap them for sale as slaves in the lower South, freed his own slaves, and was always kind and attentive to their interests. Yet while he agreed that slavery must be ended, he believed that it must be done slowly and solely by the actions of the individual states. He was deeply concerned all his life that the federal government would intrude and end slavery abruptly and destroy the South.”[1] [Roger B. Taney]
This idea that of slow non-federal-government abolition was in keeping with other revolutionary progressive moderate thinkers such as John Marshall, the first Chief Justice who was noted for his humane treatment as a slave master. And yet even with Marshall’s intentional avoidance of the question of slavery, it is Taney who judged but the horrendous decision of Dred Scott. Meanwhile, we conveniently forget the details of Marshall and slavery. “He (Marshall) had no trouble with slavery either. Marshall's sanguine attitude toward slavery clearly disturbs Newmyer, for Marshall devoted almost no mental energy to and found no moral fault with slavery (pp. 414-434). As Newmyer succinctly puts the case, Marshall "showed little interest in the subject" (p. 416).[8] This disinterest had consequences; for at no point did Marshall's Court show the slightest concern for the constitutional nature of slavery. When Mima Queen v. Hepburn, 11 U.S. [7 Cranch] 290 (1813), gave the Court a chance to place human rights before property rights, only Justice Gabriel Duvall (Prince George’s County) argued, "It will be universally admitted, that the right to freedom is more important than the right of property" (p. 428). Unfortunately the rest of the Court, including Chief Justice Marshall, did not hold to this universal value; for Marshall, property rights always came first. As Newmyer concludes of The Antelope, 23 U.S. [10 Wheaton] 66 (1825), "property trumped freedom again" (p. 433) [See Paul Finkelman, An Imperfect Union: Slavery, Federalism, and Comity (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1981), and Thomas D. Morris, Southern Slavery and the Law, 1619-1860 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996).][2]
The whole idea that we can properly place blame on Taney and then find convenient ways to excuse the other southern revolutionaries seems unreasonable to me. Except for John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, our whole pantheon is loaded with men at least as offensive, with our modern views, as Maryland’s Roger Taney. I suggest that obscuring and ignoring does not help heal the deep wounds and pain that we inherit from slavery, If we are to write an American history then we must address the great conundrum of the revolutionary ideals of America and its unspeakable facts. Trying to juggle the contradictions is a dynamic best served by constant conversation.
[Ship's Bell from the Battleship USS Maryland, in front statue of Chief Justice Taney]
And it was Taney, not Marshall, who when compelled but past legal decisions found in “Rhodes v. Bell, 2 How. 397, 43 U.S. 397, 11 L.Ed. 314 (U.S.Dist.Col.,1844)(The District of Columbia being still governed by the laws of Maryland and Virginia which were in force anterior to the cession, it is not lawful for an inhabitant of Washington county to purchase a slave in Alexandria county and bring him into Washington county for sale; if he does the slave will become entitled to his freedom)”.[3]
The contrast is one of studied avoidance and an ultimately disastrous, evil decision. “In contrast, Marshall, when faced with the question, (including, among others, the mamie queen, and scott v. ben cases which Paul cites), narrowly construed, indeed essentially eliminated, legal rights to manumission which American slaves did have 1) under state antiimportation statutes, essentially reading these statutes as unreasonably hypertechnical forfeitures of the slaveowners' property interests), and 2) in the mamie queen case, interpreting federal hearsay law so narrowly as to exclude the only evidence (family oral history) that slaves generally had to prove the free status of their matrilineal ancestors. (slave status descended through the maternal line).”[4] [John Marshall] USNPS
And it was Taney, not Marshall, who when compelled but past legal decisions found in “Rhodes v. Bell, 2 How. 397, 43 U.S. 397, 11 L.Ed. 314 (U.S.Dist.Col.,1844)(The District of Columbia being still governed by the laws of Maryland and Virginia which were in force anterior to the cession, it is not lawful for an inhabitant of Washington county to purchase a slave in Alexandria county and bring him into Washington county for sale; if he does the slave will become entitled to his freedom)”.[3]
The contrast is one of studied avoidance and an ultimately disastrous, evil decision. “In contrast, Marshall, when faced with the question, (including, among others, the mamie queen, and scott v. ben cases which Paul cites), narrowly construed, indeed essentially eliminated, legal rights to manumission which American slaves did have 1) under state antiimportation statutes, essentially reading these statutes as unreasonably hypertechnical forfeitures of the slaveowners' property interests), and 2) in the mamie queen case, interpreting federal hearsay law so narrowly as to exclude the only evidence (family oral history) that slaves generally had to prove the free status of their matrilineal ancestors. (slave status descended through the maternal line).”[4] [John Marshall] USNPS
“As a contrast to Marshall's parched interpretation of legal rights to manumission, see e.g., the Taney (yes Taney) court opinion of Rhodes v. Bell, 43 US 397 (1844) in which the Taney court (opinion McLean) unanimously freed a slave, holding that manumission provisions in Virginia and Maryland antiimportation laws were applicable in the District of Columbia, narrowly construing an apparently contrary Congessional statute in the process.”[5]
[Roger Taney in front of Maryland State House]
Unlike Jefferson who never freed his slaves, and unlike Washington who waited until he and his wife were dead, or Marshall, who “…only freed one in his will, his long time personal slave. However, some have argued that the conditions on manumission were such that it was very unlikely that the gentleman would have taken advantage of the generosity. Marshall's will provided that the slave (who had been given to Marshall by his father 52 yeares earlier) would receive 100 dollars if he went to liberia and $50 if he remained in the United States, and if it was "impracticable" for him to leave that he could reside with one of Marshall's children (which I think Robin did - after all, how far are you going to get as a free elderly ex-slave on $50. (even in the 1830s))”[6] Roger B. Taney, while he was young and alive “…manumitted the slaves inherited from his father, and as long as they lived, he provided for the older ones by monthly pensions.”[7] Are we to ignore this, and condemn him while excusing others? History is rarely convenient and always painful. Truth is just beyond the next fact; choosing to limit the scope of the conversation serves no one. Using Taney as an instrument to have a true and binding discussion about slavery to create a authentic American history is a gift we can offer here in Maryland. The unwilling partnership is the story of this country; for too long we wrote only of Euro-centric facts. Today we have ethnic origin studies, an entire list of studies, but one must look hard for a combined joint story, good and bad, together as one common received American story.
Unlike Jefferson, who wrote about the enslaved population under the heading of “Animals” in his only book: Notes on the State of Virginia[8], Roger Taney could be remarkably advanced for his time. “While Taney distrusted the power of great aggregations of wealth in corporate form and believed that the state needed some authority to police such power, he also recognized the advantages to the American economy of the corporations' success and the need for the Court to protect their interests in the American economic system.”[9] As early as, Taney worked within the law which, being a two edged sword sometimes placed him on the side of right. “Invoking freedom of speech, Taney won acquittal in 1819 for a Methodist preacher whose sermon on national sins provoked the charge of trying to stir up slave rebellion”[10]
Unlike Jefferson who never freed his slaves, and unlike Washington who waited until he and his wife were dead, or Marshall, who “…only freed one in his will, his long time personal slave. However, some have argued that the conditions on manumission were such that it was very unlikely that the gentleman would have taken advantage of the generosity. Marshall's will provided that the slave (who had been given to Marshall by his father 52 yeares earlier) would receive 100 dollars if he went to liberia and $50 if he remained in the United States, and if it was "impracticable" for him to leave that he could reside with one of Marshall's children (which I think Robin did - after all, how far are you going to get as a free elderly ex-slave on $50. (even in the 1830s))”[6] Roger B. Taney, while he was young and alive “…manumitted the slaves inherited from his father, and as long as they lived, he provided for the older ones by monthly pensions.”[7] Are we to ignore this, and condemn him while excusing others? History is rarely convenient and always painful. Truth is just beyond the next fact; choosing to limit the scope of the conversation serves no one. Using Taney as an instrument to have a true and binding discussion about slavery to create a authentic American history is a gift we can offer here in Maryland. The unwilling partnership is the story of this country; for too long we wrote only of Euro-centric facts. Today we have ethnic origin studies, an entire list of studies, but one must look hard for a combined joint story, good and bad, together as one common received American story.Unlike Jefferson, who wrote about the enslaved population under the heading of “Animals” in his only book: Notes on the State of Virginia[8], Roger Taney could be remarkably advanced for his time. “While Taney distrusted the power of great aggregations of wealth in corporate form and believed that the state needed some authority to police such power, he also recognized the advantages to the American economy of the corporations' success and the need for the Court to protect their interests in the American economic system.”[9] As early as, Taney worked within the law which, being a two edged sword sometimes placed him on the side of right. “Invoking freedom of speech, Taney won acquittal in 1819 for a Methodist preacher whose sermon on national sins provoked the charge of trying to stir up slave rebellion”[10]
[Roger Taney]
The trouble and challenge when considering Taney is that he was not an original thinker, but rather looked to the fundamental understanding of stare decisis to help him render a position. In other words he tended to accept racist positions and then construe legal positions dependent on the thinking and thoughts of others who came before him continue the construction of a racist ideology.Taney rose to prominence in Maryland, by finding a radically moderate path based upon the idea that laws should change gradually and be based upon precedence. “As a result he was chosen in 1816 for a five-year term in the state Senate, where he ousted the opposing faction from control and dominated the Federalist Party during the few years in which it continued to survive. His major interest, apart from the issues of party politics, seems to have been in laws to prevent the evils due to unsound currency and bad banking, and in laws to protect the rights of negroes in the state, whether freemen or slaves.” [11]
Taney’s work for and with President Jackson was that of a defender of the “little” man against great wealth and power. “While a member of the state Senate he sponsored legislation to prevent the circulation of bank notes at less than their face value, and to prevent the deliberate depreciation of the value of the notes of rural banks for which Baltimore bankers and brokers were said to be in part responsible.”[12] Roger Taney was instrumental in breaking the power of the national bank. “When he entered the Jackson cabinet he held the conviction that if the institution was to be rechartered it must be with definite limitations on its powers. He so advised the President, and when the friends of the bank attempted at the session of Congress of 1831-32 to force the enactment of a law granting a on the other Taney, who in 1831, “reigned his office as state attorney general, which he had held since 1827, in order to accept an appointment in President Jackson's Cabinet as attorney general. Among his opinions as attorney general, two revealed his stand on slavery: one supported South Carolina's law prohibiting free Blacks from entering the state, and one argued that Blacks could not be citizens.[13] This then is the basis for Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) decision which would come later.”[14]
Today, we focus on the single defining issue of that time. “Taney did not fit a heroic mold; but his mind was acute, his pen lucid. His patience, tact, and ability were instrumental in overcoming personal and doctrinal divisions among the justices, and though the Court was frequently divided, it continued to administer the law effectively. Under Taney's leadership the Court showed more tolerance of legislative power than it had under Marshall, but it did not surrender its hard-won powers to decide.[15] [Roger Taney]
“The issue of slavery was the downfall of the Court and detracted permanently from the image of Taney's statesmanship. In Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) Taney wrote the majority opinion for a bitterly divided Court which unwisely confronted all the explosive political questions in the case. Blacks, he said in a racist vein that has since been irrevocably associated with his name, could not be a citizen of the United States because he was recognized as inherently unequal by the Constitution. Congress, moreover, could not prohibit slavery in the territories because the 5th Amendment to the Constitution protected citizens in the possession of their property, and slaves were property.”[16]
Chief Justice Taney clearly outlined the problem which we face today in trying to come to terms with the founding of this republic. “The framers of the United States Constitution believed that people of African descent “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect,” and that “the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit…. [to be] bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it.” With reference to the words “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence: “It is too clear for dispute that the enslaved African race was not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration.”[17] How then are we to judge him as the monster incarnate and then give Jefferson and Washington a pass? Roger Taney arouses the hatred of those who believe in the ideals and truths of the Declaration of Independence when he wrote: “It is difficult at this day to realize the state of public opinion in regard to that unfortunate race which prevailed in the civilized and enlightend portions of the world at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and when the Constitution of the United States was framed and adopted; but the public history of every European nation displays it in a manner too plain to be mistaken. They had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far unfit that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect."--from Taney's ruling[18]
So the issue is greater than Taney who bears the burden for not being greater than his time. “Jefferson didn't mean it when he wrote that all men are created equal," writes historian John Hope Franklin. "We've never meant it. The truth is that we're a bigoted people and always have been. We think every other country is trying to copy us now, and if they are, God help the world." He argues that, by betraying the ideals of freedom, "the Founding Fathers set the stage for every succeeding generation of Americans to apologize, compromise, and temporize on those principles."[19]
[Roger Taney; Md State House]Some would point out Taney’s contentious disagreements with Lincoln over presidential powers which echo down the ravines of history. Analogies can be dangerous, but the same people who would attack the current president and his right to wage war, would have found that Taney would have nee strongly in their camp. “Justice Robert C. Grier spoke for himself, Wayne, and Lincoln’s three appointees: The President had to meet the war as "it presented itself, without waiting for Congress to baptize it with a name"; and rebellion did not make the South a sovereign nation. Four dissenters said the conflict was the President’s "personal war" until Congress recognized the insurrection on July 13, 1861.[20]
Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis, author of the dissent on Dred Scott, held his former colleague in high esteem despite their differences in that case. Writing in his own memoirs, Curtis described Taney: “He was indeed a great magistrate, and a man of singular purity of life and character. That there should have been one mistake in a judicial career so long, so exalted, and so useful is only proof of the imperfection of our nature. The reputation of Chief Justice Taney can afford to have anything known that he ever did and still leave a great fund of honor and praise to illustrate his name. If he had never done anything else that was high, heroic, and important, his noble vindication of the writ of habeas corpus, and of the dignity and authority of his office, against a rash minister of state, who, in the pride of a fancied executive power, came near to the commission of a great crime, will command the admiration and gratitude of every lover of constitutional liberty, so long as our institutions shall endure.”[21]
Chief Justice Taney, who remained loyal to the Union, died, aged 87, in October 1864, the same day his beloved state of Maryland, 220 years and six months after legalizing slavery, abolished the peculiarly evil institution.. Lincoln’s Attorney General Edward Bates wrote that his "great error" in the Dred Scott case should not forever "tarnish his otherwise well earned fame." And not long after Taney’s death, victory for the Union brought vindication of his defiant stand for the rule of law.”[22]
[picture below is of Justice Thurgood Marshall in the mall on the otherside of the State house]
Let us then boldly speak of the complexities of men, of the good and the bad. And if the discussion moves us to direct our attention away from Roger Taney and place his monument a little closer to the dark, let us not think that we do not hear his foot steps. We can not ignore history; we can not pretend that evil did not exist, and worse we must never forget, but use the dead ends of history to enlighten our choices in the hope that we can find our way. Move the statue if you must, but not without a conversation. Think of an alternative, whereby we move Justice Taney to one side peering into a dark, dead end corner and stand Frederick Douglas looking into the light directing us to consider the differences and what might have been; a dialogue between good and bad choices.
***********************************************************************************
Notes:
Pictures taken July 19th, 2007 in Annapolis by Author
[1] "Roger Brooke Taney." DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. From Richard L. Hillard, "Roger Brooke Taney." Great Lives from History, Frank N. Magill, ed. American Series, Vol. 5. Salem Press, 1987. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2104101109)
[2] R. Kent Newmyer. John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court. Southern Biography Series. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2001. xviii + 511 pp. Illustrations, essay on sources, index, list of cases. $39.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8071-2701-8.
[3] Vernellia R. Randall ; University of Dayton School of Law
[4] Professor Yvette M. Barksdale; Associate Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School
[5] Professor Yvette M. Barksdale; Associate Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School
[6] Professor Yvette M. Barksdale; Associate Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School
[7] Roger Brooke Taney; J.P.W. McNeal. Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter.; The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV. Published 1912. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
[8] Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library; http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefVirg.html
[9] [9] "Roger Brooke Taney." DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. From Richard L. Hillard, "Roger Brooke Taney." Great Lives from History, Frank N. Magill, ed. American Series, Vol. 5. Salem Press, 1987. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.
[10] The Taney Court; The Supreme Court Historical Society
[11] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[12] Roger Brooke Taney ."Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[13] "Roger Brooke Taney." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: K1631006393)
[14] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[15] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[16] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[17] Infamous Dred Scott slavery case decision took place 150 years ago this week
kansiscitykansan.com; Thursday, March 8, 2007 BRYAN F. Le BEAU
[18] Roger B. Taney; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[19] We the Slave Owners; Dinesh D'Souza; Copyright © 2007 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
[20] The Supreme Court Historical Society
[21] Roger B. Taney; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[22] The Taney Court; The Supreme Court Historical Society
Let us then boldly speak of the complexities of men, of the good and the bad. And if the discussion moves us to direct our attention away from Roger Taney and place his monument a little closer to the dark, let us not think that we do not hear his foot steps. We can not ignore history; we can not pretend that evil did not exist, and worse we must never forget, but use the dead ends of history to enlighten our choices in the hope that we can find our way. Move the statue if you must, but not without a conversation. Think of an alternative, whereby we move Justice Taney to one side peering into a dark, dead end corner and stand Frederick Douglas looking into the light directing us to consider the differences and what might have been; a dialogue between good and bad choices.***********************************************************************************
Notes:
Pictures taken July 19th, 2007 in Annapolis by Author
[1] "Roger Brooke Taney." DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. From Richard L. Hillard, "Roger Brooke Taney." Great Lives from History, Frank N. Magill, ed. American Series, Vol. 5. Salem Press, 1987. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2104101109)
[2] R. Kent Newmyer. John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court. Southern Biography Series. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2001. xviii + 511 pp. Illustrations, essay on sources, index, list of cases. $39.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8071-2701-8.
[3] Vernellia R. Randall ; University of Dayton School of Law
[4] Professor Yvette M. Barksdale; Associate Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School
[5] Professor Yvette M. Barksdale; Associate Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School
[6] Professor Yvette M. Barksdale; Associate Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School
[7] Roger Brooke Taney; J.P.W. McNeal. Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter.; The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV. Published 1912. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
[8] Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library; http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefVirg.html
[9] [9] "Roger Brooke Taney." DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. From Richard L. Hillard, "Roger Brooke Taney." Great Lives from History, Frank N. Magill, ed. American Series, Vol. 5. Salem Press, 1987. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.
[10] The Taney Court; The Supreme Court Historical Society
[11] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[12] Roger Brooke Taney ."Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[13] "Roger Brooke Taney." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: K1631006393)
[14] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[15] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[16] Roger Brooke Taney. "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/ (Document Number: BT2310002363)
[17] Infamous Dred Scott slavery case decision took place 150 years ago this week
kansiscitykansan.com; Thursday, March 8, 2007 BRYAN F. Le BEAU
[18] Roger B. Taney; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[19] We the Slave Owners; Dinesh D'Souza; Copyright © 2007 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
[20] The Supreme Court Historical Society
[21] Roger B. Taney; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[22] The Taney Court; The Supreme Court Historical Society
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Prince George's County Ballot Questions
Five horribly bad for county government charter amendments for Prince George’s County are now on the ballot in November. These amendments B, C, F, G, and H will mandate the beginnings of a committee partnership form of government. They will reduce efficiency, create confusion, and potentially redirect resources. The bad for county government amendments will quite possibly delay the purchase of vital resources and equipment as we put politics in the place of process and procedure.
And in addition, small and minority owned business will find an added layer of decision making to navigate, increasing the costs and, therefore, the likelihood that they will not undertake the challenge of negotiating with ten power centers instead of one. Adding to the cost will ultimately leave the competitive government contract field in the hands of those with the resources to build the coalition needed to secure the contracts. The resulting reduction in businesses interested in securing contracts is bad for county government and bad for the people of the county.
Quoting from the Dr. Richard Schragger in the Yale Law Journal, “… limited capacity to make effective policy reinforces the parochialism of its leaders…”. Dr. Scragger notes that attempts to limit the power of the executive can be construed as a distrust of pure democracy. There is a feeling among some power centers, in his words, “elites”, that strong leaders and the people who placed them in power need to be constrained. Today, the county is asked to begin restricting the power of the executive, which is bad for county government.
Many businesses large and small are run as corporations. In the matter of these bad for county government amendments comes my world view. As a businessman and a member of a board of directors, I see my role analogous to that of the county council. I approve budgets, not how and when paperclips and trucks are bought and used. I expect, in this worldview, to hold accountable the CEO, but not to micromanage. In the best of all possible worlds, the CEO would seek advice and work with his or her board, but in the end he or she alone is held accountable. Of course analogies like this are broad strokes and imperfect fits, subject to counter arguments, however, it is the view of a strong manager, in charge and accountable, which molds my opinion in this matter.
Great works of literature have come from a committee at least once in English history, but this very exception proves the rule. I am looking yet for examples from history of successful rule by committee. The original Confederation of States of which Maryland, and this county were part, is a failed example, well intentioned, of what happens with a weak executive form of government. We need to have faith that the voters will choose a leader wisely, and not place restraints on him or her a priori, because we think that the voters might make a mistake.
These amendments are bad for government. They are restrictions for future leaders and council as well as the present incumbents. But whatever the differences maybe today, they major players are term-limited, I for one feel that the voters of my proud county will do the right thing both when it comes to bill bad for government or elected quality leaders for the future. I do not fear the power
And in addition, small and minority owned business will find an added layer of decision making to navigate, increasing the costs and, therefore, the likelihood that they will not undertake the challenge of negotiating with ten power centers instead of one. Adding to the cost will ultimately leave the competitive government contract field in the hands of those with the resources to build the coalition needed to secure the contracts. The resulting reduction in businesses interested in securing contracts is bad for county government and bad for the people of the county.
Quoting from the Dr. Richard Schragger in the Yale Law Journal, “… limited capacity to make effective policy reinforces the parochialism of its leaders…”. Dr. Scragger notes that attempts to limit the power of the executive can be construed as a distrust of pure democracy. There is a feeling among some power centers, in his words, “elites”, that strong leaders and the people who placed them in power need to be constrained. Today, the county is asked to begin restricting the power of the executive, which is bad for county government.
Many businesses large and small are run as corporations. In the matter of these bad for county government amendments comes my world view. As a businessman and a member of a board of directors, I see my role analogous to that of the county council. I approve budgets, not how and when paperclips and trucks are bought and used. I expect, in this worldview, to hold accountable the CEO, but not to micromanage. In the best of all possible worlds, the CEO would seek advice and work with his or her board, but in the end he or she alone is held accountable. Of course analogies like this are broad strokes and imperfect fits, subject to counter arguments, however, it is the view of a strong manager, in charge and accountable, which molds my opinion in this matter.
Great works of literature have come from a committee at least once in English history, but this very exception proves the rule. I am looking yet for examples from history of successful rule by committee. The original Confederation of States of which Maryland, and this county were part, is a failed example, well intentioned, of what happens with a weak executive form of government. We need to have faith that the voters will choose a leader wisely, and not place restraints on him or her a priori, because we think that the voters might make a mistake.
These amendments are bad for government. They are restrictions for future leaders and council as well as the present incumbents. But whatever the differences maybe today, they major players are term-limited, I for one feel that the voters of my proud county will do the right thing both when it comes to bill bad for government or elected quality leaders for the future. I do not fear the power
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)