Victory For Soldiers Delight NEA on Zoning Issue

It is with immense satisfaction and gratitude that Soldiers Delight Conservation, Inc. announces that SDCI was successful in opposing a request by a landowner to change the zoning of a 4.5-acre parcel adjacent to Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area from Rural Conservation to Business Major. It was a hard-fought battle and there are several to thank.

To summarize, a landowner intended to move a statewide towing business to the parcel, with plans to eventually expand the parcel, and the business, to ten acres. The Baltimore County Planning Commission’s staff recommended to the Planning Commission that the zoning NOT be changed, stating that business major zoning was not appropriate anywhere outside the Urban Rural Demarcation Line (URDL). Yet the Baltimore County Planning Commission inexplicably voted to approve the zone change request.

SDCI was opposed to any attempt to bypass the Urban-Rural Demarcation Line, which has governed development in the area for more than 50 years, and remains instrumental in protecting Soldiers Delight NEA. Despite what the Planning Commission approved, the Baltimore County Council had the last say, and they were scheduled to vote on this, and almost 400 other zone-change requests, at their August 27th CZMP meeting.

SDCI president Laura Van Scoyoc gives remarks at the CZMP community meeting August 27, 2024

SDCI's president, Laura Van Scoyoc, and vice president, Lynell Tobler, attended a community meeting hosted by Baltimore County District 4 Council member Julian Jones on August 20. Dozens of supporters waved signs and expressed opposition to the zone change request. Laura gave a presentation. SDCI's ardent supporter, Donna Shoemaker, whose late husband wrote several books about Soldiers Delight and was a past president of SDCI, brought a contingent of supporters to the meeting to show support for SDCI's position on the issue. Councilman Jones remarked that he had never seen such abundant and enthusiastic citizen involvement over zoning issues before.

The zone change was unanimously voted down by the Baltimore County Council at their quadrennial Comprehensive Zoning Map Process (CZMP) meeting on August 27. It was a hard-won fight and SDCI is so proud of the County Council for doing the right thing.

SDCI would like to thank the dozens of concerned community members who fought to preserve the rural zoning that protects Soldiers Delight NEA from nearby development. Special thanks go to Charlene and Jay Simonds for organizing a petition that garnered more than 1600 signatures before the County Council's vote. SDCI also would like to thank Donna Shoemaker for the long hours and hard work she and others put into the fight on behalf of this treasured habitat. This thoughtful article in the Baltimore Banner the following day mentions the issue.