Victory For Soldiers Delight NEA on Zoning Issue

It is with immense satisfaction and gratitude that Soldiers Delight Conservation, Inc. announces that SDCI was victorious this week in convincing Baltimore County District 4 Councilman Julian Jones to vote no to up-zoning a 4.5-acre parcel adjacent to SDNEA from Rural Conservation to Business Major. It was a hard-fought battle and there are several to thank.

To summarize, Rockdale Towing Company sought to move and expand their longtime towing business from a residential home on Berryman’s Lane in Owings Mills to a 4.5-acre parcel off Deer Park Road that they purchased a few years ago with the intention to get it up-zoned during Baltimore County’s quadrennial Comprehensive Zoning Map Process (CZMP). Rockdale also expressed a desire to expand the parcel to ten acres at some point in the future.

Rockdale Towing sought to cover the 4.5 acre site, which sits adjacent to a section of SDNEA at its northern edge, with impervious crushed stone or crushed asphalt, and to have its large heavy haulers and regular tow trucks tow broken-down vehicles and big rigs to the facility at all hours of the day and night, entering from a yet-to-be constructed driveway on Deer Park Road next to Peter’s Autobody Shop.

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 anyway. Despite what the Planning Commission approved, the Baltimore County Council had the last say, and they voted on this, and almost 400 other zone-change requests, at their August 27th CZMP meeting.

SDCI did not learn of the issue, which was being fought aggressively by nearby residents in the area, until a homeowner brought it to our vice president's attention on June 29, weeks after the final community meeting was held at New Town High School on June 5. Nevertheless, after discussion at SDCI's July 11 board meeting, the board voted to compose a letter to District 4 Councilmember Julian Jones expressing its opposition to the zone-change request. Board members were also encouraged to sign a petition opposing the zone change, which was composed by Jay and Charlene Simonds of Simonds Landscaping (at the corner of Deer Park Road and Berryman’s Lane) and circulated by Change.org.

On August 7, SDCI's vice president, Lynell Tobler, attended a “pop-up” meeting at the Wards Chapel Methodist Church, hosted by the Holbrook Community Association and attended by Julian Jones, during which Councilman Jones revealed that Rockdale Towing has a contract to haul all vehicles as requested by fire and police departments throughout Baltimore City, County and State. No wonder the planning commission approved Rockdale's zone change request even though the commission's own staff recommended against it. SDCI's letter in opposition was mailed to all Baltimore County Council members on August 10.

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

SDCI's president, Laura Van Scoyoc, and Lynell attended a supplemental community meeting hosted by Julian Jones at the Baltimore County Public Library in Owings Mills on August 20. Dozens of supporters waved signs and expressed their opposition to Rockdale’s 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 their support for SDCI's opposition. While Rockdale Towing was not the only zoning issue discussed at either of these meetings, Julian Jones did remark that he had never seen such abundant and enthusiastic citizen involvement over zoning issues before.

There was a final community meeting held Monday night, August 26, at the Randallstown Resource Center that Laura and Lynell could not attend. Once again, the group's intrepid supporter, Donna Shoemaker, attended in SDCI's stead, and presented Julian Jones with yet another letter from SDCI, this one reiterating SDCI's opposition to the zone change and inviting Councilman Jones and the rest of the council to a custom guided hike at SDNEA to be led by Laura -- so they could see for themselves what makes SDNEA a treasure worth conserving and protecting from the threat of light, air, noise and soil pollution and potential water contamination from any zoning up-change on the rural side of the URDL. Donna gave a short presentation on SDCI's  behalf and presented Julian Jones with Laura’s letter and Donna's late husband’s book, Soldiers Delight Journal.

Laura virtually attended the August 27 County Council CZMP meeting to vote on zone-change requests throughout Baltimore County. It was a four-hour slog of a meeting, but ultimately, Julian Jones voted to oppose Rockdale’s zone change request, along with the rest of the County Council. It was a hard-won fight and SDCI is so proud of Councilman Jones for doing the right thing.

SDCI would like to than 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 the petition, which 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.