Columbia residents will get a chance to weigh in on landowner General Growth Properties? plan for downtown, company officials said amid concerns over private meetings between the company and community groups.
“We are planning the future date and format for public meetings to share details of our proposed plan and get community input,” Chuck McMahon, vice president of development in General Growth?s Columbia office, said in statement.
The company is holding a “listening tour” with community leaders and experts in environmental design, affordable housing, business and arts, McMahon said.
Some Columbia residents cried foul over meetings planned with Columbia village board members, saying the closed meetings may violate the Maryland Homeowner?s Association Act, which says meetings of the governing bodies should be open to all residents.
“This is a master plan that is being debated, and typically that is the sort of thing that is done in public,” said Alex Hekimian, head of watchdog group Alliance for a Better Columbia.
Instead, General Growth should have had a public meeting before initiating smaller, private meetings, Hekimian said. Howard County officials sought public comment before formulating its framework, he said.
The state Attorney General?s Office hasn?t been asked to formally review whether these meetings violate the act, spokeswoman Raquel Guillory said.
But if the meetings qualify as homeowners? association meetings, they might be required to include property owners but not the public, she said.
In response to the concerns, General Growth plans to “work with the village board members and staff to ensure that our discussions with them are in keeping with a spirit of openness and transparency,” McMahon said.
However, some residents said they don?t have a problem with the meetings.
“They are listening. They are asking for opinions,” said Emily Lincoln, of the resident group Bring Back the Vision, which advocates the redevelopment of downtown.
Lincoln?s group met with General Growth earlier this month, during which the company gave a brief presentation before opening it up for comments, she said.
“They listened. They asked for our views, our concerns,” she said.
AT A GLANCE
» Howard County released its framework for downtown Columbia in September and held a series of public meetings in October.
» To view a copy of “Downtown Columbia: A Community Vision,” visit howardcountymd.gov/DPZ/Community/downtowncolumbia.htm.
