Several Baltimore retailers are taking advantage of a county-sponsored loan program to install security cameras in their parking lots in compliance with a new law requiring the safety feature.
Baltimore County has approved more than $96,000 in low-interest loans to install cameras in the parking lots of five shopping centers, officials announced Thursday, including two in Reisterstown, one in Catonsville, one in Randallstown and one in Lansdowne. An estimated 91 centers must install cameras in their parking lot by the end of the year to meet the requirements of a new county law.
“Public safety must be the No. 1 priority of government,” County Executive Jim Smith said in a statement. “Crime is at a 25-year low in Baltimore County, and under the leadership of Police Chief Terrance Sheridan we will continue to do all that we can to provide families in Baltimore County with the quality of life they deserve.”
Council members approved the law in March 2005, just a few weeks after St. Paul?s school teacher William Bassett was shot to death during a robbery in the parking lot of Towson Town Center. The bill requires centers with 15 or more units to install cameras to cover 75 percent of public parking areas.
Members later amended the bill to include individual stores larger than 75,000 square feet, or “big box” retailers, despite the protests of several merchants.
Joan Hatfield, president of the county?s Chamber of Commerce, said more businesses are trying to comply with the new law and commended the county for offering the loan to defray associated costs ? which was included in the legislation.
“You want your clients to feel safe,” Hatfield said. “It?s a two-edged sword. It?s a balance between doing what you can afford and doing what?s right.”
The shopping centers
» Reisterstown: Cherryvale Plaza, Cherry Valley Shopping Center
» Catonsville: 40 West Shopping Center
» Randallstown: Marriottsville Shopping Center
» Lansdowne: Patapsco Village Shopping Center
