The natural and historical setting of Columbia?s historic Woodlawn Manor could be further threatened if a bill before the Howard County Council is passed.
Developer Ron Brasher, of Brasher Design in Columbia, wants less space ? 10 feet ? between the parking lot of the 74,000-square-foot office building he proposed on the historic manor and the open space that will remain after construction. A 30-foot buffer is currently required.
“Brasher drew his plan disregarding the existing law,” said J. William Miller, a former curator at Woodlawn Manor, and a member of a task force commissioned to study the ruins called Woodlawn Slave Quarters on the neighboring open space leased by the Columbia Association. “Hopefully, the council will be wise enough to reject this.”
The bill could be applied to future plans for similarly zoned office buildings that neighbor open space.
A letter from Mary Catherine Cochran, president of Preservation Howard County, to the County Council and other local leaders said, “Our open space is a nonrenewable resource and needs to be preserved, not exploited for developer profit.”
The Woodlawn Manor off Route 108 is one of two Columbia sites on the National Register of Historic Places. “I really want to see the site protected, and any development there to be built in conformity with the historic nature of the site, and in a way that protects the slave quarters,” said Council Member Kenneth Ulman, D-District 4.
What?s next
The Howard County Council will hold two meetings during which the bill may be addressed. A legislative public hearing will be held June 19, and the council will vote July 3. Both meetings will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Banneker Room of the George Howard Building on Court House Drive in Ellicott City.
