Senior housing and developments along Route 1 must be reviewed by a design panel, under a measure approved by the Howard County Council.
“I think it?s a reasonable first step,” said Council Chairwoman Courtney Watson, D-District 1.
A seven-member design advisory panel would review certain developments to ensure their compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. The experts would review senior housing and areas with approved design manuals, which is now just the Route 1 corridor.
The council can later amend the measure to include other areas.
“It?s going to allow us to start out and try [it] and allow it to evolve over time as we consider using it for other areas,” Watson said.
Council members had delayed a decision on the bill this past month to tackle issues raised by the building community. Some developers worried an added step would draw out the development plan approval process, which can take months.
“We had some concerns about lengthening a process we thought was already cumbersome,” said Greg Lowe, a board member of the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, adding the chamber is pleased with the amended bill.
The council amended the bill to require the panel, made up of professionals in architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, urban planning or related fields, to make recommendations within 45 days.
The bill also requires the Department of Planning and Zoning to report to the county executive and the County Council after two years on the panel?s effectiveness.
Bridget Mugane, president of the Howard County Citizens Association, said the bill should be expanded to other areas, particularly the Route 40 corridor.
Columbia landowner General Growth Properties should work with county planners to develop a design manual for downtown Columbia that can later guide the panel, she said.
