Learning the owners of a 60-acre parcel in Loch Raven might sell to developers, Baltimore County officials penned a letter asking if they were interested in bargaining with the government instead.
They weren?t. Neither were four other property owners approached in Hereford.
Seriously deficient in state-required parkland, county recreation and parks officials said they are planning increasingly bold and creative ways to solicit residents for land. Soon, that could include shopping door-to-door.
“We?re always on the short end of the stick,” Recreation and Parks Director Bob Barrett said. “But we?re going to try to get out on the front end. We can talk to property owners just the way developers do.”
Baltimore County counts 19 acres of parkland for every 1,000 citizens, just more than half of the state-mandated goal of 30 acres per 1,000 citizens and falling short of many other jurisdictions in the region. Both Carroll and Howard counties meet or exceed the goal, their respective officials said, and can spend state open space funding freely.
Because it doesn?t meet the state?s per-capita goal, Baltimore County must dedicate half of its Program Open Space funding ? estimated at $12.7 million for the 2008 fiscal year ? to parkland acquisition. That depletes money that could be put toward other projects like ice rinks, officials said.
Only 10 of Maryland?s 24 jurisdictions verifiably meet the goal, Program Director Chip Price said, and most are on the Eastern Shore.
Elsewhere, officials said maintaining the acre-per-capita ratio is a paradox: Populations increase as new homes ? which consume open space ? are built.
Anne Arundel County is 6,000 acres short of the goal, according to Jack Keene, who heads the county?s park planning and construction bureau.
Harford County will need to purchase 1,200 acres for parkland every year for the next 15 years just to maintain its ratio of 27.7 acres per 1,000 people. The county typically relies on calls from property owners or real estate agents interested in selling land, and donations, said Arden McClune, director of capital projects for the county?s Recreation and Parks department. On occasion, McClune said staff will solicit owners of a particularly strategic parcel.
“We share the same problem as Baltimore County,” McClune said. “We need to acquire land before it goes to development, but also with reasonable access.”
