A picturesque red barn nestled in the rolling hills of Baltimore County?s Greenspring Valley might be saved from the wrecking ball, to the relief of neighbors who consider the barn part of the natural landscape.
Just more than a month after a crew began dismantling the barn on the scenic Lystra Meadows farm, an attorney for the barn?s owner said a potential
new buyer might want to preserve it. The barn is the subject of an increasingly bitter feud between the barn?s current owner ? who
wants to raze it ? and neighbors who enjoy passing by it each
day.
“If that?s not a landmark, I don?t know what is,” said neighbor Doug Carroll. “It?s visible from quite a distance all around and is perfectly situated in the landscape. It?s quite remarkable.”
Neighbors nominated the barn, located two miles from the Beltway, near Greenspring Avenue and Greenspring Valley Road, for designation as a county landmark. The designation carries
permanent protection from demolition.
A county commission four years ago unanimously voted to designate the barn a landmark. But based on the owner?s strong objections, the decision was not upheld by the district?s councilman, Pikesville Democrat Kevin Kamenetz.
Advocates to save the barn said they hope, by the time the decision gets to Kamenetz this time around, the owner no longer opposes historic designation.
And with a new owner poised to purchase the barn, an attorney for the Levy family said they may be in luck.
“Ms. Levy opposed the nomination,” said her attorney, Dino La Fiandra. “She has been in discussion with a potential buyer who would not oppose the nomination.”
The potential buyer was not present at the hearing, La Fiandra said. The commission voted to postpone the hearing until Feb. 14.
