The York Road Partnership

Serving the York Road Corridor

Minutes of the Meeting of November 6, 2002

The meeting was opened at 7:15 p.m. by Jason Canapp, president of the York Road Partnership.

Old Business

Tyrone’s Chicken

People have noticed that the activity at Tyrone’s Chicken seems to have stopped, and have heard that he is having difficulty getting the occupancy permit because there may be underground storage tanks that will have to be removed before a permit is granted.

No one has yet been able to arrange a face-to-face meeting. Garrard was not present so we don’t know the status ofthe action plan based on the community opposition, or the flyer or position paper.

SNAP

A draft of the Strategic Neighborhood ActionPlan proposal has been distributed to all the association presidents together with a request that they review it, make suggestions for items they feel need to be addressed in the proposal, and to sharetheir ‘vision for the future’.

Jason reiterated theintent of the SNAP program is that neighborhoods should work together to determine priority items and turn them into action plans. Various city agencies will participate in the discussions and then sign on to implement appropriate parts of the Action Plan.Concerns were raised that this proposal should not just address issues along the Corridor but should include the neighborhood issues, such as vacant properties, abandoned houses, sanitation, the need for youth activities after school and in the evening (for those over 13 there are virtually no activities, such as a coffee house, geared specifically to them), and the senior population. It is clear that if we do become a designated SNAP area, we need to bring the youth population into the planning and discussions.

Concern was expressed that while the Action Plan should take a comprehensive view, each individual neighborhood, andall the more so when combined into a SNAP area, is too large to address specific problems.It was apparent that since we are dealing with a broad target area we will have to be strategic in our approach in order to be effective.

Anothercommentwas made that we will need to be sure to take a comprehensive approachparticularly since SNAP is oriented towards short-term solutions that will ‘make a difference’ immediately, whereas neighborhoodshave needs that will also require fundamental and long term strategies. If we receive a SNAP designation, we will need to look at broad-based topic areas also, such as youth services, and consider what we cando both with the city and with other partners to implement strategies.

Action Team Updates

Corridor Appearance Task Force

Good Neighbor Awards

The final list of this years Good Neighbor Awards was presented. A certificate will be hand delivered to each nominee and a press release will be sent to the local papers. (n.b. Some other nominations were received after the last meeting and these will be kept on file and used for the next round of awards. The intention is to present these awards at least once a year.) This years awards are made to:

A. J. Michaels (4512 York Road) - for their dedication in maintaining a clean, trash-free neighborhood

Bangkok Place (5230 York Road) – for a consistently clean and attractive appearance

BombayGarden(5511 York Road) – for the most improved appearance

Corner Carry Out (5501 York Road) – for the most improved appearance

Duron Paint (5833 York Road) – for the best display of perennial flowers

Govans Presbyterian Church (5824 York Road) – for the best landscaping

Ivory’s Mo Better Hair, Inc. (501 East 43rd St.) – for best appearance

LoyolaCollege Student GovernmentAssociation (4501 N. Charles St.) – for best volunteer effort to improve the appearance of the corridor

Penza Associates Architects, Inc.(401 Woodbourne Ave.) – for the most creative commercial renovation

Popeyes (5002 York Road)– for the best display of annual flowers

Savannah House (5702 Bellona Ave.) – for the best signage and window displays

The Senator Theater (5904 York Road) – for their dedication in maintaining a clean, trash-free neighborhood

CVS

In spite of our efforts to hold CVS accountable for the trash and litter around their store, we heard that the CVS corporate officers are evidently very happy with the revenue from this store (and others in the area) and have little incentive to spend time or money to maintain the property or fix up the interior.

(On the other hand, anyone who gets too irate about the conditions is still welcome to contact the CVS headquarters by logging on to click on "help", then "contact us". The storenumber is 2034, the address is 5200 York Road. Perhaps eventually it will make the corporation take notice, particularly if a Walgreens comes into the area.)

Trashcans

New trashcans have been deployed by the city – they are the residential type that are fixed to lamp poles and thus will not ‘wander’. They are smaller than the corner baskets and we will have to see if they are emptied frequently enough to alleviate the spill-over problem.

Commercial Revitalization

Community Legacy

YRP worked with Struever Brothers and the Baltimore Development Corporation on the Community Legacy application. The proposal was one of the ones chosen, and from the available funds of $6 million designated for this program, the Belvedere Square application received $ 1.2 million. These funds are dedicated solely for the Belvedere Square project, however next year (depending on whether the new administration continues funding this program) the Partnership could apply for specific funds for the wider area. Being in a Community Legacy designated area allows for certain funding priorities under Smartgrowth initiatives.

Public Safety

Jason introduced the new co-chairs for this group were introduced, Dunbar Denby of Wilson Park and Ken Whitley ofEveshamPark.

Two issues were revisited:

Parking on York Road

The problem of parking along York Road during rush hours (particularly near the liquor stores) seems to have returned. Rigorous enforcement helped initially, but again parking is impeding traffic flow. There seems to be a need for continual, long term enforcement efforts.

Govans Manor Bustop/Glenwood Center

While the loitering problem is somewhat better, particularly during the day, after hours it is still a problem that needs to be addressed.

New Business

York Road Alive

Trudy McNair reported on an initiative of the merchants in the Cold Spring Shopping area (4300 – 4900 blocks of York Road). They met on Nov. 4 with the objective of addressing the overall sense of neglect that area conveys. Unfortunately many merchants who were invited did not attend, which seems of be indicative of a feeling of resignation about the situation and being unable to do anything improve the situation. There is a real problem of how to convince merchants in the area to come together in a way that will make a difference and address façade improvements and vacant stores. Yet this area is as much a part of the ‘gateway’ into the city as northern sections, particularly since it will contribute to the impression the transit riders and motorists have of the entire Corridor as they come into the city. A number of possible projects were mentioned. Given the proximity of two colleges, it would be useful to have something to attract students(a Starbucks?). Trudy felt, and other agreed, that area could become a unique commercial area if people are creative, committed and work with the property owners. The group is in the process of researching information aboutownership.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, Dec. 9th at 10 am at GEMS anyone interested is invited.

DrumcastleShopping Center Project

The developers who are proposing to locate a Walgreens on this site will meet with the nearby communities on Monday, November 11 to present their plan. The meeting will be held at 7pm at the Church of the Nativbity.

The meeting wasadjourned at 8: 50 pm.

PLEASE NOTE!

There will be NO PARTNERSHIP MEETING IN DECEMBER

and

Since the first Wednesday of January falls on New Years Day,

the next meeting will be held on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8TH

Please send any corrections or additions to these minutes

to Helene Perry at 410-617-2521 or

York Road Partnership Minutes of the Meeting of November 6, 2002