Broadneck Council Reflects on 2011, Looks Ahead to 2012

The lion’s share of the Broadneck Council of Communities’ attention this year was directed toward reviewing dozens of rezoning applications for the region.

There were about 50 rezoning applications for the Broadneck area filed under the county’s once-per-decade comprehensive rezoning process. Before these came up for a vote at the Anne Arundel County Council, Broadneck’s Council met several times to discuss the implications of these rezonings.

, including District 5 Councilman Dick Ladd, the Greater Severna Park Council and the Arnold Preservation Council, to achieve its goals in each of the rezoning applications.

Council President Patricia Lynch emphasized the importance of community involvement during the rezoning process. 

“The County Council listens when communities show up in volume,” Lynch said. “The only way we were successful in winning some of these zoning cases was to get so many caring people involved.”

Among the were the property Margaret and Sonny Jordan called home for decades, now rezoned as commercial to be sold, and a slight change in the zoning at a popular bakery in town, .

Some of the issues the members of the BCC said they plan to address in 2012 include water quality and stormwater management, zoning enforcement, schools, the Jemal property, Congressional rezoning and transportation issues. 

The Broadneck Council of Communities was formed in 2002 by five community organizations dedicated to the protection of the environment, critical areas and county laws to support the property rights of the Broadneck Peninsula. Since its inception, the BCC has grown to include community leaders from many Broadneck communities and is always looking for new members and input. 

The BCC meets the first Thursday of every month at the Cape St. Claire Clubhouse.

Broadneck Patch Guest Editor D. Frank Smith contributed to this article.