Success!

Two of Coalition for Columbia’s Downtown’s three first step action items have been achieved two weeks after the group's founding. On Monday the County Council voted unanimously to both 1) table the appointment of a new member of the Planning Board so that the voters through the election of the next council can voice there choice in this important decision and 2) to make Governor Warfield Parkway a scenic road and thus protect the beautiful grove of trees in that area. This goes to show what a group of voters can do if they are willing to put pressure on their elected officials. For any Howard County resident thinking that the current plan for downtown is in the hands of county staff and developers, this is a perfect example that they can have a meaningful impact on directing the type of redevelopment that takes place in downtown Columbia.

Check out the Coalition for Columbia’s Downtown’s website to read their positions on how downtown Columbia should be redeveloped and to sign up to support their approach if you like it. I hear a lot of people, including candidates of both parties have already done so. You can also read candidate’s response’s to the Coalition for Columbia’s Downtown’s action items here. They are well worth the read and I will be posting more on this later, but in the meantime, what do you think of the candidate’s responses?