On Monday, July 2, the Baltimore County Council approved a land transfer that will allow the county to acquire a large wooded property next to the Maryland Fish and Game Protective Association, as well as a small parcel next to the Perry Hall public library. Both parcels are situated along Honeygo Boulevard.
With this transfer, Baltimore County will create an almost-uninterrupted chain of forests and parks from Joppa View Elementary School to Joppa Road.
The larger piece is a triangular property adjacent to the Maryland State Fish and Game Protective Association and Honeygo Park. It includes 10.8 acres of environmentally sensitive, forested property.It was once the proposed site for a gymnasium, and construction of an access road had started off Honeygo Boulevard. That land will now be added to Honeygo Park and protected from all future development.
The second piece is a rectangular, 1.2 acre property immediately south of the Perry Hall library. A committee I appointed has recommended a playground and ampitheatre at that site.
The county will trade 9.3 of land with a developer to acquire the 12-acre sites.
I supported this plan because there was a net gain of parkland for the residents of Perry Hall; because the plan preserves a particularly sensitive area from development; and because the transfer was supported by local community organizations, including the Tremper Farms and Northgate Hall homeowners associations.