Linda Kent & Terri Cohen On The Bill Reddish Show Tomorrow Morning At 7:10 AM

Contact: Terry Cohen, 410.330.7175;
David Suiter, 410.860.6945;
Linda Kent, 410.742.7011
MALL PETITIONERS SUBMIT PLAN FOR REDEVELOPMENT
SALISBURY – The four petitioners who successfully appealed the rezoning of the old Salisbury Mall have advanced a proposal to revise the developers’ plan for the blighted property to bring its redevelopment more into line with what is regarded as a “true urban village.”
Submitted September 18, 2006, to the Planning and Zoning Commission, the petitioners’ proposal bases changes on a plan for a Planned Residential Development (PRD) approved for the property in 1998 and advice from a third-party involved in land use outside of the area who is familiar with the property in question.
Among the proposal’s highlights are:
creating a “main street” of retail and commercial structures along St. Alban’s Drive;
increasing open space near the assisted living units where elderly residents may be inhibited from making the long, pedestrian-unprotected walk to the City Park;
reducing Beaglin Park Road access to ease traffic congestion and improve the look bordering that thoroughfare; and
reducing density by approximately 25% to create more walkability and more common open space with less impact to current infrastructure.
Recently, residents from other areas surrounding the old mall have expressed interest in having the petitioners’ proposal considered in preference to the developers’ current plan.
To date, the petitioners have not heard a response either way concerning their proposal.
“Our research led us to the previously approved plan of 1998,” said Linda Kent, who submitted the plan on behalf of the group. “It has real potential for moving the development in a direction that is more in keeping with the concept of urban villages and Traditional Neighborhood Design than what the developer has submitted,” Kent added.
“It’s a good start toward a healthy, collaborative discussion that can result in a model community and model process,” noted Terry Cohen, a city resident who was party to the rezoning appeal.