FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:   How can I get one of those blue yard signs I see all over Catonsville?
A: Just email us! The signs are not for sale, butwe do accept donations to cover costs of the signs.

Q:   Is Spring Grove your only issue?
A:   No, but it is a primary issue right now because of the significant impact that the resolution of the issue could have on Catonsville. The impact could be significantly negative (large development, increased traffic, a threat to the quiet and historic community we live in, etc. - see "Concerns" section), OR the impact could be significantly positive, if the Spring Grove campus remains largely open space -- especially if it is developed into a regional park.

Other issues of concern are the PUD process for land use decisions, and the lack of transparency in local political decision making processes.
Q: Is the opposition to commercial development at Spring Grove an anti-development movement, reflecting fear of change?

A: Hardly! We promote thoughtful development - this means we promote being mindful of how traffic will influence our community, advocate for keeping big box stores at existing malls, avoid making new asphalt footprints, promote our existing main street businesses, support efforts to continue to revitalize those main streets, and advocate to preserve open space given how little of it we have in Catonsville.

Q. Isn't Spring Grove Hospital closed?

A. Hardly! Perhaps that is what those in favor of the proposed development would like you to believe. Spring Grove Hospital is a functioning psychiatric hospital that has been operating at capacity for years. It almost always has a waiting list. Spring Grove State Hospital is the second oldest continuously operating psychiatric hospital in the United States! You can learn lots more about the history of the hospital, and its current services, at http://www.springgrove.com/

Learn more about Spring Grove on our "Spring Grove Issues" tab.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Q: Where does Catonsville Voices get its facts on the proposed development?

A: We get those facts from the developer. He has given at over a dozen presentations of his plans, and each of us has attended at least two of such presentations. Several active volunteers have met with the developer as well.

Q: I hear folks say that they have to go to Howard County to go to a bookstore. Isn't there a bookstore in Baltimore County?

A: We hear this comment a lot, too. I'm not sure why, because the Barnes and Noble at the Festival at Woodholme is as close to Catonsville as is the one at the Long Gate Shopping Center - from exit 13 of 695 (Frederick Road) it is 8.6 miles right on 695, a 12 minute drive; and it is in Baltimore County. There is a Target at the same exit. Although the Long Gate location is only 6 miles away, the route is through multiple lights, so it takes just as long to get there as it takes to get to Reisterstown Road exit.

Q: Doesn't the development company who wants to build at Spring Grove already own the land?

A: Whalen properties owns about 17 acres along the southeast border of the Spring Grove Campus, just outside the 695 beltway, north of the Wilkens Avenue exit. This parcel abuts the current dead-end of Kenwood Avenue (again, outside the Beltway) and Paradise. He also owns a home at each at these dead-end streets. The developer would like to purchase about 29 acres of the existing Spring Grove campus. Combined with his currently owned land, this would provide about a one mile long section of beltway frontage. These 29 acres are currently not for sale; the land currently belongs to the State of Maryland. [At a Dec 29, 2008 meeting, the developer also mentioned that he hopes to acquire the properties on Kenwood Avenue (outside the Beltway), making this a project of approximately 50 acres.

Q: How can I post a question on this page?

A: Just email us at CatonsvilleVoices@gmail.com with any questions you have. We may respond directly, or post your question here. We'll post answers here if your question is presented to us by several different people [hence, FAQ]

Catonsville Voices

Educate and Advocate