September 2010 Newsletter, hot off the presses...
Check out the latest news from Westport Community Partnerships in our September 2010 Newsletter. The newsletter is printed and distributed to every door in Westport and is emailed directly to the Inbox of everyone on the Westport Community Partnerships email list. (Click here to join the email list!) The September 2010 newsletter is also available online, along with past issues of the Westport Community Partnerships Newsletter.
In this issue...
Learn about the option for early voting...
The September issue of the newsletter explains the new rules for early voting, and discusses the importance of the upcoming primary election. See page 2 of the newsletter...
Join Team Westport in the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge...
Learn about the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge (BNEC). Find out how Westport was selected. Check out the details. Learn about how you can participate in the challenge for Westport. See page 3 of the newsletter...
Check out the changing face of Mount Auburn Cemetery...
Conceptual drawings depicting Baltimore City's Mount Auburn Cemetery Perimeter Revitalization Project, along with "before" photos, are included in the September 2010 issue of the newsletter. See pages 6-7 of the newsletter...
Meet Loren Duffy - working hard to revitalize Westport...
One house at a time. Check out the interview with Loren Duffey in the September issue of the newsletter along with before and after photos of some of Loren's Westport work. See page 4 of the newsletter...
Looking Back through Time...
The previous newsletter took a look back at Westport’s history, reaching back through the generations as Westport’s future shares ties with its past. It included an excerpt from “A History of Westport,” written by three Westport Academy teachers in 1950. That excerpt is continued in the September newsletter. See page 5 the newsletter for the next chapter...
Westport "Main Street" & Gateway Design Plan for Annapolis Road
The Westport Neighborhood
Association (WNA) has been working with Westport Community Partnerships and the
Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) to create a Westport "Main Street" &
Gateway Design Plan for Annapolis Road.
The project started in July of
2009, when the WNA was successful in its request for support from the NDC. Over the course of close to a year, NDC
volunteer architects, designers, and city and traffic planners attended six public
meetings, giving all of the neighbors the opportunity to participate in the
project, and receiving input from a wide variety of neighbors. In addition, NDC volunteers attended WNA
Board of Directors' meetings to discuss the design plan in great detail
The final product, which was presented
to the neighborhood at the WNA's June 3, 2010 general meeting, and to the Dept.
of Transportation, the Dept. of Planning and the Baltimore Development Corp. on
June 10, 2010, is a true reflection of the Westport neighborhood's vision for
the future of its "Main Street."
The final plan and a poster summarizing the key elements are available here for download…
Many thanks and kudos to
the NDC volunteers who worked on this exciting plan. In particular, Claudia Barragan, Mauricio Del Pozo, Meg
Maffeo, Gerald Neilly and Steven Parsons, who went above and beyond. Their final plan is a product of the neighbors' ideas and
visions captured with remarkable creativity and professionalism. The WNA and Westport Community
Partnerships are fortunate and thankful to have had such a talented design team.
The next steps will be
equally challenging. The WNA
and Westport Community Partnerships will work together on the long process of
applying for grant funding and undertaking other efforts to implement the plan
over the next few years as the revitalization of Westport continues.
Update on Westport-Annapolis Road Rezoning Bill...
The Planning Department introduced a proposed rezoning bill and accompanying proposed URO to City Council on May 3, 2010. The first important hearing, the one before the Planning Commission, was held on May 27, 2010, and the Planning Commission approved the bill. The next important hearing, the one before the City Council Land Use Committee, has not yet been scheduled, but will hopefully be put on the calendar by the end of August. Join our email list to be informed as soon as the Land Use Committee hearing is scheduled.
The proposed rezoning, consistent with the Westport Master Plan, provides for the rezoning of the part of Annapolis Road that serves as Westport’s “Main Street” from residential zoning to mixed-use “b” zoning, (business and residential). Residents living on Annapolis Road will not have to do anything at all, but businesses will be able to open there again. Perhaps, one day Westport will once again have its own pharmacy, coffee shop, library, bank, restaurant, hair salon and more. ...read more about it and about our other business revitalization program effort
Westport's History in Photos
Everyone enjoys looking at old photos. It is fascinating to compare the
‘before’ and ‘after.’ To enjoy some wonderful old photos of Westport,
check out the Historic Photos
& Maps picture album. Westport Community Partnerships would
like to start a collection of old Westport photos and other artifacts
for display in its upcoming Annapolis Road office where everyone can
enjoy them. If you have old pictures you could add, (copies can be made
and the originals returned to you), or other artifacts to contribute,
please contact Bonnie Crockett at bcrockett@westportpartnerships.org
or call 443.717.3627 and help bring Westport’s history back to life!
Enjoy all of Westport Community Partnerships' Photo Albums!
Check out the hundreds of photos of Westport neighbors and neighborhood
events in Westport Community Partnerships' fun Photo Albums.
It's almost as much fun as being there!
