Towson residents are holding a rally Monday in honor of “treegate,” an incident last year in which Baltimore County cut down 30 trees at York Road and Bosley Avenue. The property was in limbo at the time because Caves Valley Partners was pursuing a gas station at the site, but it had not yet been approved.
The trees were to be protected under a County Council resolution, and the property was to be sold “as is” — without expenditures by the county, such as tree removal. But County Executive Kevin Kamenetz’ office said they removed the trees to accelerate the sale of the land.
“Taxpayers have questions and they deserve answers. We support the investigation by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources which is underway to determine if the trees were removed in violation of forest conservation law,” said Towson resident Heather Benassi. “We call upon the County Council to support Councilman Kach’s December 2017 call for an independent audit to determine if county funds were misspent.”
Because zoning does not allow gas pumps at that location, Caves Valley pusued the project — known as the Towson Gateway — through a Planned Unit Development (PUD) resolution. A PUD is a request submitted by a district’s councilperson that asks for permission to build a project that otherwise would not be allowed.
Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, submitted the PUD to the County Council but later moved to rescind it, but that motion failed. Later, the community and Caves Valley reached an agreement to move forward without a gas station. The council will vote April 16 on the revised plan and a lower purchase price.
The Green Towson Alliance group surveyed the trees at the site in the fall of 2016 before the PUD was submitted for review by the County Council.
“The majestic 100 plus year old specimen oaks that were removed are a particularly painful loss as they take generations to replace. The explanations given for their removal and the apparent lack of compliance with procedures required by the Forest Conservation Law are of great concern to our organization which works to achieve a greener, healthier and more beautiful community in Towson,” the group said in a statement. “We support the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) investigation and an independent audit to determine if an unlawful use funds was involved to remove these trees.”
The rally starts at 5PM.
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