By Neil Rubin<\/p>\n
Ted Levin<\/p>\n
Ted Levin is on the move.<\/p>\n
Literally.<\/p>\n
When he\u2019s not riding his motorcycle in the area, it\u2019s hard to miss Mr. Levin. He might be jogging, greeting friends in an area eatery (Goldberg\u2019s Bagels is a favorite) or walking the beat of \u201cmy precincts\u201d while handing out fliers.<\/p>\n
He is gregarious and experienced, having served 20 years in the Maryland House of Representatives while representing the Pikesville-Owings Mills-Randallstown areas.
\n….
\nHis main issue: creating more livable communities.<\/p>\n
Take, for example, the district\u2019s commercial heart \u2014 Reisterstown Road, which stretches from the county-city line to Reisterstown.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have businesses and the only way to connect with them is if you hop in your car, and that\u2019s particularly not good for business or for Pikesville people who say I don\u2019t want to hop in the car and drive there,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want people to be able to walk; Baltimore City is doing this and communities in Florida are doing this. They have the Circulator bus, where it\u2019s no cost or minimal cost. There\u2019s no bus service here that strictly serves the local area. Let\u2019s say you could hop on a bus and go from Giant to the Trader Joe\u2019s. You can\u2019t do it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also wants a series of bike paths and sidewalks. In particular, that will help the area\u2019s Orthodox community, which he said stabilizes Pikesville with young families.<\/p>\n
If needed, he added, the county can make that happen by applying eminent domain laws to take \u201clittle strips of land.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cMy approach to Owings Mills is coming in and redeveloping the area. You have got Jim Smith and a countywide issue in Catonsville, Dundalk, Essex, where they come in and update retail establishments and get a box store, but the fundamentals have not changed. It\u2019s the old model.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to come in and say to heck with all this long-term solutions,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to talk to real estate planners. You plan it out long-term, but there\u2019s a contradiction because things are done very innovatively and then every four years you have the zoning process, which can put in variances. \u2026 In Owings Mills the county is very proud of what it\u2019s done. They have a corporate center and that\u2019s great, but where do the people live?\u201d<\/p>\n
To counter such situations, he wants four- and five-story residences above stores in Pikesville, \u201clike in the old East Baltimore days.\u201d<\/p>\n
It can happen, he said, because colleagues on the Council will let it happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a huge deference on the Council by others to the district [of the councilman making a suggestion,],\u201d he said. \u201cSo there\u2019s a tremendous opportunity to do good or evil and I\u2019m looking to do good.\u201d By Neil Rubin Ted Levin Ted Levin is on the move. Literally. When he\u2019s not riding his motorcycle in the area, it\u2019s hard to miss Mr. Levin. He might be jogging, greeting friends in an area eatery (Goldberg\u2019s Bagels is a favorite) or walking the beat of \u201cmy precincts\u201d while handing out fliers. He is … <\/p>\n
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