Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Urban Land Trusts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
NeighborSpace describes urban conservation process, 21 sites and stewardship model
Summary
NeighborSpace executive director Phyllis Juris explained how the urban land trust identifies, acquires or eases sites, restores them with green infrastructure and partners with residents for long-term stewardship; the group now conserves 21 sites totaling just under 100 acres.
Phyllis Juris, executive director of NeighborSpace, described how the urban land trust identifies potential sites, secures them either by conservation easement or fee simple ownership, restores them with community input and maintains them with a stewardship program.
"We are the only one that works in urban Baltimore County," Juris said, and described NeighborSpace's service area as the county's urban portion. She said the organization conserves 21 sites across the county, 19 of which are open to the public, totaling just under 100 acres; the sites provide a 10-minute-walk green space for roughly 42,000 residents, she said.
Juris reviewed NeighborSpace's process: community request or referral, GIS scoring against conservation and social indicators, site visits, environmental site assessments for acquisitions, design with a landscape architect, fundraising to fund construction, volunteer planting and community events, and a formal stewardship agreement with local partners. She emphasized long-term stewardship and annual monitoring: "As a land trust, we are required to monitor each of our sites once a year. In practice, we're there a lot more often."
Juris said about 15 of the 21 sites have green-infrastructure improvements (trees, rain gardens, bioswales, pollinator plantings) and described examples: Tollgate Wyndham Preserve (Owings Mills), Ridgely Manor Park (Towson), Voles Neighborhood Park (Middle River) and Chestnut Park (Turner Station), among others. She noted NeighborSpace owns roughly half its properties in fee simple because communities sometimes lack capacity to acquire and maintain a site themselves.
She discussed access and equity concerns in urban areas: maps the group uses show about 65% of its service area lacks a public green space within a five-minute walk; walkability and watershed impairment are chronic challenges. Juris also said NeighborSpace receives 20% of annual open-space waiver fees under county code (a funding stream written into county code in 2013) and that the county council established the land trust by resolution in 2002.
On accessibility, Juris said the organization tries to make sites ADA-accessible when feasible, citing raised garden beds and ramps at some sites, and explained that physical constraints in wooded preserves sometimes limit full accessibility. She described stewardship approaches that combine formal management agreements, training, volunteer engagement and technical support.
Juris said NeighborSpace operates with four staff and 14 board members and reported about 2,000 volunteer hours and 35 events in the last fiscal year. She provided contact information and the organization's website for further inquiries.
