Baltimore County Councilman David Marks has announced that he will recommend downzoning a large area of southern Perry Hall to preserve open space and lighten the impact of future development on school overcrowding.

Issue 5-144 includes 59 acres of land stretching from the Southfield community west to Hallfield Manor Court and north to Blakeley Avenue.

Presently zoned for single-family homes and townhouses, Councilman Marks will recommend that Neighborhood Commons zoning will be applied to 42 acres, blocking any development whatsoever.

About 12 acres would be downzoned to one house per acre, leaving only five acres for more dense single-family home or townhouse development.

“This is a densely-populated region of Perry Hall, with hundreds of apartments, townhouses, and single-family homes built without any nearby parkland,” Councilman Marks commented. “I am taking steps to preserve much of this land as open space and to lighten the impact of future development of school overcrowding.”

Councilman Marks has initiated a review of the development potential of thousands of acres in the Fifth District.