Marvin Mandel, Governor                         1927

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Legis-
lative Council is requested to undertake a thorough and detailed
study of property taxation in Maryland, including, but not limited
to, procedures and practices in assessment, and alternatives to the
property tax as a major revenue source of local governments, and
submit findings and recommendations to the 1973 General Assembly;
and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Hon-
orable William S. James and Thomas Hunter Lowe, Chairman and
Vice-Chairman, respectively, of the Legislative Council.

Approved May 26, 1972.

No. 49
(House Joint Resolution 80)

House Joint Resolution recognizing the community of Lutherville
in Baltimore County as an historical district and urging all State
and County agencies to consider its preservation when authoriz-
ing, consenting to, or undertaking any construction projects in
that area.

Whereas, the community of Lutherville in Baltimore County is
a unique area filled with many unusual 19th Century structures
and comprising an attractive and unparalleled reminder of earlier
days in this State.

The community now is endangered by plans for new structures
and arterial roadways, all of which will destroy the unique and
historic atmosphere of this gracious old community.

The historic district of Lutherville and its present problems
recently were described by Mr. Rodd L. Wheaton, as part of an
architectural evaluation of the community:

"Lutherville is a surviving nineteenth century suburban residential
village imminently in danger of falling victim to twentieth century
Baltimore suburban sprawl. Unprotected, the area proposed for an
historic district will be engulfed in shopping centers, strip com-
mercial development and high rise and low rise apartment com-
plexes, and will be bisected by the proposed Charles Street extension.
Protected, the community will be in a position to encourage the
preservation of its architecture, its environment and its village
identity.

The community's history commences with the establishment of
the Lutherville Female Seminary in 1853 and the development of the
nearby land by its founder, Dr. John Gottlieb Morris. Among his
concerns was the idea of providing a suitable residential setting for
the seminary, an early institution of higher education for young
ladies. Officially surveyed and platted into 118 lots in 1854, the village
streets, which were named for prominent Baltimore clergymen,
extended in a grid-iron pattern from the central "Church Lot,"
which has remained the site for the Lutheran Church.