John DiMenna isn’t exactly overwhelmed in his role as chairman of Baltimore County’s Design Review Panel.

The nine-member panel of professional architects and engineers meets monthly and is charged only with reviewing design elements of planned commercial development projects in downtown Towson.

“This month, we reviewed one case,” said DiMenna, an architect and a partner in Towson-based Rubeling & Associates. “Some months, we have zero. It’s rare that we have more than three.”

Now, County Councilman David Marks wants to give the Design Review Panel something more to do. Next month, Marks plans to introduce a council resolution calling for the panel to review the look of residential as well as commercial projects in the downtown core.

(Original article on Baltimore Sun website has been deleted): Aesthetics of residential developments may get fresh look in Towson – Baltimore Sun.