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FREEDOM
AREA CITIZENS’ COUNCIL
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| A Publication of FACC
/ Freedom Area Citizens’ Council |
February 2002 |
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Freedom Banner to expand
Beginning with the March edition, The Freedom Banner will gain a
new community.
The FACC is proud to announce that its quarterly newspaper, The
Banner, will be delivered to another 4,000 households and businesses
in the 21048 zip code (Finksburg).
In coming months, the new Finksburg-Freedom Banner will include
report cards on candidates for county commissioner, grading the
candidates’ responses to questions
on issues. The Banner will also sponsor a candidates’ forum
after the primary.
Lyburn, Nichols to speak at FACC meetings
John T. (Jack) Lyburn, Jr., Director of the Carroll County
Department of Economic Development will be the guest speaker at
the FACC’s February general membership meeting on Tuesday,
February 19th at 7 p.m. at the Carrolltown Center.
On Tuesday, March 19th at 7 p.m. at the Carrolltowne Center, Jeannie
Nichols, of the Sykesville Town Council will speak. Ms. Nichols
will talk about the impact of residential sprawl on public health.
Sykesville speaks out on County’s revised
Water/Sewer document
On Monday Feb. 11, the County held a public hearing on the draft
Water and Sewerage Master Plan. This Plan was developed in response
to comments from the MDE in July 2001 that the county’s application
for a permit to build a water treatment plant at Piney Run could
not be approved unless the Plan was revised.
The Town Council of Sykesville unanimously joined Hampstead in opposing
removal of the Water Resources Management Program from the Water
and Sewerage Plan.
Jeannie Nichols, Councilwoman, read a statement expressing the town
Council’s opposition.
The statement read in part:
“Any amendments to the Plan should ... be consistent with the
Environmental Resources Element (ERE) in the Master Plan required
by the Maryland 1992 Planning Act. The ERE requires implementation
measures for protection of environmental resources. ...These protective
measures have been removed” from the draft Plan.
“These areas would have had extra protection under the deleted
section ... by requiring review of land development proposals with
regard to the potential impact on community water supply resources.”
The Council’s statement went on to say that the Carroll County
Master Plan recommends the adoption of a Water Resources Protection
Ordinance for “protecting the quality and quantity of both
surface and ground water for community water supplies.”
This same recommendation was repeated in the Water and Sewerage
Master Plan and has now been removed.
The Council concluded that the proposed plan would be “better
titled a report and not a plan” and urged the commissioners
to reject the plan and to allow the staff more time to amend the
plan with public input.
FACC Chairman Mike Naused reiterated the FACC’s formal statement
that “the FACC is adamantly opposed to the construction of
the ... plant at Piney Run” and that “there are better,
more cost-effective alternatives” to solve South Carroll’s
water problems.
Jerry Ryan of Westminster said, “the rush to reply to the MDE
to move the construction forward has resulted in a revised ... Plan
that is flawed.”
Neil Ridgely of Finksburg said, “I concur that it is time to
revise it [the Plan], but not by gutting it. ... I ask that you
provide an accurate update ... and [to] restore the commitments
that have been deleted to adopt a meaningful Water Resource Protection
Ordinance and Reservoir Watershed Protection Agreement.”
County Attorney Terri Jones commented at the end of the hearing
that the public record would remain open for 10 days and citizens
can make written comments to the county.
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Next FACC meeting
February 19th, 2002
Carrolltowne Center
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ZORC battle rages on
On Sept. 19, last year, the County Commissioners approved ordinance
01-11, which modified various provisions of the county zoning code,
Section 223. The ordinance permitted owners of large tracts of land
zoned for Agriculture and Conservation to transfer lots, including
unbuildable lots from one zone to the other. The ordinance, which
was developed by the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee (ZORC), was
rushed to completion without legislative review by various departments
of the county government.
A broad spectrum of citizens and groups including farm preservationists,
civic groups, county government departments, and the State Department
of Planning objected to the ordinance. The State sent the county a
letter saying that the State would withhold $400K in Ag preservation
funds unless the new ordinance was repealed by Feb. 15.
In a televised work session in January, county planning staff proffered
an amendment (02- ____) which, among other things, made clustering
of lots transferred from conservation land to agricultural land mandatory.
Amendment 02-____ also reduced the number of lots transferred by providing
a divisor or 3.75 per acre of conservation land (rather than 3.0)
to mitigate the impact of unbuildable lots in the calculation, and
it made a number of other lesser changes and definitions. Because
a number of issues remained after this work session, ncluding objections
to mandatory clustering by Commissioner Robin Frazier, the Feb. 15
deadline will probably be shifted into March.
Recently, another proposal, this one by Mr. Jerry Ryan of Westminster,
has arisen. This one
attempts to close loopholes in the previous amendments by requiring
landowners shifting rights from one zone to the other to record
a final plat defining where clustered and off-conveyance lots would
be situated, requiring any remaining land in the ag zone to be zoned
as one lot to be used only for agricultural purposes.
This amendment considered but did not include a requirement that landowners
with tracts of ag land and conservation land be forced to record plats
showing where clustered development could occur on their property
within a specified time, whether or not they planned to develop the
property. This would permit county planners and school officials to
estimate the need for schools before development occurs. It would
also increase the value of
farm property by having development potential well defined when farmers
are seeking loans, for example.
The Ryan amendment could be the compromise that Mr. Dell has been
seeking. It offers a method of permanently preserving farmland and
giving the county a way to plan for infrastructure before it is needed.
ALL of these amendments, including the Ryan alternative, would permit
development of up to 4000 residential lots in the Ag zone. The ZORC
amendment (01-11) and the planning staff’s amendment to the amendment
have the additional disadvantage that Ag land remaining after taking
off clustering for new lots is protected only by covenants which can
later be changed.
Some residents argue that in all of the amendments, the debate has
been about what the lot yield for developers will be. They argue that
their concerns related to provision of schools and other infrastructure
have been forgotten and that the ordinance should be repealed.
“The commissioners should put on a moratorium and not accept
any applications under this ordinance,” said Councilwoman Nichols.
As of Feb. 8 only one landowner (Mr. Ed Primoff, a member of the ZORC)
has come forward proposing to use the original ZORC amendment. In
the same period, three other landowners have proposed to develop on
conservation land under the previous ordinance which permits one lot
for each three acres, including steep slopes and wetlands.
A public hearing will held but the date, time and place have not yet
been announced.
BZA rejects Bumpers Drive-In 3-0
On January 23, the Board of Zoning Appeals voted to reject a proposal
by Alan Ackerman of Eldersburg and others to build a hightech drive-in
theater and other facilities including a live stage, auto shows
and other events that would require outdoor speakers on a site on
Liberty Road. The site is located adjacent to three residential
subdivisions.
BZA members cited problems with noise and traffic as major reasons
for their decisions. But they were also impressed by citizens’
concerns related to drugs and alcohol at the facility.
Over 500 homeowners in the Linton Springs, Sumner Hollow and Edgewood
subdivisions hired attorney Michelle Ostrander to represent them.
About twenty of the 60 people attending the final session of the
BZA testified against the proposal. Of these, the testimony of Andrea
Sinnott, Vicki Cavey and Mike Dean was particularly effective.
Commissioner Julia Gouge appeared early in the session and read
a statement opposing the proposed drive-in citing many of the concerns
expressed by neighbors of the facility.
Opponents of the facility were pleased but cautious about the decision.
Cavey commented after the decision that “they (the BZA) did
the right thing and made the right decision.”
Barry Marsh, of the Linton Springs Community Association, commented
that he expected that the decision would be appealed but remarked
that the opponents were in a better position now because Ms. Ostrander
and attorneys representing the county could now cooperate in defense
of the decision.
The BZA has thirty days to formalize their decision. Proponents
will then have thirty days to appeal the decision to the Carroll
County Circuit Court.
Volunteers subject to ethics laws
Shortly after the Board of County Commissioners enacted the Zoning
Ordinance Review Committee’s (ZORC) revised zoning Ordinance
01-11, one member of the ZORC filed documents to take advantage
of the new ordinance.
Citizens expressed outrage, questioning whether there was a conflict
of interest.
At the time, one member of the County Attorney’s Office commented
that there was no conflict of interest because members of the Committee
were “volunteers” and the county’s ethics ordinance
did not apply.
In a meeting on January 14th, the senior County Attorney, Kimberly
Millender, reversed this position stating that volunteer members
of Committees, Boards and Commissions appointed by the County are
“officials” and ARE subject to the terms of the County
Ethics Ordinance.
This interpretation could make members of the ZORC vulnerable.
Meetings of interest to the Freedom Area
Tues. Feb. 19, CC Planning and Zoning Commission
- 9:20 a.m.: Princess Shopping Center, MD Rte. 26 and MD
Rte. 32, Request for approval of site plan.
- 2:45 p.m.: Nell’s Acres, S. side of MD Rte. 26,
1400 E. of Sunset Drive. Request for deletion of planned major
street.
- 2:45 p.m.: Pine Brook Farm II, 109.82 acres, E. side
MD Rte. 97, 1200 feet S. of Buckhorn Road. Special report related
to proposal for residential development in C zone.
Weds. Feb. 27, 7:00 p.m.: Adoption of Budget by Board of
Education, Westminster High School.
Thurs. Feb. 28, 7:00 p.m.: Public hearing on water connection
fees, Freedom Elem. School, 5626 Sykesville Road (MD Rte. 32).
Cynical quote of the new year (so far)
“I think the billboard owners just want the best and
most pleasant thing for the county.”
Commissioner Robin Frazier expressing her opposition to
a moratorium on NEW billboards |
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Childs Walker
Baltimore Sun
January 30, 2002
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Betting on a sure thing: DROUGHT
| “...in most places we’re seeing the lowest [well
water levels] we’ve seen in 12 years." |
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Tom Devilbliss, Hydrogeologist
CC Div. of Water Res. Planning
Frederick News-Post
February 7, 2002
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Minutes of the Jan.
15, 2002 Meeting of FACC
Opening Activities:
Chairman Mike Naused called this regular monthly meeting to order
at 7:10 PM at the Freedom Christian Church. A quorum of board members
was recorded as present.
Guest Speaker:
Guest speaker, Julia Gouge, President of the Carroll County Board
of Commissioners addressed the recent amendment to the Zoning Ordinance
permitting transfer of development rights from Conservation zones
and clustering these in adjacent Agricultural zones. As reported
in the press, she opposed the change and pointed out that the Commissioners
were unaware of the full impact of these changes. She said that
in the past, about every 10 years, the Commissioners would work
with the Towns on a Comprehensive Rezoning Plan. This was not the
case with the present Board. In addition, the Concurrency Management
policy calls for the infrastructure to be in place prior to development.
Unfortunately State Highway capacities are not considered in the
current approach. Mrs. Gouge said that she and Mr. Dell have had
recent discussions on the changes and he has joined her in asking
the county staff to review concerns outlined in a handout provided
at the meeting. These concerns included the lack of a mandate for
clustering, deleting unbuildable Conservation areas from the allocation
for transfers, protecting remainders from further development, whether
subdivision for
agricultural uses should be permitted and other deletions.
She also provided copies of the Rural Development Guidelines adopted
by the commissioners in 1973 and amended in 1978. Her final remark
concerning the hasty zoning changes was that it has become apparent
that the amendment has many holes and makes for a “wide open
Ordinance.”
On a second topic Commissioner Gouge announced that there would
be a hearing on February 11 on the Water and Sewer Master Plan.
This meeting would be preceded by a workshop where the Staff would
answer questions.
After her prepared remarks the floor was opened for questions. Following
are samples of the responses:
Funding for construction of the Cranberry school came from a combination
of Impact fees, piggyback income taxes and some State funds.
The Gateway Committee report, which recommended no more billboards,
does not have the support of Commissioners Dell and Frazier.
The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is currently reviewing the Reservoir
Agreement.
A report by County staff indicates that a “non-native”
exotic plant is growing in Piney Run Lake.
The cost estimate for the proposed Piney Run Lake water treatment
plant is now at $15.3 million.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 PM.
Ken Plante, Secretary
TIME TO RENEW YOUR FACC MEMBERSHIP
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
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