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FREEDOM
AREA CITIZENS’ COUNCIL
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| A Publication
of FACC / Freedom Area Citizens’ Council |
May 2003
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Growth
Deferral Proposal:
Controlling Residential Growth is not Automatic
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Most
citizens concerned about growth likely feel they did their
public duty back in the fall when electing our three current
Carroll County Commissioners, all of whom campaigned on promises
of controlled growth. Unfortunately, your duty does not end
in November; government is public process, requiring public
support for achievement of its agenda. Without public support,
rest assured there will be no progress on the growth issue.
An important
proposal has been made by the County's planning department
and adopted by the Board of Commissioners. This proposal could
be an important first step in the process of slowing residential
growth. A public hearing on this deferral proposal will be
held Thursday, May 22 in Room 003 of the County Office Building
at 7:00 PM. If you wish to learn more about the proposals
in advance of the public hearing, please attend the next FACC
meeting on Tuesday, May 20 in the Community Meeting Room in
Carrolltowne Center at 7:00 PM. Steve Horn, Director of Planning
and Frank Johnson, Special Assistant to Commissioner Gouge
and Chairman of the Growth Task Force (GTF) will be on hand
to explain the significance of the proposals and answer any
questions.
The proposal
recommends a deferral on new subdivision applications for
a period of not more than one year. The proposal would allow
the GTF, which is currently studying the county's Concurrency
Management Ordinance, an opportunity to make recommendations
for changes and/or additions, in hopes of making it more suitable
as a tool for growth and facilities management.
The GTF
was formed by the Commissioners earlier in the year in an
effort to gather input from a broad cross-section of County
residents. Its purpose is to make recommendations concerning
controls and to consider the degree to which adequate facilities
are being appropriately addressed by the county's Concurrency
Management Ordinance. Participants in the task force include
county planning staff, representatives from the development
community, fire and rescue, schools, municipalities, FACC
and others.
The deferral
proposal additionally calls for enforcement of a "sunset"
provision, already within the regulations. This provision
will force some subdivisions back into the planning stages
so the impact on current infrastructure can be determined.
Some of these subdivisions, which were approved prior to Concurrency
Management and never built, may have been planned decades
ago, long before there were issues with overcrowded schools
and inadequate facilities.
The deferral
proposal also applies only to areas outside municipalities
(like Freedom) and is designed to stem the rush of development
in advance of enacting more permanent controls, which are
expected to be recommended by the GTF. The deferral proposal
has no impact on development already approved by the county.
One thing is clear, however, development interests will demonstrate
strenuous opposition to this proposal.
Carroll
County has had an unrestrained residential development culture
for many years and it is not going to go away overnight. It
is critical that concerned citizens realize that development
interests, though defeated in the last election, are still
diligently at work undermining the very efforts put into creating
a proposal to slow growth. Since the election, the pace of
subdivision applications has been steadily increasing. Developers,
fearing increased impact fees and less allowable growth, are
flooding the county with applications, overwhelming the limited
staff and all but bursting the pipeline of planned developments.
The plan to limit new construction outside the municipalities
to 6,000 homes between 1998 and 2004 is all but a distant
memory. That number was exceeded in barely four years. Even
today, the notion of a hard number cap has been removed in
favor of better controls. Let's hope we get them.
FACC has consistently held the position that uncontrolled
residential growth brings negative implications for education,
public services, water supply and most importantly the revenue
base available to support them. In plain language, unrestricted
residential growth means both lower quality of life and higher
taxes.
There
are 127 homes in the Freedom District where building permits
have been issued, but use and occupancy permits have not been
approved. Therefore some residential growth will continue
in the near future even if both of the above proposals are
approved by the Commissioners. FACC urges those concerned
about growth to make their opinions heard by phone, letter
or active participation in public forums, including FACC meetings.
Our Commissioners need and want to hear from you.
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NEXT FACC MEETING
"Route 26 Summit"
Tuesday June 17 @ 7:30p.m.
Oklahoma Middle School Cafeteria
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Community
Meetings
The Commissioners will be scheduling community meetings
to express concerns with residents and discuss ideas in
a casual setting. The first of these community meetings
will be at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2003, at Oklahoma
Road Middle School. Future meetings will be held in Harney,
Manchester, Marston, Mount Airy, Frizzelburg, Hampstead,
Silver Run, Finksburg, Gamber, and Taneytown.
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Contributions
of Articles or Information for The Freedom Informer can be sent
to the attention of the editor at:
FACC, P.O. Box 142, Sykesville, MD 21784. |
Renew
Your Membership Today
The
2003-2004 Membership drive is now underway and it is time to renew
your $10 annual membership in the Freedom Area Citizens' Council,
if you haven't done so already. Please use this form
for your renewal.
We also encourage you to talk to friends and neighbors about joining
the FACC. Together we can make a difference! The FACC is proud to
have had an important part in bringing about several important changes
in our community over the past year including:
- The election
of two new Commissioners who truly care about the Freedom area
- Formal abandonment
of the Piney Run Water Treatment Plant plan; officially "Saving
the Lake"
- Signing of
the Watershed Management agreement; the first step in getting
more water for Freedom
- Creation
of the Carroll County Council of Governments and Growth Task Force
- Pursuit of
new wells on the Springfield property to augment our available
water supply
We
are also happy to have hosted important events and speakers at our
regular monthly membership meetings including:
- The Commissioner
Candidate Forum
- The District
9B Delegate Forum
- Sen. Robert
Kittleman & Del. Susan Krebs
- Schools Superintendent,
Dr. Charles Ecker
- Commissioners
Gouge, Minnich & Jones (April 2003)
We appreciate
your continued support, with which we are able to underwrite scholarships,
publish the Banner newspaper, the Informer newsletter and support
other charitable works in our community.
MacBeth Way
Connection Controversy
Many Freedom residents could be affected by the proposed MacBeth
Way Connection. The Commissioners have directed that an analysis
of proposed alternatives be conducted. Additionally, the Public
Works Department will undertake a comprehensive traffic calming
program along the length of the existing MacBeth Way.
On Monday, May 5, a traffic monitor was placed on MacBeth Way to
track the speed of passing vehicles. According to residents, the
monitor was set up around 10:00 a.m., and removed by 5 p.m., thus
missing most of the rush hour traffic. A witness reports that speeds
along MacBeth Way topped 45 m.p.h., noting that the fastest vehicle
was a school bus.
The Hilltop Community has established a committee to prevent the
expansion of MacBeth Way. The committee has consulted Richard Klein
of Community and Environmental Defense Services (CEDS) for advice
on stopping the construction of the connection. CEDS is a network
of nonprofit attorneys, traffic engineers, environmental scientists,
planners, and other professionals. Their mission is to assist people
in defending their community against poorly planned land development
activities.
Mr. Klein told members of the Hilltop Community that the proposed
connection could cause increased traffic fatalities due to high
rates of speed in the community, and increased health problems because
of vehicle emissions. He also suggested that the proposed improvements
to Routes 26 and 32 could increase traffic on MacBeth if the connection
is completed.
If you live in a community affected by the MacBeth Way connection,
and would like information about the Hilltop committee, please contact
the editor or visit http://groups.msn.com/hilltopestates/welcome1.msnw.
More information about CEDS can be found at www.ceds.org. Any additional
comments or questions related to the proposed extension or traffic
calming on MacBeth Way can be directed to Doug Myers, Director of
Public Works, at 410-386-2035 or e-mail at dmyers@ccg.carr.org.
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The
Freedom Informer
Published monthly by the Freedom Area Citizens'
Council
P.O. Box 142
Sykesville, MD 21784
EDITOR:
Nicole Musgrave-Burdette
PRODUCTION:
Mike Naused
Deborah Dugan
E-MAIL:
editor@freedomareacitizens.org
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