AAC GDP Comments: CHAPTER FOUR – COMMUNITY PRESERVATION

Commercial Revitalization
The BCC recommends that:
• The GDP list the 16 individual Commercial Revitalization Districts (CRD) along with the justification or rational for their designation, the desired outcome(s), their current status and a projected completion date for the outcome(s). (p.43)

• The GDP include more information on the only two successful re-developments of commercial properties, both of which were in North County. (p.43) This would provide insight into the impact on communities where CRDs have been designated.

• The map on page 44 needs to be reviewed for clarity and usefulness as this map is virtually unintelligible. The sixteen Revitalization Areas cannot be accounted for in this document. The small frames within this figure should each get a minimum of 1/2 page so they can be read and understood by the community.

Neighborhood Conservation
The BCC recommends that:
• The best way to “Preserve the character of established communities that have unique qualities and distinctive character,” (p. 46) is to rely on the contents of the SAPs developed for all areas of the County, including the Broadneck Peninsula, during the last GDP.

For example, the BCC has already seen the land use plans of the Broadneck SAP violated on a consistent basis. A five or six-plus acre wooded parcel of land at the intersection of Cape St. Claire Road and College Parkway was totally stripped of trees and the contour of the land was radically altered by the Four Seasons Development Corporation. Both the style and density of the project forever altered the overall character of the surrounding neighborhoods. Because of the nature of the project, there were consistent run-off problems during construction further endangering the headwaters of the Little Magothy River.
In addition, the approval for and construction of a new office building on the south side of Rt. 50 near the McDonalds, resulted in the additional clear cutting of several acres of land at the headwaters of Whitehall Creek. Impervious run off from these two projects will have an adverse environmental impact for decades to come. The BCC believes that such projects, along with other ill-advised, high-density projects are inconsistent with the Broadneck SAP and should not set the pattern for the GDP in this area.

• The GDP include a much broader emphasis within Neighborhood Conservation that seeks not only to protect “distinctive or historic neighborhoods,” but to protect all existing neighborhoods through appropriate zoning and controlled growth. (p.46)

• The GDP clearly state that the change from R-1 and R-2 properties on the Broadneck Peninsula, especially to any level of commercial zoning, is inappropriate at best and environmentally devastating at worst. (p.46)

Preserving Rural Areas
The BCC recommends that:
• The GDP recognize those areas of the Broadneck Peninsula that meet the “Rural” criteria used in the GDP. (p.47)

This area extends from south of Rt. 50, from the Chesapeake Bay to Rt. 2 and along the Severn River and it shares the “distinct character” of the other rural areas cited in the GDP. The draft GDP states that “[Rural] areas are found in South County predominantly, but also in the Crownsville, Millersville, and Gambrills areas. They are developed at low densities with primarily residential uses or farming operations and the preservation of open areas and wooded areas is a common goal throughout.” (p. 47) One only has to drive along St. Margaret’s Road and Pleasant Plains Road, Browns Woods Road, Bay Head Road and Forest Beach Road and Joyce Lane in Arnold to see how this area meets the “rural” criteria. Therefore it should be defined as rural, based on the size of the lots, the woodlands, and the open spaces included in this area.

The Pleasant Plains/St. Margaret’s area of the Broadneck Peninsula is featured in a new Smithsonian exhibition at the Museum of American History with recently excavated skeletal remains of a young man dating from the 17th century. Other artifacts have been found in this rural area which should be preserved as a historical site.

• Preservation policies and objectives in the GDP should not be limited geographically to the areas stated in Chapter 4.
If it is worth preserving woodland and farms in South County, so should it be a priority in ecologically sensitive and long established neighborhood areas on the Broadneck Peninsula.

Protecting Historic Resources
The BCC recommends that:
• The area known as Goshen Farm and its surrounding land (a total of 22 acres) be preserved in keeping with the GDP’s statement that the “county needs to take a proactive role by identifying potential development sites that will negatively impact listed or eligible resources…to prevent inadvertent destruction of sites.” (p.48)

Broadneck residents have formed the Goshen Farm Preservation Society (GFPS) and have received state grant monies to renovate and preserve this historic property. The County Board of Education, which owns the property, has refused to sign a long term lease for the Farm offered by GFPS. County agencies must work together with citizens to proactively save historic sites, especially those that they already own!

• The zoning established in the Small Area Plans stay in place for this GDP throughout the Broadneck Peninsula.
While the GDP should encourage “smart growth”, R-1/R-2 zoning is an important part of preserving woodlands and minimizing the environmental impact of development.