Friends of Frederick County Position on Crum and COPT/Thatcher Annexations into Frederick City

We believe that our county and city should protect the Monocacy River corridor, productive farmland, scenic vistas, and a buffer between Frederick and Walkersville. At this time there is adequate development planned in the existing “pipeline” of future development in the city and we should develop that first, see that it is done in the most economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner, and evaluate its impact before bulldozing greenfields.  FoFC believes that existing roads to the north are inadequate, congested and dangerous, and there’s no financial plan to solve that anytime soon.

Background

In September 2009 the City of Frederick’s Mayor and Aldermen[1] voted to annex two farms (total 436 acres) along Route 15 north of Frederick City for 1200 new homes and approximately 2.3 million ft² of non-residential (office, retail, manufacturing, hotel) space. During the Fall 2009 citizens made a good faith effort to gather 20% of city voter signatures to put these annexations to referendum but fell short of our target due to the 45 day time allowed. Judging from overwhelming citizen involvement in that effort and interest in signing the petition for referendum it was clear that citizens of Frederick City do not agree that the development plans for the Crum and COPT/Thatcher properties promote the health, safety and welfare of our city nor county.

Petition to DeAnnex the Crum and COPT/Thatcher Properties

For these reasons, on May 20^th 6:30pm Frederick City Hall Friends of Frederick County launches a petition drive for a charter amendment to change the boundaries of the City of Frederick, MD to exclude the Crum and Thatcher properties.This petition effort, to “de annex” these properties, when put on the ballot will give citizens the opportunity to vote their preference.   The petition can be downloaded off the Friends of Frederick County website (http://www.friendsoffrederickcounty.org/by-campaign/petition-deannexation-referendum/ ) and delivered or mailed to our office.  Petitions will be available at events;  petition drop off points will be announced during the petition drive.  Hear what citizens have to say.

Why deannex the Crum and COPT/Thatcher properties from the City limits?

• Route 15 is one of the most dangerous roads in Maryland – and there is little funding for improvements.  The northern annexations will add 12-15,000 car trips/day to Route 15 and arterial roads.[2] The Maryland State Highway Administration strongly recommended that the cost of planning, design and construction of the Biggs Ford Road interchange be included in the annexation agreements, that cost is estimated at $75-80 million. It was not. The Monocacy Boulevard completion (to cost $75-$80 m) is not even funded yet.[3]
• There are 3500 homes and millions of square feet of commercial space within Frederick City that should be built first before expanding outward.  These approvals include Brick Works, Northgate, Clemson Corner, Market Square, the Ballenger Creek Center and the SAIC-Frederick/NCI facility.  For a complete list of commercial projects see:  http://www.businessinfrederick.com/site_selection/development.htm
• The annexation agreements for Crumland Farm and COPT/Thatcher do not adequately address sewer, schools and fire and rescue services. There is no planned sewer service for the Crum and Thatcher properties at this point [4] and no detailed plans for school and emergency services.
• This farmland has excellent soil for growing food.  If the properties are under Frederick County jurisdiction they will be in an Agricultural Priority Preservation Area (PPA), according to the recently signed Frederick County Comprehensive Plan.

Positions from Voices of Authority

Maryland Department of Planning[5] (7/22/2009) Asks the city to look into potential sewer constraints, the expansive floodplain and the road network impacts in light of the I270/Rte 15 Multi Modal Study.

State Highway Administration[6] SHA strongly recommends that the cost of planning, design and construction of the Biggs Ford Road interchange and park and ride lot be included in the requirements for annexation, as well as dedication of Rte 15 right of way and plans for arterial roads that will need to be constructed once Sunday’s Lane is closed.

Frederick County Board of Commissioners[7] letter dated 9/2/2009 2, 2009:  Without concurrent construction plans for an interchange and the elimination of the at-grade crossings “will only exacerbate an already dangerous situation and jeopardize the safety of City and County residents.” “The Crumland Farm Agreement (pg 5) does not obligate Petitioners (meaning the developer) to fund any portion of the US 15/Biggs Ford Road interchange. The County Commissioners and the State Highway Administration believe the developers, rather than the taxpayers, should pay for this interchange.”  There is no planned sewer to either property.  Absent private funding for a new school this development will worsen school overcrowding.

Frederick County Fire and Rescue Services Division[8] (5/5/2009)on Crumland Farm annexation:  “With the potential increase in traffic traveling to the site, thus requiring vehicles to cross Route 15, the potential for accidents will increase. An increase in accidents on Route 15 may have an effect on the fire and rescue services, therefore, the Biggs Ford Road interchange should be constructed and operational before the first Use and Occupancy permit is issued for the proposed site.”

Town of Walkersville[9] (8/31/2009)  The Walkersville Burgess and Commissioners voted 3-2 in opposition to both the Crum and COPT/Thatcher annexation proposals and urged the Frederick City Board of Alderman to vote to deny them.

Monocacy Scenic River Citizens Advisory Board River Board (5/11/2009) expresses concern about the proposed alteration of the natural landscape in the 100-year floodplain on the COPT/Thatcher property and the disruption of environmental processes and functions that follow from grading, filling, and building in a floodplain—mainly the natural storage and conveyance of flood waters.

Does your organization have a position?  If so, please send it to deannexation@friendsoffrederickcounty.org.

[2] Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, 7^th Edition, pp 268-269.

[3] Thomas, John B. (Pers Comm May 2010).  Cost for Biggs Ford Road interchange at Route 15, and the Monocacy Boulevard interchange, Frederick County Division of Planning.

[4] Tax map 57 and 48 at: http://www.frederickcountymd.gov/index.aspx?NID=1326.

[5] Conrad, Peter G., Director, Local Government Assistance, Maryland Department of Planning.

[6] Slater, Gregory I, Director, Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering, State Highway Administration

[7] Board of County Commissioners, September 2009 (Jan Gardner, David Gray, John L Thompson, Kai J Hagen and Charles Jenkins), Frederick County MD.

[8] Dmuchowski, Michael P, Battalion Chief/Fire Marshall, Frederick County MD

[9] Hauver, Susan J, Planning and Zoning Administrator, Walkersville MD

In September 2009 the City of Frederick’s Mayor and Aldermen[1] voted to annex two farms along Route 15 north of Frederick City for 1200 new homes and approximately 2.3 million ft² of office space. Click to download the Annexation Resolution for the Crum Farm (09-18) and Resolution 09-19 Thatcher Annexation.

During the Fall 2009 citizens made a good faith effort to gather 20% of city voter signatures to put these annexations to referendum but fell short of our target due to the 45 day time allowed. Judging from overwhelming citizen involvement in that effort and interest in signing the petition for referendum it was clear that citizens of Frederick City do not agree that the development plans for the Crum and COPT/Thatcher properties promote the health, safety and welfare of our city nor county.   Read more details on the annexations, organization positions and related issues here and on the Frederick County government website.

This petition effort, to “de annex” these properties, allows unlimited time for signature gathering and when put on the ballot will give citizens the opportunity to vote their preference.

Download the Deannexation Petition for Referendum Here!

Please return the petition as soon as possible:

• mail it to:  Friends of Frederick County,  4 E Church Street, Frederick MD   21701
• call us at:  240 529 1655
• drop off points to be announced

Contact us:  deannexation@friendsoffrederickcounty.org

After established deadlines, HB 1141 (amending Article 66B) prohibits the annexation of  any property that is not included in a Municipal Growth Element.  This Growth Element must contain a detailed analysis of the growth impacts of annexing and developing properties in the municipality’s planned growth area. Prior to adopting this Growth Element, a municipality must “meet and confer” with the county in which it is located. 

 The City of Frederick established a Tier 3/Outer Growth Boundary in its Comprehensive Plan and Municipal Growth Element.  The City proposes the construction of a North South Parallel Road on the east side of Frederick through one portion of Tier 3.  In addition, the Tier 3/Outer Growth Boundary that surrounds the City includes thousands of acres of agricultural land which the City now deems eligible for annexation and development.  The construction of the Parallel Road would accelerate annexations and developments in Tier 3.  These and other developments in Tier 3 would involve the construction of thousands of residential units and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space.  They would have massive impacts on public services and facilities and require huge taxpayer funded infrastructure investments to accommodate this growth.  The City did not offer the requisite analysis of these impacts and costs in its Comprehensive Plan.  

Our Position

FoFC has actively followed this issue with citizen letters to the city and county asking that the City and County “meet and confer” to clarify how the infrastructure on these large annexation agreements will be paid.

If you are interested in the correspondence please contact us:  240 529 1655, or jwiles@friendsoffrederickcounty.org.

Posted on 16 November 2009

Frederick City is poised to grow by more than 500 acres thanks to the recent annexation of two area farms, but the move remains controversial. While development advocate Bruce Dean, (left) a lawyer specializing in annexations with McEvoy & Dean, and other supporters say expanding the city’s boundaries is key to attracting good jobs, opponents such as Janice Wiles of Friends of Frederick County (right) worry about the impact of that expansion on schools, fire protection and other public services.

Point: The City of Frederick needs more land.

Bruce Dean – McEvoy & Dean

Washington-Baltimore is one of the few areas of the country expected to grow tremendously in the next 10 to 20 years. The fact is, growth is the reality. Annexing land located just outside of the city, to the north, for employment and mixed uses has been part of the long-term plans both for Frederick County and the city for years and years.

These annexations along U.S. 15 satisfy a specific, demonstrated city need — for large parcels of undeveloped land to accommodate large new employers seeking a campus-like environment. When completed, these annexations are expected to add between 7,000 and 8,000 good, white-collar jobs and will contribute significantly to the tax base. Creating places for this type of jobs so that more people can work here instead of traveling down I-270 for work is good for Frederick and its citizens.

For the people who oppose the annexations, I don’t think there’s much of an alternative plan beyond ‘no growth.’ To my knowledge, they’ve not recommended alternate locations for the type of large office campuses that the city needs to accommodate future growth and provide residents with opportunities to work, live and recreate in the city. The big thing that keeps coming up is traffic, that this annexation will make traffic worse.

If Frederick tries to keep people out, it won’t stop the growth — it’ll just push it farther out, to Pennsylvania, to Washington County, to West Virginia — and people will drive through here and the roads will still be clogged. The alternative, which I favor, and which is consistent with the Smart Growth principles that are so widely embraced in this state, is to provide places for people to work and live in Frederick at locations, such as these annexation sites, that can be efficiently served with public water and sewer facilities.

Counterpoint: We cannot grow our way out of our problems.

Janice Wiles – Friends of Frederick County

These annexations will raise our taxes, congest our roads and either overcrowd our schools or drain our personal coffers to pay for a new school. For the past two decades the sprawl development model has consumed more than 14 million acres of land in the U.S. and vastly changed the land around us in Frederick County. We cannot grow our way out of problems and in fact will create new problems. Not only does development on such scale fragment and destroy wildlife habitat, pollute our streams and pave over rich and productive farmland, it has a direct impact on our lives by creating more traffic.

Citizens are demanding a more common sense approach to growth that preserves open spaces, natural resources and farmland, promotes local businesses, and fosters modes of transportation that do not clog our roadways. Already inadequate and highly congested, and doing double duty as a local road for Frederick residents, U.S. 15 is one of the most dangerous roads in Maryland. The northern annexations will add 12,000 to 15,000 car trips per day to Route 15 and arterial roads.

Instead of annexed land that can be home to major employment campuses for large, Fortune 500 companies such as Bechtel, IBM, MedImmune, State Farm, and the like, Friends of Frederick County promotes local economic growth, based as much as possible on using our local goods and services. We imagine Frederick County’s urban areas and political leaders working together to learn to build our community assets incorporating sustainable agriculture, green building, renewable energy, community capital, zero-waste manufacturing and independent retail — all vital components of a “sustainable community.”

There is no evidence to support the claims that the Fortune 500 corporations would employ local Frederick residents. Meanwhile, studies such as www.livingeconomies.org show that by supporting local owned businesses – ones that can fit into the millions of square feet of office space available in Frederick City – we can also create jobs without compromising the environment.

Republished from 270 Inc Business Magazine.

Global Mission Church, with current perish in Silver Spring, wants to expand to Frederick County , clear forest and farmland, to build a 140,000 ft 2 complex at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain.  This megachurch would be built on well and septic;  local residents and professionals alike have expressed concern that this development would greatly impact the area’s wetlands, the Little Bennett Creek and the Piedmont Sole Source Aquifer.

In October our Frederick County Planning Commission denied the Global Mission Church (GMC) site plan.  Their denial was based primarily on Frederick County public health and emergency professionals’ legitimate concerns about having this large complex septic sytem-dependent  and the on inadequacy of planned fire precautions.

GMC has appealed that decision – and they will be heard before the Frederick County Board of Zoning Appeals on  hold a special hearing on case B-09-16 on Wednesday,  January 20th starting at 1PM in the 1st Floor Hearing Room at 12 E. Church St. [Winchester Hall] in Frederick.  The special hearing will continue to 11PM.   If additional time for testimony is needed the case will be resumed as determined by the Board.

GMC lawyers are working to discredit Frederick County health and emergency safety staff opinion, and have complained that they were not permitted to cross examine citizens who attended the public hearing in October.  GMC is also proposing to pave a road to access Dr. Perry Rd and satisfy emergency issues.  The road would require woodland clearing and paving across a floodplain, Little Bennett Creek and just feet away from an existing home.

Please stand behind agricultural and natural resource preservation and stewardship in Frederick County…take action!

Sign up to speak at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting

Wednesday,  January 20th starting at 1PM in the 1st Floor Hearing Room at 12 E. Church St. [Winchester Hall] in Frederick.  If you live adjacent to Global Mission Church’s property your testimony has tremendous value as you have “standing”.  Sample letters are available at http://www.stopthemegachurch.com/

Write a letter to the Board of Zoning Appeals

RBrace@FrederickMD.gov, copy Planning Commission Chair Catherine Forrence PlanningandZoning@FrederickCountyMD.gov and BOCC President Jan Gardner  jgardner@FrederickCountyMD.gov (Please share a copy with FoFC, to post on our site for others to see:  friends@friendsoffrederickcounty.org)

Write letters to the editor of the Gazette

http://www.gazette.net/gazetteinfo/opinion.shtml or the Frederick News Post http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/customer_service/letters_to_the_editor.htm

Take Action!

Please mark January 20th at 1PM Winchester Hall on your calendar!

Groups wishing to be recognized should submit to the Zoning Administrator by December 28, 2009 a notarized copy of its bylaws and officers.  Groups and individuals  wishing to speak must signup on the list to be provided outside the hearing room on January 20th.   Comments for the Board’s consideration in this case should be forwarded by December 28, 2009 for inclusion in the Board’s information packet to Rick Brace at Frederick County Zoning Administration, 12 E. Church St. Frederick MD 21701 or rbrace@frederickcountymd.gov , including in the subject line “B-09-16”. Comments will be received as well at the hearing.  The Board of Appeals will require reasonable time limits on presentations in order to efficiently review all applications; public comments will be limited to four (4) minutes for individuals and ten (10) minutes for bonafide organizations.  The Chairman may extend these time limits upon good cause shown.   Presentations and exhibits used in the hearing become items the County will retain; no digital presentations [i.e. PowerPoint] may be used, only foam-core or cardboard mounted graphics may be used.

I live on the corner of Peach Tree and Comus Road in Clarksburg, Maryland.  Our home is a 1920s Cape Cod style farm house situated on just over two acres of land with a perfect birds-eye view of Sugar Loaf Mountain.  There is a home down the road built in 1835.  It is an area that’s relatively quiet with the roads designated Rustic/Rural by the Montgomery County Government.  A six and one half story tall structure would diminish the bucolic setting this area provides to both Frederick and Montgomery County residents.

Our area has fought hard to protect other past proposed development projects including a garbage dump as well as a golf course more recently.  Each of these developments was rejected on the grounds of insufficient road capacity, inadequate water supply, and not keeping in harmony with the Agricultural Reserve’s landscape while protecting its precious natural resources.

The well water supply from our aquifer in this same area is very fragile to say the least.  Our home’s well yields a water flow (replentishment) rate of 2 & 1/4 gallons per minute with some neighbors getting an even smaller yield.  The property next to ours does not perk so they are unable to even build a house.

There’s a four way stop on our corner that frequently has cars running through the stop sign narrowly missing pedestrians and the bicyclists that pass this same corner.  It’s hard to imagine receiving a large majority of the cars associated with a church congregation that contains over 1,300 members.  Our road(Comus Rd) and Old One Hundred Rd.  are the two most direct roads that give east/west access from both I270 and Rt.355.  Most of the secondary roads that feed Comus and Old Hundred are so narrow that you practically have to hug the shoulder when meeting on-coming vehicles.

Although the Global Mission Church would fall within Frederick County property, it would by far impact Montgomery County’s roads and residents the most.  We deeply appreciate the fact that Frederick County took this fact as well as others into consideration when recently rejecting this development proposal and hope this will not change when their decision is appealed.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey G. Garrard

I am writing in response to The Gazette’s article about the Global Mission Church (“Church to appeal decision,” Oct. 22).

I live in the neighborhood where the church made its application to build, I attended the planning meeting where the application was denied, and I am a developer by occupation. What seems clear to me is that the church relied on a technical loophole created by poor drafting of the zoning text for exempted uses in a residential area.

Behind this, the truth is that the church officials have also exhibited exquisitely poor judgment from day one when they decided on an under-the-radar strategy designed to sneak their application past the public, a decision that has now cost them in wasted time and money. Who in their right mind would risk the bad public relations of cross-examining a retired housewife sharing personal feelings at a public hearing? Global Mission Church did. Pure hubris.

Instead of using the three months of continuance the church was granted by the Planning Commission to adjust the size and scale of their project so it would conform to Health Department and Office of Life Safety regulations and fit in the surrounding farm community, the church made no adjustments at all other than to choose yet another arrogant ram-rod approach of intimidation through litigation by filing a lawsuit before the planning meeting and then demanding cross-examination of the public speakers during the meeting.

Church officials should accept the offer they have to buy back the land for what they paid for it.

Bennett H. Goldberg, Frederick

http://www.gazette.net/stories/11052009/fredlet142807_32523.shtml

Mark your calendars:  Appeal to be heard on December 17th at 7pm.  GMC is second on the agenda and may be continued to December 21st.

Please send letters in advance to the BOA, their website:  http://www.frederickcountymd.gov/index.aspx?NID=176

By Meg Tully , News-Post Staff

A church that hopes to move to southern Frederick County is running into opposition from county planners and residents.

The Frederick County Planning Commission voted 6-1 on Wednesday to deny development approvals for Global Mission Church.

That church had hoped to build a 138,027-square-foot building on agricultural land off I-270, just north of the county line.

And the planning commission may go even further.

Just minutes after the denial, Planning Commission Chairwoman Catherine Forrence told the commission members she’d like to request a meeting with the Frederick County Commissioners about zoning regulations in the agricultural zone — specifically, the size and scope of places of worship that is allowed.

David Severn, the attorney for Global Mission Church, took exception to that, calling it a “great concern” that the planning commission requested a meeting to change a law in the zone where the property is located so soon after the decision.

He also questioned why another attorney for Global Mission Church was cut short when cross-examining a representative of the county Health Department.

“I’m extremely concerned about how this hearing was conducted and the unreasonable burdens and restraints that were placed on Global Mission Church,” Severn said.

Global Mission Church has the option to appeal the planning commission’s decision by going to the Board of Appeals.

Immediately after Tuesday’s hearing, Severn said he did not know if Global Mission would choose to go that route.

At the heart of the planning commission’s decision was that the building — which included 60 meeting rooms, a 1,160-seat sanctuary and 500-seat dining hall — would have relied on well water and a septic system.

The capacity for the septic system was predicted to be so burdened that the county was anticipating requiring the congregation to use only disposable kitchen utensils.

The church had planned to limit septic use to a maximum of 4,999 gallons per day — just under the 5,000 gallons per day that would have triggered additional county requirements.

The county health department initially accepted the church’s projections, but upon further review decided that the building was too big to be expected to use no more than 5,000 gallons per day.

Global Mission provided a study that showed new faucet fixtures and low-flow toilets could reduce the amount of wastewater produced, but the commissioners opted to side with the health department.

County Commissioner Kai Hagen, who also serves on the planning commission, said that it will be impossible to enforce the gallon limit.

“It will be used beyond that capacity, maybe even from the very beginning,” Hagen said. “It’s a shell game that they’re playing and someone has to say, and I think people here have been trying to, that the emperor has no clothes.”

Both the planning commission and residents at the hearing were also focused on broader issues, like the visual impact the church would have on Sugarloaf Mountain and its inconsistency with the surrounding rural landscape.

Residents also brought up questions about the proposed parking — about 397 parking spots. They showed an aerial photograph that showed almost 500 cars at Global Mission’s current location in Silver Spring, and said a baseball field is routinely used for overflow parking.

Broader issues may be brought up again when the planning commission meets with the county commissioners, since they were not grounds on which the planning commission could deny the project.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/emailDisplay.htm?StoryID=96487

Letter to the Editor
September 03, 2009

It is unfortunate that city and county elected officials are debating the Crum and Thatcher annexations in the letters to the editor. It would be much more productive if the majority of the city elected officials would have met with the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners as requested to discuss the issues surrounding these annexations.

A recent change to the annexation proposal identifies a new school site within the proposed development as requested by Frederick County Public Schools. This will allow a future school to be considered for state funding. However, the city’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance will permit development to proceed even though Monocacy Elementary School, which serves the area, is currently at 114 percent of capacity. It appears the city officials expect taxpayers to build a new school or expect students to deal with extreme overcrowding. It should not be lost on city residents that this decision will potentially delay the needed renovation of Frederick High School because new school seats not currently in the plan will be needed in the city.

The City of Frederick does not have sewer capacity to serve these proposed developments, and no agreement exists with the county to provide sewer. City officials agree that there is no sewer capacity yet claim to have planned adequately for these projects. The ability to flush is essential!

The mayor and Alderman Paul Smith do not dispute that the city has not required the developers to pay for the needed transportation improvements/interchange on U.S. 15. Thus, this burden shifts to the taxpayers. Worse yet, the city is agreeing to allow the construction of 350 to 450 new houses prior to any improvements on U.S. 15. This will exacerbate existing traffic safety issues at the crossover on U.S. 15 to Hayward Road and Willow Road. The county commissioners agree with the Maryland State Highway Administration that public safety will be at risk if these developments proceed without a new grade-separated interchange. Public safety should come first.

Fire and emergency medical services have not been discussed with the county commissioners and the city does not consider fire and rescue in evaluating adequate public facilities. There is no fire station anywhere near these proposed properties or even on the west side of U.S. 15. Who will build and staff this fire/EMS station? This cost will shift to the taxpayers.

It is absolutely clear that sewer, schools, roads and fire/EMS are not adequate and have not been fully considered or planned for by city officials. I urge the mayor and aldermen to pause, meet with the commissioners, and develop plans including funding before approving these annexations. Otherwise, the taxpayers will be stuck with overcrowded schools, safety hazards on U.S. 15, and a bill to pick up the tab!

Slow down and avoid another mistake.

Jan H. Gardner is president of the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com…