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Frederick News Post article:  Annexed farmland clear for developing Originally published January 27, 2012  By Pete McCarthy

Photo by Staff file photo by Sam Yu  This June 2009 photo shows U.S. 15 running left to right with Willow Road perpendicular at lower right. The Board of County Commissioners voted Thursday to allow the City of Frederick to annex the Crum farm, to the left of Willow Road, and the Thatcher property, on the far side of U.S. 15. The City of Frederick is about to gain some acres.For more than a year, two large farms just north of the city have been approved for annexation, but the city and previous county officials disagreed on zoning so developers were told they would have to wait five years. The Board of County Commissioners voted Thursday to end that mandatory waiting period and allow the developers to proceed immediately. The two farms — known as the Crum and Thatcher properties — total nearly 400 acres. Both are north of the city limits along U.S. 15. Frederick Mayor Randy McClement was at Thursday’s meeting and called the commissioners’ decision a positive one for the city. “We need the growth area,” McClement said. “Everything is set in place. We are looking forward to the ability to give our residents an opportunity to stay here and work here.” The city approved annexation of the land in 2009. The properties are ripe for development, according to Commissioner C. Paul Smith. “I think this will be a great benefit for the city,” Smith said. “It had been planned for some time.” Commissioner Billy Shreve said, “I think it is a good example of planning.” Before significant construction can proceed, the developers would need to make improvements to a U.S. 15 interchange and other road enhancements. “I think it takes care of the important traffic problems we have,” Smith said. Construction at either site is still years away. Both developers will need a year or two to finalize their plans, according to land-use attorney Bruce Dean. The Crum property, just north of Willow Road, is 285 acres, and the plan is to build up to 1,200 homes and a mix of commercial and retail space, said Dean, who represents both developers. Up to 400 of those homes could be built before the interchange is completed, he said. The Thatcher farm is across U.S. 15 on Biggs Ford Road. The plan there is to build up to 1.3 million square feet of office space, which could result in thousands of permanent jobs, Dean said. Both developers are excited to get started, he said. “The focus was the proximity to Fort Detrick,” he said. “That is the No. 1 economic driver in Frederick County.” Both companies should have plans developed in the next two years, but there is no way to know when construction could begin, Dean said. “There is no huge impetus to be building a lot of houses right now,” he said. “It’s dependent on economic factors that are out of our hands right now.” Commissioner David Gray was the lone dissenting vote. “Classic sprawl,” Gray said. “Look for problems to come.” Friends of Frederick County — an activist group opposed to the annexation — filed a lawsuit against the city in 2010. The group alleged the city did not properly prepare for the potential growth and did not complete an appropriate plan. The case is still pending in court, Friends of Frederick County Executive Director Janice Wiles said Thursday. “I still have the same concerns that I had before,” Wiles said, referring to the dangers of added congestion on U.S. 15 and other factors. “Taking good farmland out of production and sprawling out into the countryside is not a good idea.”

My family moved here from Rockville when I was 14, My parents saw the beauty and potential of Frederick. They purchased commercial property, invested in the community and made this place home.We moved to a 90 acre farm in New Midway. As a 14 year old pre-teen, I fought this move and cried for months. I knew that when I was old enough I would “get out of this place”. But as I grew up, what I and many of my friends realized is that Frederick is the most amazing place to live, work and raise a family. Now over 20 years later, I am proud to call Frederick my home.

I want you all to know that I understand your position that you are “doing what you said you would do if you were elected”. You want to be “business friendly” and “create jobs”. I grew up in the business world here in Frederick. My parents own and operate a business here.

If you want to be business friendly then make businesses accessible. Building more commercial and residential space without proper planning will crush existing business. If I have to fight traffic to run simple errands, I will stop shopping locally.

I chaperoned a field trip to Washington Dc today. It took 2 hours to get there. I had plenty of time to notice a Lease sign on almost every building from TJ drive to Rt 109. There is so much space available that is unoccupied. These spaces are in planned business parks that are accessible and STILL they are vacant.

If you allow building without proper planning for schools, you will collapse an already overcrowded system. You have to understand that my son’s school, Lewistown Elementary, can’t handle 1 more student. You can only fit 2 buses in the front at a time. At dismissal, Hessong Bridge road is blocked at the school because of busses and car riders.

You need to know that I didn’t vote for you and don’t have the same vision for Frederick County as you do. You are obligated to be the voice of me, my husband and my 2 young boys. The decisions you make have true, irrevocable impacts on the daily quality of life of every Frederick County and city resident.

I live and work and volunteer here because I can organize my day to be across town in 15 minutes. If new homes and businesses make Rt 15 any more congested or dangerous, I will pull my kids out of activities and stop volunteering because I can’t get places without getting stuck in traffic. Local businesses will suffer if kids aren’t signed up for activities. If I can’t be a part of community activities because it’s impossible to get across Rt 15 what good is it to live here? If I can’t get anywhere, I will stop investing here. When I speak, I speak for my friends who have young kids who can’t be here tonight. You are looking at the future of Fredrick County in me. I shouldn’t have to fight with you to see my side. You are my representative, no matter what my beliefs are. That is the meaning of democracy. You are all responsible to do no harm to this county and leave it in better shape than when you took office.

Residents filed the complaint last June, charging that the annexations and rezonings are unlawful.  A case in point is the failure by local leaders to prepare and adopt annexation plans, a key legal element that would demonstrate the needed public facilities to serve the annexed areas, and, more important, who would pay for them.  State law requires this essential information to avoid overcrowding of roads and schools, as well as to ensure that the true cost to taxpayers will be known before a decision to annex is made.

The Crum annexation would allow 285 acres of agricultural land to be rezoned and used for 1200 dwellings and 1,300 square feet of nonresidential development. The Thatcher annexation would allow 151 acres of agricultural land to be rezoned and developed for manufacturing and office use. State law does not permit such zoning changes for at least five years, unless the County consents, and the County did not consent in this case.

The court proceedings are open to the public.  ”People who are concerned about dangerous traffic on Rt 15 and over crowded schools may wish to attend.  Our local government needs to follow the law and show the true cost of this annexation and how it will be paid for.  Frederick county taxpayers don’t want to spend our limited tax dollars subsidizing development,” said William Morrow, county resident and Friends of Frederick County chairman of the board.

The oral argument is scheduled to be heard at the Frederick County Courthouse, courtroom # 4, at 9 a.m. on February 16, 2011.

Intersection of Route 15 and Hayward Road, Friday 06-18-2010 4:35pm ET

Commissioner Young

As the BOCC liaison to the Sheriff’s Office, I am forwarding you our plan for a proactive enforcement effort on Route 15 at Hayward Road.  The attached email will show you the numbers of property damage, personal injury, and fatal crashes at that intersection from January 2008 through June 9, 2010.  Also, you will see the number of vehicle stops made by this office over the same period at that intersection.  Keeping in mind that Maryland State Police has primary enforcement responsibility on Rt. 15, we have been very active at that location.

We are going to focus our Smooth Operator enforcement efforts during June and July (SHA grant monies) on this corridor of Route 15.  In addition, I am going to direct operations to assign a marked patrol unit to be present along that stretch of Rt. 15 south each morning for the next few months.  With school now out for the summer, we will assign a Deputy from the SRO Program to be there to each morning, to slow down traffic approaching Hayward Road and to target aggressive drivers.   I think that over the next few months we can make a positive impact on the speed of traffic approaching that intersection and hopefully eliminate serious crashes.  We will begin Monday June 14th.

Please share this with your fellow commissioners and our county managers.

Regards

Sheriff Jenkins

_____________________________________________

(from the Sheriff’s office)

Sheriff,

Here is what I found. This link below shows a 6:30 minute clip on planned changes to the intersection. It involves SHA and officials from Frederick City. Some changes will begin this Fall and be completed by Winter. Below are the stats I found in I-leads. Please let me know if you would like me to do anything further. We can talk about enforcement of the intersection in person whenever you want. I also have several other documents which I will copy and give to Sophia that goes along with this report.

Also, we have 4 waves of Smooth Operator grant money already scheduled. I just instructed Lt. Robeson that the deputies working the first two waves in June and July (Eleven, 3 hr blocks in the 6-9 A.M. and 330-630 P.M. ) should focus on this intersection/corridor of Rt. 15 only. Thanks. Troy.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/video_player/player.htm?url=/media/hayward060610/hayward060610.mp4&id=2459

Frederick County Sheriff’s Office-  Rt. 15 @ Hayward Rd intersection -From January 1, 2008 to June 9, 2010

Vehicle Stops –                                 160

10-50 Property Damage-               6

10-50 Personal Injury-                   0

10-57 Hit & Run PD-                        1

10-57 Hit& Run PI-                           0

10-50 Fatal-                                        0   (One Recon Assist on 06-8-10 that I’m aware of, at request of MSP)

MSP (Maryland State Police)

Vehicle Stops-                                  Unknown

10-50 Property Damage-               61

10-50 Personal Injury-                   24

10-57 Hit & Run PD-                        2

10-57 Hit& Run PI-                           0

10-50 Fatal-                                        1

Note:   According to FNP article in today’s paper, In May, officers patrolling the area for about 30 hours issued 84 citations and 60 warnings, Kitzinger said. Two people traveling south on U.S. 15 have died in crashes at the intersection since 2004, according to an analysis compiled by the State Highway Administration.

“The legal move comes as more and more citizens have signaled their opposition to exploiting farmland for unnecessary commercial and residential development,”says Janice Wiles, Friends of Frederick County Executive Director. “Developers’ push to build on the Crum and Thatcher properties along (U.S.) 15 continue despite the fact that there are areas available for residential growth and millions of square feet of commercial space within Frederick City that should be built first before expanding outward, and the current roads and infrastructure to support such development.”

The complaint alleges that the annexations are unlawful for three separate reasons:

First, the annexations by the City of Frederick fail to meet the requirements of State law.  State law requires the City to prepare and adopt an Annexation Plan which is to be available at the public hearings on any annexation.  This Plan is to consider, among other things, all public facilities that would be required by the annexation, their location, costs and how to pay for the costs.

The City of Frederick’s approval of the annexations without this required information will result in taxpayers paying increased taxes to cover the costs of the new public facilities and services necessary toaccommodate the annexations and their increased level of development.

Second, as part of its Resolutions of annexation the City of Frederick changed the zoning classification of the annexed property from agricultural use to substantially different uses with a density more than 50% greater than the original agricultural use.  State law prohibits a municipality, for a period of five years following an annexation, absent the County’s consent, from changing the annexed land to a substantially different use or to a density more than 50% greater than the prior zoning authorized.  The County has not given its consent.  The change of zoning classification is in violation of this and other provisions of State law.

Third, to annex the properties, the City of Frederick amended its Charter.  However, the Charter Amendment fails to meet the requirements of State law, which provides that a Charter may not be amended by reference to its title or section only, and that the amendment must show how the Charter section being amended would read after it has been changed.

FoFC and several plaintiffs announced the suit on 6/21 at 3 p.m. at the Frederick County C. Burr Artz Public Library, 110 E. Patrick St. Trust Conference Room.

Frederick County Public Library does not promote or endorse the views of the program, sponsors or presenters.

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

Friends of Frederick County is here tonight because we represent citizen taxpayers concerned with:

1)   Our present challenges to provide adequate schools, roads and emergency support to our current residents and

2)    The tax increases we fear will be necessary to pay for facilities to support municipal growth.

As citizens we already suffer the consequences of past growth decisions – leaving us with not only dilapidated but also unsafe schools such as Lincoln Elementary and Frederick High, traffic jams and dangerous roads, and an increasingly over burdened emergency response system.  Legacy decisions…including the approval of the Thatcher and Crum properties…will haunt us well into the future.

As concerned taxpayers we prepared an analysis of Frederick City’s proposed 20-year municipal growth plan.  With the information we had available we found the infrastructure costs for the city’s planned growth is at minimum 1.2 billion dollars, with 80% of that to be subsidized by county taxpayers and to some extent the state, and the remaining to be paid by the city.  This large number is lower than what we would realistically expect, since we did not include the operating costs for schools, the operating costs for emergency services, water and sewer upgrades;   and the numbers for roads is based on old 2003 numbers so it is probably low as well.

Looking at operating costs for 4 schools to accommodate approximately 3,800 new students.  Lets say for sake of consideration that we build 2 elementary schools within 5 years, at operating costs of $8,400,00/school/year ($8.4 million x 2 x 15 years), and we build 1 middle schools within 10 years, at operating costs of $10.8 million/school/year ($10.8 x 10 years), and we build 1 high school within 5 years, at operating costs of $ $19.2 million/school/year (19.2 x  5) the additional cost to taxpayers could be around  $460,000,000[1].  This would bring the total cost to taxpayers up to about 1.66 billion,; 1.3 billion of that would belong to county taxpayers.

We’ve done this analysis to satisfy our curiosity and desire for some truth of the taxpayer’s future debt.  It is incomplete and requires more data and analysis; and, of course, it will be necessary to know the developer and state contributions in these calculations.

The purpose of the Municipal Growth Element and the Section 3.05 (e) (6) of Article 66B with respect to our situation with the Frederick City plan is to require that Frederick City  meet and confer with Frederick County in order to agree on the appropriate location and size of  municipal growth, so that its facilities and public services are commensurate with all development.  We hope that both county and city leaders share our interest in addressing this issue and in maintaining high standards for quality of life.

Friends of Frederick County respectfully requests that the City and County governments work together to provide the citizens a more refined and realistic assessment of infrastructure costs for the city’s planned growth area, that includes the cost for operations and adjusts the budget for roads to reflect today’s costs.  We would then hope that there will be another public meeting to discuss how much growth the taxpayers of this county and city can really afford or are willing to pay for.

Thank you.

Testimony delivered by J. Wiles, Frederick City resident , representing Friends of Frederick County before the Frederick County Board of Commissioners and Frederick City Mayor and ALderman, 4/13/2010