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South Carroll: Commissioners disagree about allowing growth

By: Kevin Miller, Times Staff Writer. August 09, 2000 Concerns about water supply Two members of the Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to accept a limited number of new residential development requests in South Carroll during the years 2004 and 2005, despite a colleague's concerns over whether the county will have an adequate water supply for the area.

The commissioners' decision temporarily restricts the number of new subdivisions allowed in South Carroll. Under the terms of the agreement approved by commissioners Robin Bartlett Frazier and Donald I. Dell, the county will not grant any new concurrency management certificates allowing additional residential subdivisions to be created in South Carroll through 2003, but will grant up to 150 new certificates to developers each year in 2004 and 2005.

A developer must receive a certificate from the county in order to create a subdivision. Once a certificate is granted, the county must issue a building permit if all other county building regulations are met. The county has already issued nearly 600 certificates in South Carroll for years 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge, increasingly at odds in recent weeks with her board colleagues over water issues, voted against the measure. Gouge preferred the more cautious approach recommended by county planning staff that would have disallowed issuing any new certificates through 2005 until the county had a better grasp on whether there will be enough water to supply all the new homes.

The decision by Dell and Frazier comes one month after the two voted to revive plans to withdraw up to 3 million gallons of water from Piney Run Lake, a 300-acre reservoir built in the mid-1970s as a potential water source that has become a popular recreation area. The county is also hoping to alleviate water tensions by tapping into a well near the Fairhaven Retirement Community.

The additional 300,000 gallons expected from the Fairhaven well should give the county the extra ``cushion'' needed to accommodate the currently planned development in South Carroll, said county Planning Director Steve Horn. Even so, Horn urged the commissioners to take action Tuesday on limiting growth.

``Subdivisions are coming in, and it's not a gold rush ... but they are coming in, and they are going forward unhindered,'' Horn said. ``The reason I wanted to bring this before you today is, the longer you wait, the more you will cut into the 300,000-gallon cushion that Fairhaven gives you.''

Certificates that were already approved by the commissioners - about 575 total lots for the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 - could go forward as planned.

Gouge, who also voted against the estimated $12 million treatment plant at Piney Run, repeated her concerns Tuesday that the commissioners were acting prematurely.

``I believe we are overstepping concurrency management in planning for '04 and '05 when ... no money has been budgeted for Piney Run, we haven't started any of the procedures for Piney Run, and we still don't have the building permit for the Fairhaven well,'' Gouge said. ``I feel we are moving too quickly.''

Frazier, who first proposed the 150-certificate cap for 2004 and 2005, justified her decision by stating that because the county plans a water treatment operation at Piney Run, it should also go forward with plans for controlled development.

The purpose of concurrency management, Frazier said, is to control growth, not stop it entirely. And it would be unfair for the county to tell landowners they cannot even begin planning to develop their properties until after 2005, she said.

``At least we are not telling the little guy who is trying to move along with their plans, `Stop, you can't do anything,' '' Frazier said.

Acknowledging both sides' points, Dell said the county should plan development to accompany the plans for a treatment plant at Piney Run but expressed concern that unforeseen obstacles could prevent the county from bringing the new plant online by 2005.

Dell said he was swayed to support Frazier's suggestion by the fact that the commissioners can revisit the issue at any time and change the certificates cap for 2004 and 2005 should the Piney Run plans falter.

Gouge countered that the county cannot renege on supplying water to any new subdivisions that were approved before the commissioners revisited the 150-certificate cap for 2004 and 2005.

Horn indicated afterward he was still pleased with the commissioners' decision, although it was not as restrictive as his staff had recommended.

``I'm glad the commissioners are continuing to use concurrency management,'' Horn said. ``It's significant that they're not allowing any new subdivisions into the pipeline.''

Reach Kevin Miller at 410-857-7865 or kmiller@lcniofmd.com.

-- K (infosurf@yahoo.com), August 09, 2000