As the proposed Wetlands area development makes its second try at annexation, Aberdeen citizens say unless the zoning density is decreased, the developers will have a long fight on their hands.
More than 50 people attended the community information meeting April 2 to hear proposals for the 497-acre Glengarry annexation, formerly known as Wetlands. The turnout was only a sliver of the 300-plus that forced the city council to relocate to the Aberdeen Fire Hall during the council's public hearing on the Wetlands annexation in 2006.
"If you're not willing to go with R1, you're going to wind up in a battle," Debra Ehlers, a resident of the nearby Locksley Manor subdivision, told one of the KCI Technologies agents fielding questions for the developers.
Although Glengarry's developers haven't submitted an actual site plan, each of three potential plans on display at the April 2 meeting features R2 zoning and does away completely with the existing Wetlands Golf Course.
In response to KCI's suggestion for attendees to share comments through color-coded sticky notes — yellow for positive, blue for negative and green for neutral questions — attendees peppered the main R2 proposal chart with blue notes and even created their own R1 chart so they could cover it with demands for R1 zoning.
During the question and answer session following the presentation, residents questioned the developers' decision to go through with essentially the same proposal introduced in September 2006, a few months before a referendum crushed the first Wetlands annexation. Several said they saw no difference between Glengarry and Wetlands, aside from the exclusion on Locksley Manor, bringing the acreage down from 524 to 497, and a change in the requested city zoning from R3 to R2.
"It's a slap in the face," said Robert Price, an opponent of the previous annexation who lives outside the municipal city limits.
Others argued the developers still aren't considering the city's real need for infrastructure before it approves any major development projects. Glengarry may have as many as 1,400 single family homes and require anywhere from 900,000 to 1 million gallons of water per day.
"Don't build one house before you put in infrastructure," said Pat Morrison, who lives on Gilbert Road, just outside the proposed annexation area. "It's infuriating. They don't care about the people who've lived there for 18 years... They just run roughshod over us. Let's accommodate the new guys. It's all about BRAC."
Jackie Magness Seneschal of KCI said it's not clear that it's reasonable to ask the developers to get Aberdeen's water situation resolved before annexation, relating it to the chicken and the egg scenario. She said since developers are so competitive by nature, they have to believe they are going to get something in return if they cooperate to pay for the city's infrastructure needs.
Seneschal also stressed there could be as many as five years before construction actually begins, if the county doesn't approve the city's necessary zoning change of agricultural to R2 for the project. The Harford County Master Land Use Plan designates the area as agricultural, placing it outside the development envelope. Under state law, there is a five-year waiting period for annexed property to receive zoning changes not consistent with the county master plan. The waiting period can be waived, however, by a majority vote of the Harford County Council, whose approval could then be subject of a referendum effort by opponents.
Seneschal said Glengarry could bring the city at least 50 percent more in tax revenues, while only increasing its population by 20 percent, which could also contribute to infrastructure needs.
But Ehlers said the city cannot afford to pay for this type of development, pointing out that the situation might be different if Aberdeen were a more wealthy community. "That's why they will fight this," she said, adding that nobody minds growth but it has to be done within reason.
Residents also questioned the potential for creating an illegal enclave with the nearby Adams Heights subdivision if another annexation, Paradise Meadows, is approved before Glengarry.
KCI requested citizen suggestions for each of its three plans, with Seneschal saying that one or a combination of them may be refined within the next few weeks for final planning commission approval in June.
The most ambitious plan, dubbed Glengarry Traditional Neighborhood Design, calls for 1,064 single units, 434 townhouses, 130 condos, 19 acres of commercial space and 40 acres of integrated open space. The idea is to connect units through a boulevard design and offer a downtown atmosphere, while still allowing for wildlife habitat. This plan proposes $11.5 million in impact fees, $5.2 million in tax revenues and requires about 1.3 million gallons of water per day. Seneschal, however, lamented the style of zoning in this proposal isn't currently allowed by city code.
Glengarry R2 Planned Unit Development involves 1,094 single units, 427 townhouses, no condos, 13 acres of commercial space and 29 acres of open space mostly in personal lots. Moving more toward small community-only stores, this plan carries the same impact fees, along with $4.9 million in tax revenues and requires more than 1.1 million gallons of water per day.
The basic Glengarry R2 centers on 1,402 single units only, doing away with the commercial element and allowing for 5 acres of open space. This version would gather $11.6 million in impact fees, $4.6 million in tax revenues and require about 9 million gallons of water per day.
Each of the proposals could bring in at least 800 new students, with half of these going to elementary schools, Seneschal said.
Originally published in the April 4 edition of The Record
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