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From the Board | In the Community | FCA Notes | Of Interest | Join FCA! | The
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FCA Information Line now in operation! Call 443-487-9120 for updates on Association business and news. Story Behind the Shelley's Fields Issue During the 2004 Baltimore
County Comprehensive Zoning Map Process (CZMP), developer Randy Shelley
approached Councilman T. Bryan McIntire looking for support for a change on
zoning for a piece of property (his own) on Cotter Rd. Shelley was planning to
develop the property and had an opportunity to purchase adjacent property as
well. The idea was that if Shelley could get his Cotter Rd property upzoned to
RC-5 (the highest rural residential zoning available), he would in turn,
donate a large part of an adjacent parcel to the Hereford Rec Council, who
would then turn it over to County Rec & Parks for use as playing fields
for Rec Council activities. As presented during the
rezoning process, the community believed that the rezoning was for 24+ acres on
the south side of Cotter Rd, as shown in the County's Log of Issues. The adjacent property -
the part to be donated - was on the log to be rezoned from part RC-4, part RC-2
to entirely RC-2 (an agricultural zoning restrictive to residential
development. Meanwhile, the Hereford
Rec Council was publicly touting this deal "for our children" as an
opportunity to have a few playing fields to relieve overcrowding
that they claimed was hampering their ability to schedule sports activities at
other facilities. Despite the publication
of the rezoning requests in the Log of Issues months ahead of the vote on Aug
31, 2004, it took only minutes after the vote for the developer, and/or the Councilman
to discover a "mistake" had been made and that the actual rezoning request
was to rezone over 30 additional acres of land on the north
side of Cotter Rd to RC-5 as well. None of this was known to
the community and therefore there was no opportunity for any community input
on the issue. Through a process developed by the County Council to deal with
"clerical errors," the zoning was changed after the fact with none of the
community input that would have been possible had the change been published as
it should have. So the county corrected
this alleged "clerical error" and an additional 30+ acres was rezoned from
RC-4 to RC-5, making a total of 55 acres zoned RC-5, miles from any other
tract with similar zoning. A few months later, a
representative from the Hereford Rec Council unveiled the concept plan for the
development that had obviously been envisioned all along - 19 lots along
both sides of Cotter Rd and a major recreational facility on Middletown Rd,
complete with a 32,000 SF indoor facility, six playing fields, pavilions and
parking for 632 vehicles. It was at this point that the community at large
turned against the plan that just a few months prior had been represented as
additional playing fields, a gravel parking lot and "eventually
... a pavilion, concession stands, restrooms, picnic facilities, hiking and
horse trails and "whatever the community wants"."
Instead the Freeland community was slated to get exactly what it didn't
want - a major development that could forever alter the character of
the area. This is the background
for the events that are currently being played out at the Hearing Officer's
Hearings in Towson, and possibly into the appeals process later on. There's more to read on this by clicking here. Change to Remaining Shelley's Fields Hearing Dates Friday March 9, 2007, 9AM, County Courts Building, 401 Bosley Avenue,
Room 407 |
2007 FCA Board Officers: Board Members - Janice
Harris Deborah
Maude
FCA
Articles
of Incorporation (Charter)
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Freeland
Community Association
