Last night, the shopping center development plan for Route 480 was resubmitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Substantial changes were made to the plan and what is to be built will complement Ridgely's rich architectural heritage. The new proposal was approved and fits into the same footprint for the shopping center which was approved last spring. It has a porch and cupolas and will be one of the best buildings on this entrance into Ridgely. For those of you who are wondering, it won't have dormers. The dormer issue was much misrepresented by some, and, dormers were only one of many architectural devices that could be used to bring new Rt. 480 buildings into harmony with the rest of our town.
How many of you have passed through Kent Island and asked yourselves, how did this overdeveloped commercial eyesore come to exist? To the Planning Commission, the state of the Kent Island Rt. 50 commercial strip is a cautionary tale. It is why we are working hard to make our highway commercial strip(Rt. 480)an integral part of town instead of the type of chaotic commercial sprawl that blights too many of our American communities.
The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and Ed McMahon have provided us with much information and inspiration in our efforts to keep Ridgely the beautiful community that it is. Their work is a much needed antidote for those communities struggling to hold the line against place destroying sprawl. As the late Commissioner Jare Wallace used to frequently say (while attending our Planning and Zoning meetings), "either you design your community or the developers coming here will". Words of wisdom which we have taken to heart over the last 10 years.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Contract Controversy Concluding
The controversy that erupted over the Town Manager's contract in September is now drawing to a conclusion. The more radical and dangerous proposals which would have reversed the role of the Town Manager with regard to the Commissioners are now history.
While not perfect, the document can be lived with. It is, however, only as strong as the will of the Commissioners to enforce its provisions. The Town Manager is being given a second chance to establish residency here. The requirement takes effect in six months which is, of course, after the Commissioner election. It will be up to this group to follow-up on this and other provisions (and, living here, certainly doesn't simply mean giving the Commissioners a new drivers license with a 21660 zip -- it means really living here -- the understanding of which has has been stated by the TM at many public meetings). Remember to vote for some backbone when the time comes.
Monday the 19th at 7:00 is the Commissioner's workshop. This will be the last chance for public comment on the issue before the formal vote in December. You can also comment on this blog below.
Thanks to the many who made their voices heard about the contract. The old America is still alive and well in Ridgely. People still stand up for their rights and we still have a free press (in the form of this blog) to shine the light of reason and publicity on what was a pretty awful proposal.
Finally, wouldn't be great to again have a town paper or blog? "Town Talk" as it used to exist couldn't be a forum that contained editorial content because it was the "official" town paper. Something which is independent is needed to air citizen concerns. My blog, as you have seen, isn't only about Ridgely. Although I'm happy to have been of assistance to the town's concerned citizens, we need something exclusively dedicated to this need. To accomplish this, it needs to be private or independent (in other words, not town financed). All blogs are public, of course, but all blogs aren't open to the type of criticism I've posted and hosted. We need to be free of the likelyhood of censorship that comes with being funded by town hall.
We don't need funding anyhow because setting up a blog is simple and free. However, maintaining it and filling it with stories can be time consuming. Many people contributed to "Town Talk" but two (Arlene Hege and Nancy Gearhart) did a huge amount of the work. We need to establish an independent and free press in this town but it does require a dedicated team to produce a quality blog. "Town Talk" can rise again on the blogosphere. Are there any volunteers out there?
While not perfect, the document can be lived with. It is, however, only as strong as the will of the Commissioners to enforce its provisions. The Town Manager is being given a second chance to establish residency here. The requirement takes effect in six months which is, of course, after the Commissioner election. It will be up to this group to follow-up on this and other provisions (and, living here, certainly doesn't simply mean giving the Commissioners a new drivers license with a 21660 zip -- it means really living here -- the understanding of which has has been stated by the TM at many public meetings). Remember to vote for some backbone when the time comes.
Monday the 19th at 7:00 is the Commissioner's workshop. This will be the last chance for public comment on the issue before the formal vote in December. You can also comment on this blog below.
Thanks to the many who made their voices heard about the contract. The old America is still alive and well in Ridgely. People still stand up for their rights and we still have a free press (in the form of this blog) to shine the light of reason and publicity on what was a pretty awful proposal.
Finally, wouldn't be great to again have a town paper or blog? "Town Talk" as it used to exist couldn't be a forum that contained editorial content because it was the "official" town paper. Something which is independent is needed to air citizen concerns. My blog, as you have seen, isn't only about Ridgely. Although I'm happy to have been of assistance to the town's concerned citizens, we need something exclusively dedicated to this need. To accomplish this, it needs to be private or independent (in other words, not town financed). All blogs are public, of course, but all blogs aren't open to the type of criticism I've posted and hosted. We need to be free of the likelyhood of censorship that comes with being funded by town hall.
We don't need funding anyhow because setting up a blog is simple and free. However, maintaining it and filling it with stories can be time consuming. Many people contributed to "Town Talk" but two (Arlene Hege and Nancy Gearhart) did a huge amount of the work. We need to establish an independent and free press in this town but it does require a dedicated team to produce a quality blog. "Town Talk" can rise again on the blogosphere. Are there any volunteers out there?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Town Planning Process
There is still a lot of misinformation out there about a recent Planning Commission vote. Let me use the example of the largest proposed development project in Ridgely history, Ridgely Park, to clear up some misunderstandings about why we do what we do.
Ridgely Park is a traditional neighborhood development proposal which extends the well planned old town into adjacent farmland. It maintains our grid and alley street system and will be just as walkable as the rest of town. Its houses will be built on traditional size lots and the design of the homes is to reflect the style of our community. There are multiple entrances to the neighborhood which will disperse traffic away from any one street. It is not cut off from the rest of town. Simply put, it is a continuation of all that is good in our town plan.
We have been working on this project for two years and have approved much of it. The actual construction of streets and water sewer infrastructure is set to begin as soon as the Maryland Department of the Environment approves plans for the waste water treatment plant that the developer is building for the town. We have specific commitments about the design of the homes to be built which are written into the Developers Rights and Responsibilities agreement. However, as of yet we don't have the "official" architect's renderings of the individual house plans. What would happen if the developer reneges on the home design standards which have been proposed since day one? This is unlikely since we are dealing with a very honorable developer. However, for the sake of argument, what if? Much would depend on the town government approaching the problem united and insisting that proposals made in good faith must be honored. Unfortunately, there is a lot of money at stake here and a lot of time has been put into this project. The possibility exists that the town Planning Commission could again find itself under pressure to cave in and take what it can get because Ridgely is thought to be over a barrel. However, if we stick to our guns we would get the proposal that we were originally shown. Only if another arm of town government were to take the side of the developer, would the Developers Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (contract) be undermined.
Why have requirements if two years or two weeks down the line we don't expect them to be honored? If we aren't taken seriously to follow through, anyone can take our town for whatever they can. New London is getting closer all the time.
For it to succeed, the Planning Commission must take the long view. What is proposed and built upon in the planning process sets precedents. We have to be consistent. I wish I were an artist and able to illustrate what I mean. (One picture would certainly do better than all the words I've spent on this issue.) I would show what this town would look like, if over the last 10 years, the Planning Commission had been inconsistent, weak, and wishy-washy. The picture would be bleak with fine old homes torn down and anything goes commercial development. It would be an ugly "nowhere" that sadly can be found almost everywhere in today's America. It certainly wouldn't be the Ridgely we love!
Ridgely Park is a traditional neighborhood development proposal which extends the well planned old town into adjacent farmland. It maintains our grid and alley street system and will be just as walkable as the rest of town. Its houses will be built on traditional size lots and the design of the homes is to reflect the style of our community. There are multiple entrances to the neighborhood which will disperse traffic away from any one street. It is not cut off from the rest of town. Simply put, it is a continuation of all that is good in our town plan.
We have been working on this project for two years and have approved much of it. The actual construction of streets and water sewer infrastructure is set to begin as soon as the Maryland Department of the Environment approves plans for the waste water treatment plant that the developer is building for the town. We have specific commitments about the design of the homes to be built which are written into the Developers Rights and Responsibilities agreement. However, as of yet we don't have the "official" architect's renderings of the individual house plans. What would happen if the developer reneges on the home design standards which have been proposed since day one? This is unlikely since we are dealing with a very honorable developer. However, for the sake of argument, what if? Much would depend on the town government approaching the problem united and insisting that proposals made in good faith must be honored. Unfortunately, there is a lot of money at stake here and a lot of time has been put into this project. The possibility exists that the town Planning Commission could again find itself under pressure to cave in and take what it can get because Ridgely is thought to be over a barrel. However, if we stick to our guns we would get the proposal that we were originally shown. Only if another arm of town government were to take the side of the developer, would the Developers Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (contract) be undermined.
Why have requirements if two years or two weeks down the line we don't expect them to be honored? If we aren't taken seriously to follow through, anyone can take our town for whatever they can. New London is getting closer all the time.
For it to succeed, the Planning Commission must take the long view. What is proposed and built upon in the planning process sets precedents. We have to be consistent. I wish I were an artist and able to illustrate what I mean. (One picture would certainly do better than all the words I've spent on this issue.) I would show what this town would look like, if over the last 10 years, the Planning Commission had been inconsistent, weak, and wishy-washy. The picture would be bleak with fine old homes torn down and anything goes commercial development. It would be an ugly "nowhere" that sadly can be found almost everywhere in today's America. It certainly wouldn't be the Ridgely we love!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Thank You Veterans!
On this Veteran's day let's not forget to honor those who have done so much for us. Thanks to Frank Gearhart a veteran of World War Two who was with the first wave at Utah Beach, the liberation of Paris , battle of Huertgen forest and the liberation of Dachau concentration camp. Thank you Dad!
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