At our planning and zoning meeting last night it was made clear that Ridgely Park won't be happening any time soon. Even if the project could start by February, it would not be desirable to do so because of the state of the economy.
We are over such a barrel because of the loan for the waste water treatment plant that there are those who say we should take whatever we can get. We are probably protected from this threat because nothing of either a good or sorry calibre is going to get financing for years to come.
Last night the scaled down project that was presented was very different from what we had previously approved. We would have to change both ordinances and our comprehensive plan to accommodate it. This isn't something to be undertaken lightly, since these laws are the means by which Ridgley has maintained its enviable quality of life over the years.
There are financial questions as well. We would still get the regular fees per house such as parks and recreation, public safety, and water/sewer. However, because of the reduction in scale, we no longer have the leverage to negotiate for money for streets and the extra $1 million which was to cover the new water tower and other necessities.
This project has been controversial. The burden of new development and the traffic and use of services it brings, were offset by an excellent plan and amenities. Now, that is no longer the case.
Elm Street, Ridgley Park's developer was invited back to present more complete plans. One thing we now all have is time, and we should not waste it by gutting our comprehensive plan and ordinances that have kept Ridgely such a fine small town. When good times return, we don't want a pack of rapacious developers to come here to take advantage of watered down planning and zoning ordinances.
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