Citizens for Smart Growth in Allegany County

Who Are We?

Citizens for Smart Growth in Allegany County is a group of citizens of Allegany County, residents of surrounding areas, and friends of Green Ridge State Forest who are concerned about incompatible development in eastern Allegany County, Maryland. We have organized to oppose the proposed residential development at Terrapin Run, and to advocate for better land use planning and greater accountability from county officials.

Contact Us
For more inofrmation, or to get involved, contact us at:
acgrowth@yahoo.com
Citizens for Smart Growth in Allegany County
P.O. Box 401
Cumberland, MD 21501-0401

Make a Contribution

We are urgently seeking funds from supporters to cover the costs of outreach and legal representation. Send checks, payable to Citizens for Smart Growth in Allegany County to P.O. Box 401, Cumberland, MD 21501-0401.

What can you do?

Want to support the work of Citizens for Smart Growth in Allegany County?

• Speak Up! — Let us know that you share our opposition to the proposed development at Terrapin Run, and share your ideas or comments about the future of Allegany County.
• Join Us — Get on our mailing list to received information about upcoming meetings and opportunities for public input.* Attend a public meeting — Let your county officials know that you are watching what they do, and that you want citizens to have a voice in their decisions about Terrapin Run! The Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, and the County Commissioners all have meetings which are open to the public, where decisions about Terrapin Run are being made NOW. You can email us at acgrowth@yahoo.com or call Allegany County at (301) 777-5951 ×275 to find out the location, time, and agenda of the next meeting.
• Make a Contribution — We are urgently seeking funds from supporters to cover the costs of outreach and legal representation. Send checks, payable to Citizens for Smart Growth in Allegany County to P.O. Box 401, Cumberland, MD 21501-0401.
• Learn More — View press, testimoney, meeting minutes, Citizen’s position papers, maps, photos, diagrams, relevant links, and more!

Why Oppose Terrapin Run?

Why do we oppose the proposed 4300 unit development at Terrapin Run, near Flintstone, MD?

People all across Allegany County oppose this project. Here’s why:

• They are concerned that the cost of building a new city where only scattered homes and farms now exist will be too high and will raise their taxes to provide services.
• They are concerned about how it will affect the environment – streams, wildlife habitat, etc.
• Based on scientific evidence, they don’t trust that the area can support a densely populated city.
• They see the county is turning its back on preserving this area as an important resource for recreation and tourism.
• Visitors to Allegany County, neighbors of the proposed development, and those who chose to move here to get away from busy, densely populated areas see the value of rural life.
• They want to see development in in Allegany County in places where infrastructure and services are available.
• They want to see growth in places where it can succeed and benefit Allegany County.

Maryland Department of the Environment rejects Terrapin Run

Published: December 30, 2007
Terrapin Run, Laurelhurst subdivision cause of concern
Kevin Spradlin

Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — The Maryland Department of the Environment rejected two parts of the 2007 update to the Allegany County Water and Sewer Plan.

Both of MDE’s concerns hinge on two proposed developments, Terrapin Run in eastern Allegany County and Laurelhurst subdivision in Cresaptown.

MDE indicated in a Nov. 14 letter to the county commissioners that it was told by the Maryland Department of Planning that both proposed developments “are not consistent with the Allegany County Comprehensive Plan.”

“The portion of the update concerning the proposed Terrapin Run development and the proposed Laurelhurst subdivision are not approved,” the letter states. “The balance of the update is approved.”

MDE expressed concerns over water quality issues in Terrapin Run, planned to be a 4,300-unit, high-density development on a 985-acre tract near the Town Hill Bed and Breakfast. MDE also questioned the development’s impact “upon not only the availability of groundwater but also upon the adjacent Terrapin Run and the Tier II watershed stream, Fifteen Mile Creek.”

“Because a new discharge to (Fifteen Mile Creek) is proposed, an anti-degradation review is required.”

Virginia Kearney, deputy director of MDE’s Water Management Administration, said Terrapin Run developer PDC Inc. of Columbia is required to evaluate alternatives “to eliminate or reduce discharges or impacts. Further, if impacts are unavoidable, (PDC) shall prepare and document a social or economic justification for a discharge to Tier II waters.”

The county’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception to allow Terrapin Run, but opponents have taken the matter to court. The case was heard in late November in the state’s highest court. An opinion could be rendered any time.

Kearney said this week that PDC Inc. was notified of the need for a Tier II anti-degradation study in an August 2005 letter.

“We have also raised an issue related to the availability of adequate drinking water,” Kearney told the Times-News. “That is an area, geologically, that isn’t known to be a high-yield area for groundwater, and the streams, also, are not large. So there’s a question in our minds regarding the availability of adequate drinking water to support development.”

Repeated calls to the office and cell phone of Craig Leonard, Terrapin Run development manager, were not returned by Friday afternoon. Allegany County Planning Coordinator Phil Hager was ill but issued a written statement through Public Information Officer Bretta Reinhard.

The Maryland Court of Appeals “will ultimately determine whether MDE’s position regarding Terrapin Run is correct,” the statement read.

MDE said it had both general and specific questions it needed to have addressed before it could endorse the plan.

“We just want to know what it is we’re approving,” Kearney said. “What are the long-term potential impacts on the water resources? We don’t know how they’re going to deal with their wastewater, either. We have questions about that. Will it be a surface discharge to a stream? It’s a big part of why we’re concerned about the Tier II analysis.”

She said Fifteen Mile Creek would likely be downstream of any surface discharge. Kearney also said spray irrigation was a possibility but that PDC Inc. would need to prove there are suitable soils for such an operation.

“We don’t expect, necessarily, for a developer to have all the answers to the questions,” Kearney said. “But we want to have some level of understanding on the part of the county (and) the developer on what is entailed.”

Robert Paye, counsel for Terrapin Run, said Friday that the Court of Appeals decision “will likely settle the (state) Department of Planning issues” whether the development is planned in conjunction with Smart Growth principles.

“Whether that settles the Maryland Department of Environment’s issues,” as the county suggested, “I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” Paye said.

Regarding Laurelhurst, the government-issued statement indicated county officials “did not foresee any objection” to the plan. The statement said that the former Barton Farm property was identified as “suitable for urban development (housing) in numerous plans as far back as 1965.”

“It is believed that MDE’s position concerning this development is based on insufficient and/or inaccurate information,” the county said.

The county commissioners, along with County Administrator Vance Ishler, are expected to discuss the plan with state government senior policy advisers this week at the Maryland Association of Counties winter conference.

“These officials hope to clarify (MDE’s) apparent misunderstanding about the Laurelhurst subdivision,” the county said.

Based on these discussions, Reinhard said county officials “will evaluate its option to appeal the decision to the Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment, Shari T. Wilson.”

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