Politics & Government

Residents Appeal to County Executive to Stop Route 3 Rezoning

A community group has asked County Executive John R. Leopold to veto portions of a comprehensive rezoning bill affecting the Route 3 corridor.

Local residents are making a last-minute plea to stop the rezoning of properties along Route 3 in Gambrills and Crofton.

Community groups are urging Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold to veto portions of a comprehensive rezoning bill, arguing that the changes would have a negative impact on residents, and that nearby landowners were not properly informed.

The County Council last week approved comprehensive rezoning for District 4, which includes the Route 3 corridor. At this point, only a line-item veto from Leopold would stop the rezoning changes from moving forward.

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Residents have expressed several concerns with the rezoning, including the potential increase of commercial space and a lack of “transitional” zoning between residential and commercial zones.

“There are clearly locations that are inappropriate for this kind of development,” said Tim Berkoff, the environment and zoning chairman for Crofton First. “Unfortunately, in its rush to get the bill passed in time, [the council] ended up passing a bad bill. John Leopold is the only person left who might be able to do something about it.”

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A spokesman for Leopold said the county executive plans to act on the bill Thursday, but did not indicate whether he would veto it.

“The county executive is aware of the concerns expressed by citizens. We are reviewing the bill and will take action by [Thursday],” spokesman David Abrams said in an e-mail.

In a nine-page document sent to Leopold, members of Crofton First said they opposed several components of the rezoning. In general, the group is opposed to the amount of commercial development that would be allowed in the area, but specific concerns include:

-A lack of “transitional” zoning between commercial zones planned near the intersection of Route 3 and Route 175. In particular, Berkoff said he was concerned about the lack of a buffer between commercial zones and low-density residential zones and the Naval Academy Dairy Farm.

““Normally, you try to have some sort of other zoning in between the two, so you don’t end up with these kinds of homeowner conflicts,” Berkoff said.

-Potential impact on wetlands by new commercial zones near Route 3 and St. Stephens Church Road.

-Environmental impact from a new commercial zone at Evergreen Road and Capitol Raceway. About 30 acres would be switched from low-density residential zoning to commercial in that area.

Berkoff said that he also hoped Leopold would veto portions of the rezoning bill, because nearby homeowners weren’t given notice of the potential changes. The comprehensive rezoning process does not require resident notification, but Berkoff said more communication was needed.

“They are supposed to balance the property owners against one another to make a good judgement, and they can’t do that unless they are notifying adjacent property owners,” he said. “They shouldn’t be treating citizens that way. They really should be reaching out and involving the folks that are most directly impacted.”


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