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AHC Fundraiser
Help AHC fulfill its mission! Tickets
available from any AHC board member or by sending a check to AHC with request
for tickets.
Next Meeting
The Allegheny Highlands
Conservancy (AHC) will hold their regular board meeting on Wednesday, March 17th
at 7:00 pm in the CAOS building at Garrett College. We will be viewing a
webinar presented by Bryan Swistock, Water Resources Specialist, School of
Forest Resources, Penn State University. This webinar which was originally
broadcast on 10-28-09 is titled Treatment/Disposal Options for Wastewaters
from Shale Gas Drilling. The public is welcome to attend.
Current Issues
PUBLIC NOTICE - The
Garrett County Planning Commission will conduct a hearing concerning proposed
revisions to three principal land development ordinances currently implemented
by the County. The proposed revisions would affect the following ordinances:
1) Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance;
2) Garrett County Subdivision Ordinance;
3) Garrett County Sensitive Areas Ordinance
The Date and Time of the Hearing is: Saturday, March 6, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.
If the above hearing is cancelled due to inclement weather the alternative
hearing date is March 11, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
The Location of the Hearing is: Garrett College Auditorium. All interested
citizens are cordially invited to attend
Initial preliminary drafts of these three ordinances were released for public
review on September 29, 2009 by the Department of Planning and Land Development.
The Planning Commission sponsored a public information meeting on the initial
draft on October 14, 2009. The Planning Commission has accepted citizen comments
submitted at the public meeting and in writing or by e-mail since the public
meeting.
Based on the comments received, the Planning Commission has prepared Revised
Draft Ordinances that incorporate major changes to the September 29 drafts
regarding subdivision policies in the AR (Agricultural Resource) and RR (Rural
Resource) land classifications and zoning districts. The Revised Draft
Ordinances:
• Allow subdivisions using either a non-cluster option or a cluster option.
• Remove the provisions requiring creation of a resource parcel when subdivision
occurs.
• Allow subdivision with a 3-acre minimum lot size.
• Allow subdivision with a one-acre minimum lot size for transfer to children or
grandchildren of the lot owner; for subdivision of a parcel less than 20 acres
in area; or by waiver, for subdivision of parcels larger than 20 acres if they
are primarily surrounded by subdivided lots.
• Provide incentives to promote cluster subdivision as a preferred option.
The Revised Draft of the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance also reduces the
area of the proposed Scenic Protection Overlay District to include only those
areas identified as “Crestline Sub-district” on the initial draft zoning map.
Within the Crestline areas, the Revised Draft has eliminated requirements for
design, location and screening of buildings. Requirements for preserving and/or
planting trees are retained for the sides and rear of structures within the
Crestline areas.
The following represents a summary of the most significant policy changes to the
DCW Zoning Ordinance:
1) New Zoning Districts are proposed: Agricultural Resource (AR), Rural Resource
(RR) and Lake Residential –2 (LR-2) are new districts intended to preserve rural
character and conserve natural resources by limiting residential development to
a relatively low average density. Standards for subdivisions in the AR and RR
districts are proposed. The Rural Development (RD) district is proposed to be
eliminated.
2) A Scenic Protection Overlay District is proposed for those areas identified
as Crestlines on the proposed zoning map. This provision is intended to preserve
the scenic views of the ridge tops and crest lines surrounding Deep Creek Lake.
Requirements for retaining and planting trees on the sides and rear of
structures when viewed from the lake and shoreline are proposed.
3) Architectural Standards for non-residential structures in the TC, TR and GC
zoning districts for metal buildings are proposed.
4) Provisions, including set-backs, for domestic, agricultural and industrial
wind energy devices are proposed.
5) New set-backs for drilling for natural gas are proposed.
6) New provisions for non-conforming structures and grandfathered non-conforming
lots are proposed.
The following represents a summary of the most significant policy changes to the
Garrett County Subdivision Ordinance:
1) The Agricultural Resource (AR) and Rural Resource (RR) land classifications
are proposed to be expanded and new standards for subdivisions in these areas
are proposed.
2) A provision that would allow the Planning Commission to require a Traffic
Impact Study for major subdivisions is proposed.
3) A provision to retain trees and other vegetative cover for new subdivisions
abutting Scenic Byways is proposed.
4) Provisions to delineate the boundaries of any wetlands or Source Water
Protection Areas on subdivision plans are proposed.
The following represents a summary of the most significant policy changes to the
Garrett County Sensitive Areas Ordinance:
1) Provisions to protect Source Water Protection Areas are proposed.
2) A provision to limit the exemption from the steep slope requirements to lots
of record that are less than four acres is proposed.
3) A provision to prevent construction of buildings on man-made slopes exceeding
30% grade is proposed.
4) A provision to use the Maryland Sensitive Species Project Review Areas map as
the indicator for referring applicants to DNR is proposed.
The Revised Draft Ordinances are formatted such that readers will be able to
easily compare them with the September 29 drafts. All three Revised Draft
Ordinances and related maps are available for public review on the County’s
website at www.garrettcounty.org
by clicking on Draft
Revisions to Ordinances under News. The revised drafts are also available at the
Department of Planning and Land Development office, all branch locations of the
Ruth Enlow Libraries and in the main offices of the Crellin, Bloomington, Swan
Meadow, Yough Glades and Route 40 public schools.
By Order of the
Garrett County Planning Commission
Coordinator Position Filled
We’re happy to announce that AHC has hired Laura Haynes to serve as a temporary,
part-time coordinator for our organization. Ms. Haynes has been tasked with
building the financial capacity and long term sustainability of AHC, including
finding sources to fund a permanent coordinator position. Ms. Haynes earned a
Masters of Science Degree in Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology from
Frostburg State University in 2008. She has served as an officer and board
member with the Savage River Watershed Association since 2006. She was formerly
employed as Watershed Project Coordinator with the Western Maryland Resource
Conservation and Development Council. Laura resides in the Bittinger area of
Garrett County with her husband Chris Haynes.
Garrett County Ordinaces
The following is a
message from AHC's president regarding the public hearing on the revised
ordinances scheduled for February 6, 2010.
Members and friends of Allegheny Highlands Conservancy –
As you know, AHC was involved from the beginning in the development of the most
recent Garrett County Comprehensive Plan, adopted by the Garrett County
Commissioners in October 2008. Subsequently, we advocated for implementation of
the provisions of the Plan, including changes in the land classification map
that reclassified much of the rural land in the county from Rural to
Agricultural Resource or Rural Resource designation (leading to the possibility
for more responsible development in a greater proportion of the county), and
changes to the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance and the Garrett County
Sensitive Areas and Subdivision Ordinances. Although the changes to these
ordinances proposed by the Planning Commission were not everything we had hoped
for, we wrote and spoke in favor of them. We were particularly supportive of the
new proposed resource parcel and clustering provisions in the Subdivision
Ordinance. Unfortunately, a vocal majority of the speakers during last October’s
public meeting were not in favor of these changes. The same sentiment was
expressed in many of the written comments submitted to the Planning Commission.
Whether or not the majority of Garrett County residents were truly opposed to
the new ordinances, the Planning Commission chose to revise the proposed
changes, removing many of the provisions we supported, including the resource
parcel and clustering provisions. We disagree with this action.
This coming Saturday, February 6th, at 10:00 AM in the Garrett College
Auditorium, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the
most recent revisions to these ordinances. We realize that, at this point,
there’s little chance that the Planning Commission or the County Commissioners
will rethink their position, but we will continue to express our position on the
need for thoughtful development in Garrett County. We’re especially concerned
that there will be a push to have the land classification map revised so that
less acreage will be designated as Agricultural Resource and Rural Resource. We
think changing the map would be a mistake, and we plan to say so. We believe
that it is important to keep as much land as possible in Agricultural Resource
and Rural Resource designation so that, once economic conditions improve and
development pressure increases again, efforts to maintain the rural character of
Garrett County – our farms and forests – will not be hindered. If you feel the
same way, we invite you to check out the most recent versions of the map and
ordinances at
http://www.garrettcounty.org/PlanningLand/PlanningZoning/Revisions.aspx and
speak up (in a courteous, responsible fashion) at the public hearing and/or send
in your comments afterward.
Thanks!
Kevin Dodge
The
following is AHC's letter concerning the draft revisions to the Garrett County
Ordinance Revisions which was sent to the Planning Commission on October 31,
2009. A formal public hearing on the revisions being proposed by the
Planning Commission will take place later this fall. AHC will keep you posted on
the date and time of that hearing, and provide details on how and when your
personal comments may be submitted. Please feel free to contact us, if you have
any questions regarding AHC's letter.
The Allegheny Highlands Conservancy (AHC), Garrett
County’s local land trust, appreciates the opportunity to comment on the draft
revisions to the Sensitive Areas, Subdivision, and Deep Creek Watershed Zoning
Ordinances of the Garrett County Code. We were an active participant in the
public process that led to the development of Garrett County’s most recent
Comprehensive Plan, and we support the Plan’s intent to maintain the rural
character of the county and the strategies proposed to help make that happen. We
recognize and appreciate that those who are only focused on stopping development
will have major objections to the proposed changes to the ordinances, as will
those who are primarily interested in preserving private property rights. We
believe, on the other hand, that those (AHC included) who are concerned about
retaining the county’s farms and privately-owned forestland, as well as about
the welfare of the owners of those properties, should find merit in the updated
ordinances. In particular, we support the resource parcel and clustering
provisions in the proposed revision to the Subdivision Ordinance. It is not our
desire to see the value of anyone’s property diminished; however, we believe
that these proposed changes will, in the end, lead to enhanced property values.
We greatly appreciate all the work that the members of the Planning Commission
have expended in developing the Comprehensive Plan and translating it into
ordinance. It would be a shame to see all your hard work come to naught should
we retreat from the Plan’s vision. It’s not easy to balance the concerns of all
county citizens. In fact, we’re sure it’s a pretty thankless job. We believe
that the members of the Planning Commission will do their best to insure that
Garrett County remains a vital landscape dominated by thriving farms and
forests.
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