The Abingdon Community Council started its August meeting as it was called to order by President Cynthia Hergenhahn. Harford County Sheriff’s Office representative Capt. Christopher Swain started the meeting by stating his office had nothing to report as the Sheriff’s Department is in the process of switching to a new database, making crime statistics unavailable. He also added that there have been no major crime trends in Abingdon recently.
Morita Bruce, President of Friends of Harford, conducted the major portion of the meeting. Friends of Harford is an organization focused on maintaining responsible development in Harford County. Bruce broke down the process as well as some content of the Harford County Master Plan, which is in the process of being updated. The reason for her presentation, which was the first part of what is intended to be a two-part presentation, was to educate those in attendance about the Harford County Master Plan so they will have enough background to engage the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning during its third community input session on proposed updates to the plan this October.
Bruce explained the Development Envelope as an area designated by the Master Plan as the segment of the county in which new development is allowed. She stressed the importance of maintaining the boundaries of the envelope instead of increasing sprawl. A statistic presented estimated that there is sufficient capacity to meet the county’s commercial space needs for the next 60 years and residential land capacity for the next 28 years, as was stated by the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning. She also stressed a need for Harford County to attempt to improve quality of life within the Development Envelope by redeveloping instead of building on new land and creating mixed-use communities. The success of mixed-use in Reston, Virginia was cited. Bruce identified difficulty in obtaining this goal as there is such a large quantity of land zoned for development within the county that it presents little incentive for developers to redevelop land and makes it easier and cheaper for new land to be developed.
To arm attendees with a few ideas, Bruce called attention to a need for the creation and adherence to policies aimed at protecting quality of life for those living within the Development Envelope. Policies cited referred to excessive light, excessive noise, green spaces or parks, sidewalks, crosswalks and bikeways, traffic issues, congestion at shopping areas and conversion of residential streets to thru-ways.
At the conclusion of Bruce’s presentation, Hergenhahn stated that the Abingdon Community Council, with the help of community attendees, would attempt to formulate criteria for an Abingdon Community Plan to present to the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning somewhere around December of this year.
The Abingdon Community Council meets every fourth Monday of every month at 6:30 at the Emmorton Library. The next meeting will be Monday, September 26. Bruce will be the guest speaker for part two of her presentation on the Harford County Master Plan.
Phil Dirt says
If the Abingdon Community Council wants to maintain legitimacy (i.e., credibility), they shouldn’t let the major portion of thier meeting be conducted by the leader of an anti-development organization (yes, that’s what it is).
Community groups with an obvious slant or bias generally lose effectivess and the support of surrounding communities.
noble says
The Community Councils are groups of concerned citizens who decide to volunteer to take an active role in their community. Virtually anyone can be appointed to the councils and anyone is welcome to attend the meetings and provide whatever input they wish. Accordingly, the only viewpoints of the community that will see action are the ones that are brought up by those who are involved. If people with different opinions don’t get involved, they don’t have a voice, and have no rights to complain. Just like voting.
The Abingdon council has had presentations from a developer (Ward Associates), and from officials at the County Planning and Zoning office, as well as practically anyone with subject matter knowledge related to the major issues in that area. All of the agendas and minutes of the meetings are posted on the Harford County government web site. This is how all of the community councils work.
One of the major problems posed by being staunchly opposed to development, and even by promoting redevelopment, is that it doesn’t take into account the economics of running a County these days.
Because by and large people don’t want high taxes and fees for services, the only way local government can raise significant revenue is from new development which increases the “base” for property tax income and generates additional service fees, etc.
If we truly wanted to limit development we would have to make a deliberate choice to pay higher taxes and fees if we want to maintain services, or get fewer services, AND not hold elected officials accountable for that choice.
But people are unwilling to make that choice, and so to maintain the status quo we all expect, development continues.
Applying significant rules, limitations, demands, and incentives to new development that increase quality of life for County residents and minimize the costs to the tax payers are prudent steps to manage development.
Of course, Mr. Dirt and I have had this conversation before.
Elsie says
Enough said — the truth has been spoken. An informed citizenry is key. Many Harford Countians are just starting to learn about Master Plans, Planning & Zoning, and even who their representatives are. It is important for those who really care about where they live to become more informed and involved. Learning the basics is essential to being able to make smart choices and expressing intelligent views. Attending meetings, both community council and county government, as well as learning about candidates (and their real views/motives) will help Harford County citizens promote and manage growth (development) in a positive way while protecting and preserving our quality of life. Everyone needs to listen, and learn.