Terrapin Run, the proposed western Maryland mega-development that became a lightning rod for debates about the state's "smart growth" laws is back in court - this time in foreclosure proceedings, reports the Cumberland Times-News.
The paper reports that PNC Bank filed in Allegany County Circuit Court on Sept. 16 to foreclose against three business entities based in Columbia that were involved in the project. The bank claims that the developers defaulted on loans and owed $5.1 million as of July 6.
The developers originally proposed in 2005 to build 4,300 homes and a small shopping center on 900-plus acres near Green Ridge State Forest in eastern Allegany, seen above. That was eventually scaled back after negotiations with local officials to 360 homes in the first 10 years and no more than 900 in 20, the paper reports.
The approval of the project by the county's board of zoning appeals, though, was fought through the state's appellate courts, with the O'Malley administration joining environmentalists and local opponents in arguing it was counter to the state's Smart Growth laws and the county's own master plan. The Court of Appeals ruled in 2008 that the county had acted properly, and need not follow its plan strictly - a decision that prompted state lawmakers to tighten the law in 2009. Meanwhile, the real estate market had virtually collapsed.
The foreclosure isn't the only court action involving Terrapin Run. The developers filed a $16 million damage suit against the state in 2009, saying state planners and environmental regulators had effectively blocked the project. That case is pending, with a 2011 trial date, the Times-News reports.
(Michael Carnock, principal in Columbia-based firm planning to develop Terrapin Run, walks the property in 2005. Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna)