A public hearing on Harford County's new master plan, scheduled for Tuesday night, is expected to bring out residents opposed to proposals to expand development boundaries in the Fallston and Creswell areas.
The hearing is set for 6 p.m. in the County Council chambers at 212 S. Bond St. in Bel Air.
HarfordNEXT, which County Executive Barry Glassman's administration has billed as "a master plan for the next generation," is a comprehensive overview of needs like recreation, sustainability, economic growth, environmental stewardship, agricultural and historic preservation, public health, transportation and technological connectivity.
The proposal to add three properties to the county's 55,000-acre development envelope, however, has drawn public criticism since the HarfordNext plan was rolled during the winter with a lengthy online public comment period.
Two Fallston women launched a "Keep Fallston Rural" petition to fight a request to add 40.8 acres at the southwest corner of Routes 152 and 147 to the envelope. The site's owner, developer Michael Euler Sr., has retaliated by suing the women, claiming the petition misrepresents his intentions to simply fix failing septic systems in the area.
A group called "Save Rural Creswell," which had 570 supporters on Facebook as of Monday, is also fighting HarfordNEXT's proposed "study area" that includes the Route 136 corridor and runs mostly parallel to Route 543, between Route 1 and I-95, just past the eastern edge of the existing development envelope.
The "study area" is not being targeted for more development, but rather for a review of its infrastructure and amenities, in light of spotty development that has already taken place, county Director of Planning and Zoning Bradley Killian explained earlier.
HarfordNEXT would add 77.6 acres to the development envelope at Route 136 and Cedar Lane in the Creswell area and 25.75 acres at the northwest corner of Routes 23 and 24 in Forest Hill.
More information is available at www.harfordcountymd.gov/HarfordNext .