A plan to build senior housing on Havre de Grace's Mt. Felix Winery property has some area residents uneasy over what will happen to a historic house on the site and how the proposal will fit in with other development in the area.
The project is aimed at people 55 and older and a concept plan would still have to be approved by the City Council. The 14-acre site is zoned RB, residential business, and the concept plan shows nine apartment buildings of 36 units each with a parking lot in the center.
The Mt. Felix property is part of the 244.4-acre tract off Route 155 that the city annexed in 2014. It's the first property within the annexed area for which a development plan has been submitted to the city.
During a City Council hearing on the concept plan held Monday night at City Hall, Ron Browning, of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, joined others in voicing his concerns about the Mt. Felix house, which he called "a very important structure in Havre de Grace" that dates to 1840.
Browning said city tourism and historic preservation groups met the previous week and "we were both disturbed by the proposal we see here."
The development would also affect the surrounding area, he said, adding that "what we are liable to see with those buildings is demolition by neglect."
As an example, Browning cited the much-beloved Cherry Hill Farm off Chapel Road that he said was destroyed in the development process for an 84 home project called Scenic Manor that has been stalled for several years.
"That [Cherry Hill Farm] went up in flames because nothing was spoken for by the developer," he said.
Browning, who is the proprietor of a guest house in the city and a columnist for The Record newspaper, urged the council to provide green space and buffers around the Mt. Felix buildings, if any development moves forward.
Susan Deeney, who said she lives just outside city limits on North Earlton Road Extended, said one of the other properties in the annexed area is Sion Hill, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sion Hill, whose main house was between 1787 and 1810, is the ancestral home of the Rodgers Family that played a prominent role in early American naval history.
"I am very concerned about our loss of history and developing these areas," Deeney said.
She echoed others who said the entrance to the proposed development should not be on Route 155, but added: "I think this is a development that should not be considered and I am very concerned for the state of our town and what this will mean ... I think this is a pretty poor plan."
Cecelia League, of North Adams Street, said the plan, which was drawn up by New York-based hbt Architects, does not show its location on the overall annexed lands.
"To me, that's critical," League said about showing how it fits into the whole 244-acre annexed tract. She said the city should have some larger plan to share with residents.
Charles Packard, of the Susquehanna Hose Company, said he is concerned about fire equipment entering and exiting the property, with the "number of people who will be living in that area."
He said the locations shown for the buildings do not seem to have sufficient entrances, if a vehicle broke down on the road, for emergency responders to get through.
Henry Greuter, of Bayland Drive, said: "Whenever they build public apartment complexes, you have to do everything possible to keep them from turning into slums of tomorrow."
Carolyn Zinner, a Bulle Rock resident, who lives on Tim Tam Court, said she is concerned about the area becoming inundated with development requests, including the new University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health medical complex planned for Route 155 at the I-95 interchange. The medical center tract is just across Bulle Rock Parkway from the northern side of the annexed area.
Zinner showed the council photos of her house, where she said the street has faced paving and other maintenance issues.
Joe Kochenderfer, a fromer city council who regularly comments on development-related and other issues, told the council he also thinks the project should connect to Bulle Rock Parkway, not Route 155. He also said the roads should be privately maintained and consideration should be given to rear loading at the apartment units.